| UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION | ||
| Washington, D.C. 20549 | ||
FORM N-CSR | ||
| CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES | ||
| Investment Company Act file number: | (811–00058) |
| Exact name of registrant as specified in charter: | George Putnam Fund of Boston |
| Address of principal executive offices: | 100 Federal Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110 |
| Name and address of agent for service: | Robert T. Burns, Vice President 100 Federal Street Boston, Massachusetts 02110 |
| Copy to: | Bryan Chegwidden, Esq. Ropes & Gray LLP 1211 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York 10036 |
| Registrant's telephone number, including area code: | (617) 292–1000 |
| Date of fiscal year end: | July 31, 2020 |
| Date of reporting period: | August 1, 2019 — July 31, 2020 |
Item 1. Report to Stockholders: |
| The following is a copy of the report transmitted to stockholders pursuant to Rule 30e-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940: | |||
George Putnam
Balanced
Fund
Annual report
7 | 31 | 20
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Delivery of paper fund reports
In accordance with regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, beginning on January 1, 2021, reports like this one will no longer be sent by mail unless you specifically request it. Instead, they will be on Putnam’s website, and you will be notified by mail whenever a new one is available, and provided with a website link to access the report.
If you wish to stop receiving paper reports sooner, or if you wish to continue to receive paper reports free of charge after January 1, 2021, please see the back cover or insert for instructions. If you invest through a bank or broker, your choice will apply to all funds held in your account. If you invest directly with Putnam, your choice will apply to all Putnam funds in your account.
If you already receive these reports electronically, no action is required.
Message from the Trustees
September 10, 2020
Dear Fellow Shareholder:
As the world continues to confront the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, financial markets, it seems, are enjoying a respite from fear. U.S. markets rallied this summer despite many challenges that weighed down economic activity, including the public health impact of the pandemic, high unemployment, and tensions related to calls for racial equity. In this context, Putnam continues to pursue superior investment performance for you and your fellow shareholders while also working toward its goals of improving diversity and inclusion within its organization.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Robert E. Patterson, who retired as a Trustee on June 30, 2020, for his 36 years of service. We will miss Bob’s experienced judgment and insights, and we wish him well. We are also pleased to welcome Mona K. Sutphen to the Board. Ms. Sutphen brings extensive professional and directorship experience to her role as a Trustee.
As always, thank you for investing with Putnam.
George Putnam Balanced Fund was introduced in 1937, at a time when many investors considered the stock market to be risky. Named for the founder of Putnam Investments, the fund offered an innovative concept for the time — a diversified portfolio with bonds to balance the risk of stocks.
A balanced approach, grounded in research
The fund’s classic balanced approach continues to serve investors today, under the leadership of seasoned portfolio managers who use fundamental research to find opportunities and manage risk.
Diversification does not guarantee a profit or ensure against loss. It is possible to lose money in a diversified portfolio.
| 2 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
Experienced managers pursue a broad range of opportunities
The fund’s typical allocation is 60% stocks and 40% bonds. In managing the stock portion of the portfolio, Kate Lakin pursues a risk-aware style, investing in stocks across all sectors that may have value or growth characteristics. For the fund’s fixed-income investments, Paul Scanlon and Emily Shanks assemble a mix of government and investment-grade bonds. Historically, government bonds have shown relatively low correlation with stocks, which can help to dampen the impact of stock market downturns on fund performance.
Data are historical. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. More recent returns may be less or more than those shown. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate, and you may have a gain or a loss when you sell your shares. For the most recent month-end performance, visit putnam.com. Performance assumes reinvestment of distributions and does not account for taxes. Returns for class A shares do not reflect a sales charge of 5.75%. Had a sales charge been reflected, returns would have been lower. Returns for other classes of shares may vary. The period illustrated is longer than the investment horizon of many investors.
The chart is plotted on a logarithmic scale so that comparable percentage changes appear similar.
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 3 |
Current performance may be lower or higher than the quoted past performance, which cannot guarantee future results. Share price, principal value, and return will fluctuate, and you may have a gain or a loss when you sell your shares. Performance of class A shares assumes reinvestment of distributions and does not account for taxes. Fund returns in the bar chart do not reflect a sales charge of 5.75%; had they, returns would have been lower. See below and pages 10–13 for additional performance information. For a portion of the periods, the fund had expense limitations, without which returns would have been lower. To obtain the most recent month-end performance, visit putnam.com.
* George Putnam Blended Index is an unmanaged index administered by Putnam Management, 60% of which is the S&P 500 Index and 40% of which is the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.
† Source: Lipper, a Refinitiv company.
‡ The fund’s benchmarks (S&P 500 Index and George Putnam Blended Index) were introduced on 12/31/69 and 12/31/78, respectively. The fund’s Lipper group (Balanced Funds) was introduced on 12/31/59; they all post-date the inception of the fund’s class A shares.
This comparison shows your fund’s performance in the context of broad market indexes for the 12 months ended 7/31/20. See above and pages 10–13 for additional fund performance information. Index descriptions can be found on pages 17–18.
| 4 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
How did stocks perform over the period?
KATE From the start of the period through mid-February 2020, declining interest rates and stimulus measures from global central banks were supportive of stocks. Market volatility, driven by the U.S.–China trade conflict, eased when the two countries agreed to a “phase one” trade deal. Concerns over Brexit also subsided when conservative party leader Boris Johnson was elected as United Kingdom Prime Minister.
Investors grew more risk averse as COVID-19 spread from a threat to a pandemic. Countries issued quarantines, business closures, and travel restrictions that caused global economic activity to contract. A liquidity crisis ensued. In February and March 2020, major stock indexes plunged into bear market territory, which is a decline of 20% or more from a recent high.
Central banks worldwide responded with fiscal and monetary aid. The U.S. Congress approved a historic $2 trillion relief package. The U.S. Federal Reserve [the Fed] infused billions of dollars into the economy with direct cash payments to consumers. It also provided loans to corporations and financial aid to hospitals, and helped stabilize at-risk industries and public services.
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 5 |
Allocations are shown as a percentage of the fund’s net assets as of 7/31/20. Cash and net other assets, if any, represent the market value weights of cash, derivatives, short-term securities, and other unclassified assets in the portfolio. Summary information may differ from the portfolio schedule included in the financial statements due to the inclusion of derivative securities, any interest accruals, the exclusion of as-of trades, if any, the use of different classifications of securities for presentation purposes, and rounding. Holdings and allocations may vary over time.
This table shows the fund’s top 10 equity holdings by percentage of the fund’s net assets as of 7/31/20. Short-term investments and derivatives, if any, are excluded. Summary information may differ from the portfolio schedule included in the financial statements due the use of different classifications of securities for presentation purposes. Holdings may vary over time.
| 6 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
Despite dismal economic data, including record-high unemployment and falling consumer spending, stocks rallied in the second quarter of calendar 2020. Positive news emerged on potential COVID-19 vaccines. Major global markets, including the United States, China, and Europe, began to ease mobility restrictions. Stocks continued to rebound in July 2020. Investors seemed to look past the risks of a second wave of COVID-19 infections. As measured by the S&P 500 Index, stocks gained 11.96% for the 12-month reporting period.
How did bond markets perform?
PAUL Declining interest rates, low inflation, and slowed global growth increased bond prices during the first half of the reporting period. In late February 2020, developed-market government-bond yields declined and credit spreads widened as the pandemic shook investor confidence. In March 2020, an oil supply dispute between Russia and Saudi Arabia caused a collapse in commodity prices, further rattling investors.
From March 2020 through period-end, the Fed purchased billions in corporate bonds and exchange-traded funds [bonds that operate similar to mutual funds]. This helped stabilize financial markets, improve liquidity, and increase the availability of credit. Corporate credit — both investment-grade and high-yield — advanced and spreads tightened, mirroring the strength seen across equity markets. The interest-rate-sensitive Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index rose 10.12% for the 12 months ended July 31, 2020.
How did the fund perform?
PAUL The fund’s class A shares posted a return of 12.04% compared with 11.96% for its primary benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The fund’s secondary benchmark, the George Putnam Blended Index, returned 12.90% for the period. This custom-blended index comprises 40% of the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index and 60% of the S&P 500 Index.
What were some stocks that contributed to performance?
KATE An overweight position — relative to the primary benchmark — in U.S. video gaming company Activision Blizzard was the fund’s top contributor. With social distancing in practice, Activision’s multiplayer virtual games grew in popularity as consumers sought at-home entertainment. The company reported record sales during the height of COVID-19 lockdowns, which helped boost investor interest.
Relative underweight positions in Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. also aided results. These financial services firms faced pandemic-related downdrafts, including near-zero interest rates, declining consumer demand, and lost revenue from business loans. Both companies reported earnings shortfalls, which contributed to investor sell-offs of these stocks. We sold our position in J.P. Morgan Chase prior to period-end.
An out-of-benchmark position in The Medicines Company, a U.S. biopharmaceutical company, also aided results. In the fourth quarter of calendar year 2019, the company entered into a buyout agreement with Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis. Shares of the stock rose. We locked in a gain, selling our position in The Medicines Company before period-end.
Which stocks detracted most from performance?
KATE An underweight position — relative to the primary benchmark — in technology giant Apple was a top detractor. Investors responded positively to new iPhone sales growth, which exceeded our expectations. While this news was encouraging, we believe Apple’s stock remains
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 7 |
overvalued. We continue to hold a relative underweight position in the stock.
Two energy holdings, Cenovus Energy and BP PLC, which are not held by the primary benchmark, also hurt fund performance. In April 2020, pandemic-related demand disruptions in the global energy sector caused oil prices to briefly fall below zero for the first time in history. London-based energy provider BP and Cenovus, which owns producing oil sands in Canada, reported earnings losses due to record-low oil prices.
A relative overweight position in Live Nation Entertainment, a U.S. concerts promoter and venue operator, also hampered results. As cities prohibited public gatherings to control COVID-19 infections, concerts and sporting events managed by Live Nation were canceled. Despite short-term setbacks due to quarantines, we continue to like Live Nation. We believe its differentiated business model can take market share over the long term.
How did the fund’s corporate bond investments perform?
PAUL Our allocations to corporate bonds represented 14.3% of total assets. Bonds issued by companies in the industrials sector were beneficial to results. Relative to the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, an underweight position in the independent energy sector and an overweight position in the wireless sector contributed positively to results. Exposure to the financials sector, specifically an overweight position in the banking sector, detracted the most from performance.
As the fund begins a new fiscal year, what is your outlook?
KATE In our view, the pandemic is causing long-term structural changes to the economy. Quarantines have altered consumer spending patterns, human communication, and business workflows. As businesses adapt to pandemic-related changes, we believe new investment opportunities are unfolding. For the fund,
This chart shows how the fund’s top weightings have changed over the past six months. Allocations are shown as a percentage of the fund’s net assets. Current period summary information may differ from the portfolio schedule included in the financial statements due to the inclusion of derivative securities, any interest accruals, the exclusion of as-of trades, if any, the use of different classifications of securities for presentation purposes, and rounding. Holdings and allocations may vary over time.
| 8 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
we seek investments in companies that we believe have become stronger as a result of the pandemic. Our research team uses a bottom-up approach to evaluate the fundamental strengths of companies and their prospects for long-term growth. While macroeconomic trends are important, we continue to focus on individual stocks that can outperform in varying market environments.
PAUL The severity and duration of the pandemic, and its impact on corporate credit markets, remain uncertain. However, we are encouraged by ongoing fiscal and monetary support from central banks and world governments. In June 2020, the Fed’s U.S. corporate bond purchasing program helped increase liquidity in the markets and, in turn, stabilized bond spreads. By period-end, the Fed had extended its bond purchase program to December 31, 2020. We believe this should provide investment-grade credit with a tailwind.
We remain constructive on medium-term investment-grade-credit fundamentals, which we believe carry fair valuations. In our view, investment-grade credit has the durability to withstand several quarters of virus-related pressure on earnings and cash flow. We are less optimistic about near-term fundamentals. This is based on weaker preliminary second quarter corporate earnings, which declined by 10.6% in calendar 2020 compared to the prior year. We find spread levels modestly attractive versus underlying longer-term fundamental risk. We are monitoring sector-specific risks and the potential economic impact of a resurgence in COVID-19 infections. Other risks include balance sheet degradation, liquidity metrics [determines a debtor’s ability to pay off current debt obligations without raising additional capital], and the potential for credit-quality downgrades.
Kate and Paul, thanks for your time and for bringing us up to date.
The views expressed in this report are exclusively those of Putnam Management and are subject to change. They are not meant as investment advice.
Please note that the holdings discussed in this report may not have been held by the fund for the entire period. Portfolio composition is subject to review in accordance with the fund’s investment strategy and may vary in the future. Current and future portfolio holdings are subject to risk.
Of special interest
In August 2020, the fund decreased its quarterly distribution rate for class A shares from $0.071 to $0.047. This was due to a decrease in the amount of income earned by the fund as a result of falling interest rates and lower dividend payments made by companies in the portfolio. Similar decreases were made to other share classes of the fund.
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 9 |
Your fund’s performance
This section shows your fund’s performance, price, and distribution information for periods ended July 31, 2020, the end of its most recent fiscal year. In accordance with regulatory requirements for mutual funds, we also include performance information as of the most recent calendar quarter-end and expense information taken from the fund’s current prospectus. Performance should always be considered in light of a fund’s investment strategy. Data represent past performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. More recent returns may be less or more than those shown. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate, and you may have a gain or a loss when you sell your shares. Performance information does not reflect any deduction for taxes a shareholder may owe on fund distributions or on the redemption of fund shares. For the most recent month-end performance, please visit the Individual Investors section at putnam.com or call Putnam at 1-800-225-1581. Class R, R5, R6, and Y shares are not available to all investors. See the Terms and definitions section in this report for definitions of the share classes offered by your fund.
Fund performance Total return for periods ended 7/31/20
| Annual | ||||||||
| average | Annual | Annual | Annual | |||||
| (life of fund) | 10 years | average | 5 years | average | 3 years | average | 1 year | |
| Class A (11/5/37) | ||||||||
| Before sales charge | 8.70% | 153.15% | 9.73% | 51.34% | 8.64% | 33.28% | 10.05% | 12.04% |
| After sales charge | 8.62 | 138.60 | 9.09 | 42.64 | 7.36 | 25.62 | 7.90 | 5.60 |
| Class B (4/27/92) | ||||||||
| Before CDSC | 8.59 | 138.27 | 9.07 | 45.85 | 7.84 | 30.35 | 9.24 | 11.23 |
| After CDSC | 8.59 | 138.27 | 9.07 | 43.85 | 7.54 | 27.35 | 8.39 | 6.23 |
| Class C (7/26/99) | ||||||||
| Before CDSC | 8.60 | 134.77 | 8.91 | 45.82 | 7.84 | 30.32 | 9.23 | 11.20 |
| After CDSC | 8.60 | 134.77 | 8.91 | 45.82 | 7.84 | 30.32 | 9.23 | 10.20 |
| Class M (12/1/94) | ||||||||
| Before sales charge | 7.98 | 140.88 | 9.19 | 47.63 | 8.10 | 31.35 | 9.51 | 11.46 |
| After sales charge | 7.93 | 132.45 | 8.80 | 42.46 | 7.33 | 26.75 | 8.22 | 7.56 |
| Class R (1/21/03) | ||||||||
| Net asset value | 8.43 | 146.91 | 9.46 | 49.54 | 8.38 | 32.29 | 9.78 | 11.76 |
| Class R5 (12/2/13) | ||||||||
| Net asset value | 8.79 | 159.94 | 10.02 | 53.53 | 8.95 | 34.39 | 10.35 | 12.33 |
| Class R6 (12/2/13) | ||||||||
| Net asset value | 8.80 | 161.52 | 10.09 | 54.22 | 9.05 | 34.76 | 10.45 | 12.42 |
| Class Y (3/31/94) | ||||||||
| Net asset value | 8.79 | 159.56 | 10.01 | 53.30 | 8.92 | 34.32 | 10.34 | 12.32 |
Current performance may be lower or higher than the quoted past performance, which cannot guarantee future results. After-sales-charge returns for class A and M shares reflect the deduction of the maximum 5.75% and 3.50% sales charge, respectively, levied at the time of purchase. Class B share returns after contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) reflect the applicable CDSC, which is 5% in the first year, declining over time to 1% in the sixth year, and is eliminated thereafter. Class C share returns after CDSC reflect a 1% CDSC for the first year that is eliminated thereafter. Class R, R5, R6, and Y shares have no initial sales charge or CDSC. Performance for class B, C, M, R, and Y shares before their inception is derived from the historical performance of class A shares, adjusted for the applicable sales charge (or CDSC) and the higher operating expenses for such shares, except for class Y shares, for which 12b-1 fees are not applicable. Performance for class R5 and R6 shares prior to their inception is derived from the historical performance
| 10 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
of class Y shares and has not been adjusted for the lower investor servicing fees applicable to class R5 and R6 shares; had it, returns would have been higher.
For a portion of the periods, the fund had expense limitations, without which returns would have been lower.
Class B share performance reflects conversion to class A shares after eight years.
Class C share performance reflects conversion to class A shares after 10 years.
Comparative index returns For periods ended 7/31/20
| Annual | ||||||||
| average | Annual | Annual | Annual | |||||
| (life of fund) | 10 years | average | 5 years | average | 3 years | average | 1 year | |
| S&P 500 Index | —* | 265.58% | 13.84% | 72.23% | 11.49% | 40.53% | 12.01% | 11.96% |
| Bloomberg Barclays U.S. | ||||||||
| Aggregate Bond Index | —* | 46.16 | 3.87 | 24.43 | 4.47 | 18.07 | 5.69 | 10.12 |
| George Putnam Blended | ||||||||
| Index† | —* | 164.23 | 10.20 | 55.14 | 9.18 | 33.78 | 10.19 | 12.90 |
| Lipper Balanced Funds | ||||||||
| category average‡ | —* | 107.78 | 7.49 | 32.88 | 5.79 | 19.16 | 5.96 | 6.29 |
Index and Lipper results should be compared with fund performance before sales charge, before CDSC, or at net asset value.
* The fund’s benchmarks (S&P 500 Index, Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index and George Putnam Blended Index) were introduced on 12/31/69, 12/31/75, and 12/31/78, respectively. The fund’s Lipper group (Balanced Funds) was introduced on 12/31/59; they all post-date the inception of the fund’s class A shares.
† George Putnam Blended Index is an unmanaged index administered by Putnam Management, 60% of which is the S&P 500 Index and 40% of which is the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.
‡ Over the 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year periods ended 7/31/20, there were 542, 521, 488, and 406 funds, respectively, in this Lipper category.
Past performance does not indicate future results. At the end of the same time period, a $10,000 investment in the fund’s class B and C shares would have been valued at $23,827 and $23,477, respectively, and no contingent deferred sales charges would apply. A $10,000 investment in the fund’s class M shares ($9,650 after sales charge) would have been valued at $23,245. A $10,000 investment in the fund’s class R, R5, R6, and Y shares would have been valued at $24,691, $25,994, $26,152 and $25,956, respectively.
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 11 |
Fund price and distribution information For the 12-month period ended 7/31/20
| Distributions | Class A | Class B | Class C | Class M | Class R | Class R5 | Class R6 | Class Y | ||
| Number | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Income | $0.524107 | $0.368107 | $0.381107 | $0.413107 | $0.474107 | $0.580107 | $0.596107 | $0.576107 | ||
| Capital gains | ||||||||||
| Long-term | ||||||||||
| gains | 0.714000 | 0.714000 | 0.714000 | 0.714000 | 0.714000 | 0.714000 | 0.714000 | 0.714000 | ||
| Short-term | ||||||||||
| gains | 0.095893 | 0.095893 | 0.095893 | 0.095893 | 0.095893 | 0.095893 | 0.095893 | 0.095893 | ||
| Total | $1.334000 | $1.178000 | $1.191000 | $1.223000 | $1.284000 | $1.390000 | $1.406000 | $1.386000 | ||
| Before | After | Net | Net | Before | After | Net | Net | Net | Net | |
| sales | sales | asset | asset | sales | sales | asset | asset | asset | asset | |
| Share value | charge | charge | value | value | charge | charge | value | value | value | value |
| 7/31/19 | $20.63 | $21.89 | $20.38 | $20.46 | $20.32 | $21.06 | $20.56 | $20.82 | $20.73 | $20.72 |
| 7/31/20 | 21.68 | 23.00 | 21.41 | 21.48 | 21.34 | 22.11 | 21.60 | 21.89 | 21.79 | 21.78 |
| Current rate | Before | After | Net | Net | Before | After | Net | Net | Net | Net |
| (end of | sales | sales | asset | asset | sales | sales | asset | asset | asset | asset |
| period) | charge | charge | value | value | charge | charge | value | value | value | value |
| Current | ||||||||||
| dividend rate1 | 1.31% | 1.23% | 0.64% | 0.67% | 0.90% | 0.87% | 1.09% | 1.52% | 1.62% | 1.52% |
| Current | ||||||||||
| 30-day | ||||||||||
| SEC yield2 | N/A | 0.55 | –0.14 | –0.14 | N/A | 0.10 | 0.34 | 0.82 | 0.92 | 0.83 |
The classification of distributions, if any, is an estimate. Before-sales-charge share value and current dividend rate for class A and M shares, if applicable, do not take into account any sales charge levied at the time of purchase. After-sales-charge share value, current dividend rate, and current 30-day SEC yield, if applicable, are calculated assuming that the maximum sales charge (5.75% for class A shares and 3.50% for class M shares) was levied at the time of purchase. Final distribution information will appear on your year-end tax forms.
1 Most recent distribution, including any return of capital and excluding capital gains, annualized and divided by share price before or after sales charge at period-end.
2 Based only on investment income and calculated using the maximum offering price for each share class, in accordance with SEC guidelines.
| 12 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
Fund performance as of most recent calendar quarter Total return for periods ended 6/30/20
| Annual | ||||||||
| average | Annual | Annual | Annual | |||||
| (life of fund) | 10 years | average | 5 years | average | 3 years | average | 1 year | |
| Class A (11/5/37) | ||||||||
| Before sales charge | 8.65% | 154.60% | 9.80% | 47.28% | 8.05% | 30.09% | 9.17% | 9.07% |
| After sales charge | 8.58 | 139.96 | 9.15 | 38.81 | 6.78 | 22.61 | 7.03 | 2.80 |
| Class B (4/27/92) | ||||||||
| Before CDSC | 8.55 | 139.58 | 9.13 | 41.77 | 7.23 | 27.11 | 8.32 | 8.19 |
| After CDSC | 8.55 | 139.58 | 9.13 | 39.77 | 6.93 | 24.11 | 7.47 | 3.19 |
| Class C (7/26/99) | ||||||||
| Before CDSC | 8.55 | 135.98 | 8.97 | 41.76 | 7.23 | 27.17 | 8.34 | 8.23 |
| After CDSC | 8.55 | 135.98 | 8.97 | 41.76 | 7.23 | 27.17 | 8.34 | 7.23 |
| Class M (12/1/94) | ||||||||
| Before sales charge | 7.94 | 142.02 | 9.24 | 43.64 | 7.51 | 28.14 | 8.62 | 8.51 |
| After sales charge | 7.89 | 133.55 | 8.85 | 38.62 | 6.75 | 23.65 | 7.33 | 4.72 |
| Class R (1/21/03) | ||||||||
| Net asset value | 8.38 | 148.09 | 9.51 | 45.42 | 7.78 | 29.12 | 8.89 | 8.79 |
| Class R5 (12/2/13) | ||||||||
| Net asset value | 8.74 | 161.24 | 10.08 | 49.31 | 8.35 | 31.16 | 9.46 | 9.28 |
| Class R6 (12/2/13) | ||||||||
| Net asset value | 8.75 | 162.78 | 10.14 | 49.87 | 8.43 | 31.42 | 9.54 | 9.41 |
| Class Y (3/31/94) | ||||||||
| Net asset value | 8.74 | 160.93 | 10.07 | 49.13 | 8.32 | 31.06 | 9.44 | 9.36 |
See the discussion following the fund performance table on page 10 for information about the calculation of fund performance.
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 13 |
Your fund’s expenses
As a mutual fund investor, you pay ongoing expenses, such as management fees, distribution fees (12b-1 fees), and other expenses. Using the following information, you can estimate how these expenses affect your investment and compare them with the expenses of other funds. You may also pay one-time transaction expenses, including sales charges (loads) and redemption fees, which are not shown in this section and would have resulted in higher total expenses. For more information, see your fund’s prospectus or talk to your financial representative.
Expense ratios
| Class A | Class B | Class C | Class M | Class R | Class R5 | Class R6 | Class Y | |
| Total annual operating | ||||||||
| expenses for the fiscal year | ||||||||
| ended 7/31/19 | 0.99% | 1.74% | 1.74% | 1.49% | 1.24% | 0.73% | 0.63% | 0.74% |
| Annualized expense ratio | ||||||||
| for the six-month period | ||||||||
| ended 7/31/20* | 0.97% | 1.72% | 1.72% | 1.47% | 1.22% | 0.72% | 0.62% | 0.72% |
Fiscal year expense information in this table is taken from the most recent prospectus, is subject to change, and may differ from that shown for the annualized expense ratio and in the financial highlights of this report.
Expenses are shown as a percentage of average net assets.
* Expense ratios for each class are for the fund’s most recent fiscal half year. As a result of this, ratios may differ from expense ratios based on one-year data in the financial highlights.
Expenses per $1,000
The following table shows the expenses you would have paid on a $1,000 investment in each class of the fund from 2/1/20 to 7/31/20. It also shows how much a $1,000 investment would be worth at the close of the period, assuming actual returns and expenses.
| Class A | Class B | Class C | Class M | Class R | Class R5 | Class R6 | Class Y | |
| Expenses paid per $1,000*† | $4.93 | $8.74 | $8.73 | $7.47 | $6.20 | $3.67 | $3.16 | $3.67 |
| Ending value (after expenses) | $1,046.00 | $1,042.60 | $1,042.30 | $1,043.80 | $1,045.30 | $1,047.30 | $1,048.60 | $1,047.60 |
* Expenses for each share class are calculated using the fund’s annualized expense ratio for each class, which represents the ongoing expenses as a percentage of average net assets for the six months ended 7/31/20. The expense ratio may differ for each share class.
† Expenses are calculated by multiplying the expense ratio by the average account value for the period; then multiplying the result by the number of days in the period; and then dividing that result by the number of days in the year.
| 14 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
Estimate the expenses you paid
To estimate the ongoing expenses you paid for the six months ended 7/31/20, use the following calculation method. To find the value of your investment on 2/1/20, call Putnam at 1-800-225-1581.
Compare expenses using the SEC’s method
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has established guidelines to help investors assess fund expenses. Per these guidelines, the following table shows your fund’s expenses based on a $1,000 investment, assuming a hypothetical 5% annualized return. You can use this information to compare the ongoing expenses (but not transaction expenses or total costs) of investing in the fund with those of other funds. All mutual fund shareholder reports will provide this information to help you make this comparison. Please note that you cannot use this information to estimate your actual ending account balance and expenses paid during the period.
| Class A | Class B | Class C | Class M | Class R | Class R5 | Class R6 | Class Y | |
| Expenses paid per $1,000*† | $4.87 | $8.62 | $8.62 | $7.37 | $6.12 | $3.62 | $3.12 | $3.62 |
| Ending value (after expenses) | $1,020.04 | $1,016.31 | $1,016.31 | $1,017.55 | $1,018.80 | $1,021.28 | $1,021.78 | $1,021.28 |
* Expenses for each share class are calculated using the fund’s annualized expense ratio for each class, which represents the ongoing expenses as a percentage of average net assets for the six months ended 7/31/20. The expense ratio may differ for each share class.
† Expenses are calculated by multiplying the expense ratio by the average account value for the six-month period; then multiplying the result by the number of days in the six-month period; and then dividing that result by the number of days in the year.
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 15 |
Consider these risks before investing
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; 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. Growth stocks may be more susceptible to earnings disappointments, and value stocks may fail to rebound. 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 generally greater for longer-term bonds, and credit risk is generally greater for below-investment-grade bonds. Risks associated with derivatives include increased investment exposure (which may be considered leverage) and, in the case of over-the-counter instruments, the potential inability to terminate or sell derivatives positions and the potential failure of the other party to the instrument to meet its obligations. Our investment techniques, analyses, and judgments may not produce the outcome we intend. The investments we select for the fund may not perform as well as other securities that we do not select for the fund. We, or the fund’s other service providers, may experience disruptions or operating errors that could have a negative effect on the fund. You can lose money by investing in the fund.
| 16 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
Terms and definitions
Important terms
Total return shows how the value of the fund’s shares changed over time, assuming you held the shares through the entire period and reinvested all distributions in the fund.
Before sales charge, or net asset value, is the price, or value, of one share of a mutual fund, without a sales charge. Before-sales-charge figures fluctuate with market conditions, and are calculated by dividing the net assets of each class of shares by the number of outstanding shares in the class.
After sales charge is the price of a mutual fund share plus the maximum sales charge levied at the time of purchase. After-sales-charge performance figures shown here assume the 5.75% maximum sales charge for class A shares and 3.50% for class M shares.
Contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) is generally a charge applied at the time of the redemption of class B or C shares and assumes redemption at the end of the period. Your fund’s class B CDSC declines over time from a 5% maximum during the first year to 1% during the sixth year. After the sixth year, the CDSC no longer applies. The CDSC for class C shares is 1% for one year after purchase.
Current rate is the annual rate of return earned from dividends or interest of an investment. Current rate is expressed as a percentage of the price of a security, fund share, or principal investment.
Share classes
Class A shares are generally subject to an initial sales charge and no CDSC (except on certain redemptions of shares bought without an initial sales charge).
Class B shares are closed to new investments and are only available by exchange from another Putnam fund or through dividend and/or capital gains reinvestment. They are not subject to an initial sales charge and may be subject to a CDSC.
Class C shares are not subject to an initial sales charge and are subject to a CDSC only if the shares are redeemed during the first year.
Class M shares are closed to new investments except through certain eligible employer-sponsored retirement plans and certain eligible plan record-keepers. They have a lower initial sales charge and a higher 12b-1 fee than class A shares and no CDSC.
Class R shares are not subject to an initial sales charge or CDSC and are only available to employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Class R5 shares are not subject to an initial sales charge or CDSC and carry no 12b-1 fee. They are only available to employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Class R6 shares are not subject to an initial sales charge or CDSC and carry no 12b-1 fee. They are generally only available to employer-sponsored retirement plans, corporate and institutional clients, and clients in other approved programs.
Class Y shares are not subject to an initial sales charge or CDSC and carry no 12b-1 fee. They are generally only available to corporate and institutional clients and clients in other approved programs.
Comparative indexes
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is an unmanaged index of U.S. investment-grade fixed-income securities.
ICE BofA (Intercontinental Exchange Bank of America) U.S. 3-Month Treasury Bill Index is an unmanaged index that seeks to measure the performance of U.S. Treasury bills available in the marketplace.
George Putnam Blended Index is an unmanaged index administered by Putnam Management, LLC, 60% of which is the S&P 500 Index and 40% of which is the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 17 |
S&P 500 Index is an unmanaged index of common stock performance.
Indexes assume reinvestment of all distributions and do not account for fees. Securities and performance of a fund and an index will differ. You cannot invest directly in an index.
ICE Data Indices, LLC (“ICE BofA”), used with permission. ICE BofA permits use of the ICE BofA indices and related data on an “as is” basis; makes no warranties regarding same; does not guarantee the suitability, quality, accuracy, timeliness, and/or completeness of the ICE BofA indices or any data included in, related to, or derived therefrom; assumes no liability in connection with the use of the foregoing; and does not sponsor, endorse, or recommend Putnam Investments, or any of its products or services.
Lipper, a Refinitiv company, is a third-party industry-ranking entity that ranks mutual funds. Its rankings do not reflect sales charges. Lipper rankings are based on total return at net asset value relative to other funds that have similar current investment styles or objectives as determined by Lipper. Lipper may change a fund’s category assignment at its discretion. Lipper category averages reflect performance trends for funds within a category.
Other information for shareholders
Proxy voting
Putnam is committed to managing our mutual funds in the best interests of our shareholders. The Putnam funds’ proxy voting guidelines and procedures, as well as information regarding how your fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the 12-month period ended June 30, 2020, are available in the Individual Investors section of putnam.com and on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) website, www.sec.gov. If you have questions about finding forms on the SEC’s website, you may call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. You may also obtain the Putnam funds’ proxy voting guidelines and procedures at no charge by calling Putnam’s Shareholder Services at 1-800-225-1581.
Fund portfolio holdings
The fund will file a complete schedule of its portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-PORT within 60 days of the end of such fiscal quarter. Shareholders may obtain the fund’s Form N-PORT on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
Prior to its use of Form N-PORT, the fund filed its complete schedule of its portfolio holdings with the SEC on Form N-Q, which is available online at www.sec.gov.
Trustee and employee fund ownership
Putnam employees and members of the Board of Trustees place their faith, confidence, and, most importantly, investment dollars in Putnam mutual funds. As of July 31, 2020, Putnam employees had approximately $483,000,000 and the Trustees had approximately $75,000,000 invested in Putnam mutual funds. These amounts include investments by the Trustees’ and employees’ immediate family members as well as investments through retirement and deferred compensation plans.
| 18 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
Liquidity risk management program
Putnam, as the administrator of the fund’s liquidity risk management program (appointed by the Board of Trustees), presented the first annual report on the program to the Trustees in April 2020. The report covered the structure of the program, including the program documents and related policies and procedures adopted to comply with Rule 22e-4 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, and reviewed the operation of the program from December 2018 through March 2020. The report included a description of the annual liquidity assessment of the fund that Putnam performed in November 2019. The report noted that there were no material compliance exceptions identified under Rule 22e-4 during the period. The report included a review of the governance of the program and the methodology for classification of the fund’s investments. The report also included a discussion of liquidity monitoring during the period, including during the market liquidity challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact those challenges had on the liquidity of the fund’s investments. Putnam concluded that the program has been operating effectively and adequately to ensure compliance with Rule 22e-4.
Important notice regarding Putnam’s privacy policy
In order to conduct business with our shareholders, we must obtain certain personal information such as account holders’ names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth. Using this information, we are able to maintain accurate records of accounts and transactions.
It is our policy to protect the confidentiality of our shareholder information, whether or not a shareholder currently owns shares of our funds. In particular, it is our policy not to sell information about you or your accounts to outside marketing firms. We have safeguards in place designed to prevent unauthorized access to our computer systems and procedures to protect personal information from unauthorized use.
Under certain circumstances, we must share account information with outside vendors who provide services to us, such as mailings and proxy solicitations. In these cases, the service providers enter into confidentiality agreements with us, and we provide only the information necessary to process transactions and perform other services related to your account. Finally, it is our policy to share account information with your financial representative, if you’ve listed one on your Putnam account.
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 19 |
Trustee approval of management contract
General conclusions
The Board of Trustees of The Putnam Funds oversees the management of each fund and, as required by law, determines annually whether to approve the continuance of your fund’s management contract with Putnam Investment Management, LLC (“Putnam Management”) and the sub-management contract with respect to your fund between Putnam Management and its affiliate, Putnam Investments Limited (“PIL”). The Board, with the assistance of its Contract Committee, requests and evaluates all information it deems reasonably necessary under the circumstances in connection with its annual contract review. The Contract Committee consists solely of Trustees who are not “interested persons” (as this term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”)) of The Putnam Funds (“Independent Trustees”).
At the outset of the review process, members of the Board’s independent staff and independent legal counsel considered any possible changes to the annual contract review materials furnished to the Contract Committee during the course of the previous year’s review and, as applicable, identified those changes to Putnam Management. Following these discussions and in consultation with the Contract Committee, the Independent Trustees’ independent legal counsel requested that Putnam Management and its affiliates furnish specified information, together with any additional information that Putnam Management considered relevant, to the Contract Committee. Over the course of several months ending in June 2020, the Contract Committee met on a number of occasions with representatives of Putnam Management, and separately in executive session, to consider the information that Putnam Management provided. Throughout this process, the Contract Committee was assisted by the members of the Board’s independent staff and by independent legal counsel for The Putnam Funds and the Independent Trustees.
In May 2020, the Contract Committee met in executive session to discuss and consider its recommendations with respect to the continuance of the contracts. At the Trustees’ June 2020 meeting, the Contract Committee met in executive session with the other Independent Trustees to review a summary of the key financial, performance and other data that the Contract Committee considered in the course of its review. The Contract Committee then presented its written report, which summarized the key factors that the Committee had considered and set forth its recommendations. The Contract Committee recommended, and the Independent Trustees approved, the continuance of your fund’s management and sub-management contracts, effective July 1, 2020. (Because PIL is an affiliate of Putnam Management and Putnam Management remains fully responsible for all services provided by PIL, the Trustees have not attempted to evaluate PIL as a separate entity, and all subsequent references to Putnam Management below should be deemed to include reference to PIL as necessary or appropriate in the context.)
The Independent Trustees’ approval was based on the following conclusions:
• That the fee schedule in effect for your fund represented reasonable compensation in light of the nature and quality of the services being provided to the fund, the fees paid by competitive funds, the costs incurred by Putnam Management in providing services to the fund, and the application of certain reductions and waivers noted below; and
• That the fee schedule in effect for your fund represented an appropriate sharing between fund shareholders and Putnam Management of such economies of scale as may exist in the management of the fund at current asset levels.
These conclusions were based on a comprehensive consideration of all information provided to the Trustees and were not the result of any single factor. Some of the factors that figured particularly in the Trustees’ deliberations and how the Trustees considered these factors are described below, although individual Trustees may have evaluated the information presented differently, giving different weights to various factors. It is also important to recognize that the management arrangements for your fund and the other Putnam funds are the result of many years of review and discussion between the Independent Trustees and Putnam Management, that some aspects of the arrangements may receive greater scrutiny in some years than others, and that the Trustees’ conclusions may be based, in part, on their consideration of fee arrangements in previous years. For example, with certain exceptions primarily involving newly launched or repositioned funds, the current fee arrangements under the vast majority of the funds’ management contracts were first implemented at the beginning of 2010 following
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extensive review by the Contract Committee and discussions with representatives of Putnam Management, as well as approval by shareholders.
Management fee schedules and total expenses
The Trustees reviewed the management fee schedules in effect for all Putnam funds, including fee levels and breakpoints. The Trustees also reviewed the total expenses of each Putnam fund, recognizing that in most cases management fees represented the major, but not the sole, determinant of total costs to fund shareholders. (Two funds have implemented so-called “all-in” management fees covering substantially all routine fund operating costs.)
In reviewing fees and expenses, the Trustees generally focus their attention on material changes in circumstances — for example, changes in assets under management, changes in a fund’s investment strategy, changes in Putnam Management’s operating costs or profitability, or changes in competitive practices in the mutual fund industry — that suggest that consideration of fee changes might be warranted. The Trustees concluded that the circumstances did not indicate that changes to the management fee schedule for your fund would be appropriate at this time.
Under its management contract, your fund has the benefit of breakpoints in its management fee schedule that provide shareholders with economies of scale in the form of reduced fee levels as assets under management in the Putnam family of funds increase. The Trustees concluded that the fee schedule in effect for your fund represented an appropriate sharing of economies of scale between fund shareholders and Putnam Management.
As in the past, the Trustees also focused on the competitiveness of each fund’s total expense ratio. In order to support the effort to have fund expenses meet competitive standards, the Trustees and Putnam Management and the funds’ investor servicing agent, Putnam Investor Services, Inc. (“PSERV”), have implemented expense limitations that were in effect during your fund’s fiscal year ending in 2019. These expense limitations were: (i) a contractual expense limitation applicable to specified open-end funds, including your fund, of 25 basis points on investor servicing fees and expenses and (ii) a contractual expense limitation applicable to specified open-end funds, including your fund, of 20 basis points on so-called “other expenses” (i.e., all expenses exclusive of management fees, distribution fees, investor servicing fees, investment-related expenses, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses). These expense limitations attempt to maintain competitive expense levels for the funds. Most funds, including your fund, had sufficiently low expenses that these expense limitations were not operative during their fiscal years ending in 2019. Putnam Management and PSERV have agreed to maintain these expense limitations until at least November 30, 2021. The support of Putnam Management and PSERV for these expense limitation arrangements was an important factor in the Trustees’ decision to approve the continuance of your fund’s management and sub-management contracts.
The Trustees reviewed comparative fee and expense information for a custom group of competitive funds selected by Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (“Broadridge”). This comparative information included your fund’s percentile ranking for effective management fees and total expenses (excluding any applicable 12b-1 fees), which provides a general indication of your fund’s relative standing. In the custom peer group, your fund ranked in the first quintile in effective management fees (determined for your fund and the other funds in the custom peer group based on fund asset size and the applicable contractual management fee schedule) and in the second quintile in total expenses (excluding any applicable 12b-1 fees) as of December 31, 2019. The first quintile represents the least expensive funds and the fifth quintile the most expensive funds. The fee and expense data reported by Broadridge as of December 31, 2019 reflected the most recent fiscal year-end data available in Broadridge’s database at that time.
In connection with their review of fund management fees and total expenses, the Trustees also reviewed the costs of the services provided and the profits realized by Putnam Management and its affiliates from their contractual relationships with the funds. This information included trends in revenues, expenses and profitability of Putnam Management and its affiliates relating to the investment management, investor servicing and distribution services provided to the funds. In this regard, the Trustees also reviewed an analysis of the revenues, expenses and profitability of Putnam Management and its affiliates, allocated on a fund-by-fund basis, with respect to the funds’ management, distribution, and investor servicing contracts. For each fund, the analysis presented information about revenues, expenses and profitability for each of the agreements
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 21 |
separately and for the agreements taken together on a combined basis. The Trustees concluded that, at current asset levels, the fee schedules in place represented reasonable compensation for the services being provided and represented an appropriate sharing between fund shareholders and Putnam Management of such economies of scale as may exist in the management of the Putnam funds at that time.
The information examined by the Trustees in connection with their annual contract review for the Putnam funds included information regarding services provided and fees charged by Putnam Management and its affiliates to other clients, including defined benefit pension and profit-sharing plans, sub-advised mutual funds, private funds sponsored by affiliates of Putnam Management, and model-only separately managed accounts. This information included, in cases where a product’s investment strategy corresponds with a fund’s strategy, comparisons of those fees with fees charged to the Putnam funds, as well as an assessment of the differences in the services provided to these clients as compared to the services provided to the Putnam funds. The Trustees observed that the differences in fee rates between these clients and the Putnam funds are by no means uniform when examined by individual asset sectors, suggesting that differences in the pricing of investment management services to these types of clients may reflect, among other things, historical competitive forces operating in separate marketplaces. The Trustees considered the fact that in many cases fee rates across different asset classes are higher on average for mutual funds than for other clients, and the Trustees also considered the differences between the services that Putnam Management provides to the Putnam funds and those that it provides to its other clients. The Trustees did not rely on these comparisons to any significant extent in concluding that the management fees paid by your fund are reasonable.
Investment performance
The quality of the investment process provided by Putnam Management represented a major factor in the Trustees’ evaluation of the quality of services provided by Putnam Management under your fund’s management contract. The Trustees were assisted in their review of Putnam Management’s investment process and performance by the work of the investment oversight committees of the Trustees and the full Board of Trustees, which meet on a regular basis with individual portfolio managers and with senior management of Putnam Management’s Investment Division throughout the year. The Trustees concluded that Putnam Management generally provides a high-quality investment process — based on the experience and skills of the individuals assigned to the management of fund portfolios, the resources made available to them, and in general Putnam Management’s ability to attract and retain high-quality personnel — but also recognized that this does not guarantee favorable investment results for every fund in every time period.
The Trustees considered that, in the aggregate, 2019 was a strong year of performance for The Putnam Funds, with the Putnam funds, on an asset-weighted basis, ranking in the top quartile of their Lipper Inc. (“Lipper”) peers for the year ended December 31, 2019. For those funds that are evaluated based on their total returns versus selected investment benchmarks, the Trustees observed that the funds, on an asset-weighted-basis, delivered a gross return that was 2.3% ahead of their benchmarks in 2019. In addition to the performance of the individual Putnam funds, the Trustees considered, as they had in prior years, the performance of The Putnam Fund complex versus competitor fund complexes. In this regard, the Trustees observed that The Putnam Funds’ relative performance, as reported in the Barron’s/Lipper Fund Families survey, was exceptionally strong over both the short and long term, with The Putnam Funds ranking as the 8th best performing mutual fund complex out of 55 complexes for the one-year period ended December 31, 2019 and the 8th best performing mutual fund complex out of 45 complexes for the ten-year period, with 2019 marking the third consecutive year that The Putnam Funds have ranked in the top ten fund complexes for the ten-year period. The Trustees also noted that The Putnam Funds ranked 26th out of 52 complexes for the five-year period ended December 31, 2019. In addition to the Barron’s/Lipper Fund Families Survey, the Trustees also considered the funds’ ratings assigned by Morningstar Inc., noting that 22 of the funds were four- or five-star rated at the end of 2019 and that this included five funds that had achieved a five-star rating. They also noted, however, the disappointing investment performance of some funds for periods ended December 31, 2019 and considered information provided by Putnam Management regarding the factors contributing to the underperformance and actions being taken to improve the performance of these particular funds. The Trustees indicated their intention to continue to monitor closely the performance of those funds, including the effectiveness of any efforts Putnam Management
| 22 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
has undertaken to address underperformance and whether additional actions to address areas of underperformance are warranted.
For purposes of the Trustees’ evaluation of the Putnam funds’ investment performance, the Trustees generally focus on a competitive industry ranking of each fund’s total net return over a one-year, three-year and five-year period. For a number of Putnam funds with relatively unique investment mandates for which Putnam Management informed the Trustees that meaningful competitive performance rankings are not considered to be available, the Trustees evaluated performance based on their total gross and net returns and comparisons of those returns with the returns of selected investment benchmarks. In the case of your fund, the Trustees considered that its class A share cumulative total return performance at net asset value was in the following quartiles of its Lipper peer group (Lipper Balanced Funds) for the one-year, three-year and five-year periods ended December 31, 2019 (the first quartile representing the best-performing funds and the fourth quartile the worst-performing funds):
| One-year period | 1st |
| Three-year period | 1st |
| Five-year period | 1st |
For the one-year, three-year and five-year periods ended December 31, 2019, your fund’s performance was in the top decile of its Lipper peer group. Over the one-year, three-year and five-year periods ended December 31, 2019, there were 554, 527 and 492 funds, respectively, in your fund’s Lipper peer group. (When considering performance information, shareholders should be mindful that past performance is not a guarantee of future results.)
The Trustees considered Putnam Management’s continued efforts to support fund performance through initiatives including structuring compensation for portfolio managers and research analysts to enhance accountability for fund performance, emphasizing accountability in the portfolio management process, and affirming its commitment to a fundamental-driven approach to investing. The Trustees noted further that Putnam Management had made selective hires and internal promotions in 2019 to strengthen its investment team.
Brokerage and soft-dollar allocations; investor servicing
The Trustees considered various potential benefits that Putnam Management may receive in connection with the services it provides under the management contract with your fund. These include benefits related to brokerage allocation and the use of soft dollars, whereby a portion of the commissions paid by a fund for brokerage may be used to acquire research services that are expected to be useful to Putnam Management in managing the assets of the fund and of other clients. Subject to policies established by the Trustees, soft dollars generated by these means are used predominantly to acquire brokerage and research services (including third-party research and market data) that enhance Putnam Management’s investment capabilities and supplement Putnam Management’s internal research efforts. The Trustees noted that, in 2019, they had approved the elimination of a fund expense recapture program, whereby a portion of available soft dollars were used to pay fund expenses, and that the amount of commissions allocated to that program were instead used to increase, by a corresponding amount, the budget allocated for execution services. The Trustees indicated their continued intent to monitor regulatory and industry developments in this area with the assistance of their Brokerage Committee. In addition, with the assistance of their Brokerage Committee, the Trustees indicated their continued intent to monitor the allocation of the Putnam funds’ brokerage in order to ensure that the principle of seeking best price and execution remains paramount in the portfolio trading process.
Putnam Management may also receive benefits from payments that the funds make to Putnam Management’s affiliates for investor or distribution services. In conjunction with the annual review of your fund’s management and sub-management contracts, the Trustees reviewed your fund’s investor servicing agreement with PSERV and its distributor’s contracts and distribution plans with Putnam Retail Management Limited Partnership (“PRM”), both of which are affiliates of Putnam Management. The Trustees concluded that the fees payable by the funds to PSERV and PRM, as applicable, for such services are fair and reasonable in relation to the nature and quality of such services, the fees paid by competitive funds, and the costs incurred by PSERV and PRM, as applicable, in providing such services. Furthermore, the Trustees were of the view that the services provided were required for the operation of the funds, and that they were of a quality at least equal to those provided by other providers.
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 23 |
Audited financial statements
These sections of the report, as well as the accompanying Notes, preceded by the Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, constitute the fund’s audited financial statements.
The fund’s portfolio lists all the fund’s investments and their values as of the last day of the reporting period. Holdings are organized by asset type and industry sector, country, or state to show areas of concentration and diversification.
Statement of assets and liabilities shows how the fund’s net assets and share price are determined. All investment and non-investment assets are added together. Any unpaid expenses and other liabilities are subtracted from this total. The result is divided by the number of shares to determine the net asset value per share, which is calculated separately for each class of shares. (For funds with preferred shares, the amount subtracted from total assets includes the liquidation preference of preferred shares.)
Statement of operations shows the fund’s net investment gain or loss. This is done by first adding up all the fund’s earnings — from dividends and interest income — and subtracting its operating expenses to determine net investment income (or loss). Then, any net gain or loss the fund realized on the sales of its holdings — as well as any unrealized gains or losses over the period — is added to or subtracted from the net investment result to determine the fund’s net gain or loss for the fiscal year.
Statement of changes in net assets shows how the fund’s net assets were affected by the fund’s net investment gain or loss, by distributions to shareholders, and by changes in the number of the fund’s shares. It lists distributions and their sources (net investment income or realized capital gains) over the current reporting period and the most recent fiscal year-end. The distributions listed here may not match the sources listed in the Statement of operations because the distributions are determined on a tax basis and may be paid in a different period from the one in which they were earned.
Financial highlights provide an overview of the fund’s investment results, per-share distributions, expense ratios, net investment income ratios, and portfolio turnover in one summary table, reflecting the five most recent reporting periods. In a semiannual report, the highlights table also includes the current reporting period.
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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Trustees and Shareholders of
George Putnam Balanced Fund:
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities, including the fund’s portfolio, of George Putnam Balanced Fund (the “Fund”) as of July 31, 2020, the related statement of operations for the year ended July 31, 2020, the statement of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period ended July 31, 2020, including the related notes, and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period ended July 31, 2020 (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Fund as of July 31, 2020, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the two years in the period ended July 31, 2020 and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period ended July 31, 2020 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Fund’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Fund in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits of these financial statements in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of July 31, 2020 by correspondence with the custodian, transfer agent and brokers; when replies were not received from brokers, we performed other auditing procedures. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Boston, Massachusetts
September 10, 2020
We have served as the auditor of one or more investment companies in the Putnam Investments family of mutual funds since at least 1957. We have not been able to determine the specific year we began serving as auditor.
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 25 |
The fund’s portfolio 7/31/20
| COMMON STOCKS (59.8%)* | Shares | Value |
| Automotive (0.2%) | ||
| United Rentals, Inc. † | 23,614 | $3,668,907 |
| 3,668,907 | ||
| Basic materials (1.8%) | ||
| Albemarle Corp. S | 10,448 | 861,542 |
| Anglo American PLC (United Kingdom) | 122,356 | 3,019,491 |
| Dow, Inc. | 51,581 | 2,117,916 |
| DuPont de Nemours, Inc. | 23,526 | 1,258,170 |
| Eastman Chemical Co. | 12,398 | 925,263 |
| Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc. | 72,306 | 5,531,409 |
| Freeport-McMoRan, Inc. (Indonesia) | 274,198 | 3,542,638 |
| Linde PLC | 2,995 | 734,104 |
| Newmont Corp. | 54,732 | 3,787,454 |
| Packaging Corp. of America | 12,100 | 1,163,052 |
| Sherwin-Williams Co. (The) | 7,474 | 4,842,554 |
| Summit Materials, Inc. Class A † | 26,509 | 390,212 |
| 28,173,805 | ||
| Building materials (0.2%) | ||
| Carrier Global Corp. | 141,693 | 3,859,717 |
| 3,859,717 | ||
| Capital goods (2.8%) | ||
| Avery Dennison Corp. | 11,321 | 1,283,122 |
| Ball Corp. | 24,556 | 1,808,058 |
| Boeing Co. (The) | 6,015 | 950,370 |
| Deere & Co. | 14,136 | 2,492,318 |
| Eaton Corp. PLC | 83,269 | 7,754,842 |
| General Dynamics Corp. | 17,980 | 2,638,385 |
| Honeywell International, Inc. | 27,051 | 4,040,608 |
| Johnson Controls International PLC | 115,350 | 4,438,668 |
| Lockheed Martin Corp. | 2,930 | 1,110,382 |
| Northrop Grumman Corp. | 13,948 | 4,533,239 |
| Otis Worldwide Corp. | 65,902 | 4,134,691 |
| Parker Hannifin Corp. | 9,297 | 1,663,419 |
| Raytheon Technologies Corp. | 99,033 | 5,613,190 |
| 42,461,292 | ||
| Commercial and consumer services (3.0%) | ||
| Aramark | 55,113 | 1,163,987 |
| Booking Holdings, Inc. † | 3,382 | 5,621,324 |
| CoStar Group, Inc. † | 5,127 | 4,356,720 |
| Ecolab, Inc. | 6,227 | 1,164,947 |
| Mastercard, Inc. Class A | 41,124 | 12,687,988 |
| PayPal Holdings, Inc. † | 84,826 | 16,631,834 |
| WEX, Inc. † | 34,056 | 5,393,449 |
| 47,020,249 | ||
| Communication services (1.3%) | ||
| Charter Communications, Inc. Class A † | 19,662 | 11,403,960 |
| T-Mobile US, Inc. † | 73,593 | 7,902,416 |
| 19,306,376 |
| 26 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
| COMMON STOCKS (59.8%)* cont. | Shares | Value |
| Computers (2.5%) | ||
| Apple, Inc. | 90,003 | $38,254,875 |
| 38,254,875 | ||
| Conglomerates (0.7%) | ||
| 3M Co. | 17,855 | 2,686,642 |
| Danaher Corp. | 34,270 | 6,984,226 |
| General Electric Co. | 271,135 | 1,645,789 |
| 11,316,657 | ||
| Consumer staples (4.0%) | ||
| Altria Group, Inc. | 121,864 | 5,014,704 |
| Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. † | 3,641 | 4,205,938 |
| Coca-Cola Co. (The) | 109,447 | 5,170,276 |
| ConAgra Foods, Inc. | 95,772 | 3,586,661 |
| Costco Wholesale Corp. | 16,224 | 5,281,399 |
| McCormick & Co., Inc. (non-voting shares) | 22,683 | 4,420,917 |
| PepsiCo, Inc. | 102,789 | 14,149,934 |
| Procter & Gamble Co. (The) | 155,503 | 20,389,553 |
| 62,219,382 | ||
| Electronics (3.4%) | ||
| Cree, Inc. † S | 119,179 | 8,213,817 |
| Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. | 29,162 | 7,728,222 |
| NVIDIA Corp. | 15,056 | 6,392,627 |
| NXP Semiconductors NV | 131,116 | 15,410,063 |
| Roper Technologies, Inc. | 9,243 | 3,997,135 |
| Texas Instruments, Inc. | 88,859 | 11,333,965 |
| 53,075,829 | ||
| Energy (1.2%) | ||
| BP PLC (United Kingdom) | 1,139,946 | 4,132,515 |
| Cairn Energy PLC (United Kingdom) † | 848,921 | 1,328,303 |
| Cenovus Energy, Inc. (Canada) | 1,227,550 | 5,462,091 |
| Phillips 66 | 34,038 | 2,111,037 |
| TOTAL SA (France) | 100,350 | 3,725,834 |
| Williams Cos., Inc. (The) | 84,804 | 1,622,301 |
| 18,382,081 | ||
| Entertainment (0.3%) | ||
| Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. † | 88,183 | 4,127,846 |
| 4,127,846 | ||
| Financials (7.2%) | ||
| AIA Group, Ltd. (Hong Kong) | 240,800 | 2,157,913 |
| American International Group, Inc. | 215,581 | 6,928,773 |
| Assured Guaranty, Ltd. | 231,364 | 5,050,676 |
| AXA SA (France) | 252,119 | 5,045,901 |
| Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. Class B † | 33,997 | 6,655,933 |
| Boston Properties, Inc. R | 22,605 | 2,013,879 |
| Charles Schwab Corp. (The) S | 156,391 | 5,184,362 |
| Citigroup, Inc. | 257,080 | 12,856,571 |
| E*Trade Financial Corp. | 98,865 | 5,019,376 |
| Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. R | 258,491 | 9,359,959 |
| Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) | 54,041 | 10,697,956 |
| Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. | 46,618 | 4,511,690 |
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 27 |
| COMMON STOCKS (59.8%)* cont. | Shares | Value |
| Financials cont. | ||
| KKR & Co., Inc. Class A | 222,983 | $7,886,909 |
| Outfront Media, Inc. R | 251,743 | 3,627,617 |
| Prudential PLC (United Kingdom) | 428,031 | 6,255,720 |
| Quilter PLC (United Kingdom) | 1,383,999 | 2,663,091 |
| Visa, Inc. Class A | 67,961 | 12,939,774 |
| Yellow Cake PLC 144A (United Kingdom) † | 817,389 | 2,345,673 |
| 111,201,773 | ||
| Gaming and lottery (0.1%) | ||
| Penn National Gaming, Inc. † S | 22,906 | 775,368 |
| 775,368 | ||
| Health care (8.1%) | ||
| Abbott Laboratories | 59,981 | 6,036,488 |
| AbbVie, Inc. | 141,106 | 13,392,370 |
| Amgen, Inc. | 24,865 | 6,083,720 |
| Ascendis Pharma A/S ADR (Denmark) † | 5,804 | 798,688 |
| Avantor, Inc. † | 128,463 | 2,836,463 |
| Baxter International, Inc. | 53,624 | 4,632,041 |
| Becton Dickinson and Co. | 6,801 | 1,913,393 |
| Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. Class A † | 6,591 | 3,459,550 |
| Biogen, Inc. † | 14,770 | 4,057,171 |
| Boston Scientific Corp. † | 149,032 | 5,748,164 |
| Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. | 48,904 | 2,868,709 |
| Cigna Corp. | 44,031 | 7,603,713 |
| Cooper Cos., Inc. (The) | 8,550 | 2,419,052 |
| DexCom, Inc. † | 4,433 | 1,930,749 |
| Eli Lilly and Co. | 43,089 | 6,475,846 |
| Gilead Sciences, Inc. | 26,541 | 1,845,396 |
| Humana, Inc. | 5,885 | 2,309,568 |
| Intuitive Surgical, Inc. † | 1,686 | 1,155,652 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 69,020 | 10,060,355 |
| Medtronic PLC | 22,443 | 2,165,301 |
| Merck & Co., Inc. | 92,899 | 7,454,216 |
| Pfizer, Inc. | 96,614 | 3,717,707 |
| Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. † | 6,648 | 4,202,001 |
| Stryker Corp. | 16,977 | 3,281,654 |
| Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. | 19,404 | 8,032,286 |
| UnitedHealth Group, Inc. | 34,798 | 10,536,138 |
| 125,016,391 | ||
| Lodging/Tourism (0.3%) | ||
| Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc. | 40,601 | 3,047,105 |
| Wynn Resorts, Ltd. | 25,622 | 1,855,801 |
| 4,902,906 | ||
| Miscellaneous (0.1%) | ||
| Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp. (Rights) † F | 189,486 | 2,101,021 |
| 2,101,021 | ||
| Retail (6.6%) | ||
| Advance Auto Parts, Inc. | 8,456 | 1,269,584 |
| Amazon.com, Inc. † | 15,566 | 49,261,409 |
| Burlington Stores, Inc. † | 3,901 | 733,388 |
| 28 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
| COMMON STOCKS (59.8%)* cont. | Shares | Value |
| Retail cont. | ||
| CarMax, Inc. † | 41,183 | $3,993,516 |
| Dollar General Corp. | 13,152 | 2,504,141 |
| Home Depot, Inc. (The) | 70,005 | 18,585,627 |
| NIKE, Inc. Class B | 46,968 | 4,584,546 |
| Target Corp. | 57,022 | 7,177,929 |
| TJX Cos., Inc. (The) | 27,249 | 1,416,676 |
| Walmart, Inc. | 90,990 | 11,774,106 |
| 101,300,922 | ||
| Software (6.3%) | ||
| Activision Blizzard, Inc. | 288,599 | 23,846,935 |
| Adobe, Inc. † | 36,292 | 16,125,261 |
| Dassault Systemes SA (France) | 8,843 | 1,613,077 |
| Microsoft Corp. | 271,121 | 55,582,516 |
| 97,167,789 | ||
| Technology services (5.8%) | ||
| Alphabet, Inc. Class A † | 19,335 | 28,769,513 |
| Facebook, Inc. Class A † | 74,213 | 18,825,612 |
| Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. | 116,033 | 16,976,788 |
| Fiserv, Inc. † | 164,526 | 16,418,050 |
| Salesforce.com, Inc. † | 42,637 | 8,307,819 |
| 89,297,782 | ||
| Textiles (0.1%) | ||
| Levi Strauss & Co. Class A S | 79,483 | 966,513 |
| 966,513 | ||
| Toys (0.2%) | ||
| Hasbro, Inc. | 33,859 | 2,463,581 |
| 2,463,581 | ||
| Transportation (1.4%) | ||
| FedEx Corp. | 17,324 | 2,917,362 |
| Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. | 16,934 | 3,095,874 |
| Southwest Airlines Co. | 62,306 | 1,924,632 |
| Union Pacific Corp. | 74,516 | 12,917,349 |
| 20,855,217 | ||
| Utilities and power (2.2%) | ||
| Ameren Corp. | 43,393 | 3,481,854 |
| Dominion Energy, Inc. | 52,970 | 4,292,159 |
| Exelon Corp. | 179,682 | 6,937,522 |
| NextEra Energy, Inc. | 31,698 | 8,897,629 |
| NRG Energy, Inc. | 296,952 | 10,039,947 |
| 33,649,111 | ||
| Total common stocks (cost $773,867,153) | $921,565,390 |
| U.S. GOVERNMENT AND AGENCY | Principal | |
| MORTGAGE OBLIGATIONS (8.6%)* | amount | Value |
| U.S. Government Guaranteed Mortgage Obligations (2.1%) | ||
| Government National Mortgage Association Pass-Through Certificates | ||
| 5.00%, with due dates from 2/20/49 to 10/20/49 | $3,957,236 | $4,439,914 |
| 4.50%, with due dates from 3/20/49 to 10/20/49 | 912,907 | 1,012,330 |
| 4.00%, 4/15/43 | 3,775,817 | 4,171,007 |
| 3.50%, TBA, 8/1/50 | 8,000,000 | 8,416,875 |
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 29 |
| U.S. GOVERNMENT AND AGENCY | Principal | |
| MORTGAGE OBLIGATIONS (8.6%)* cont. | amount | Value |
| U.S. Government Guaranteed Mortgage Obligations cont. | ||
| Government National Mortgage Association Pass-Through Certificates | ||
| 3.50%, with due dates from 11/15/47 to 1/20/48 | $6,775,671 | $7,476,355 |
| 3.00%, with due dates from 7/20/46 to 10/20/46 | 6,152,607 | 6,569,475 |
| 32,085,956 | ||
| U.S. Government Agency Mortgage Obligations (6.5%) | ||
| Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Pass-Through Certificates | ||
| 6.00%, 3/1/35 | 1,026 | 1,208 |
| 4.00%, with due dates from 7/1/42 to 7/1/49 | 7,736,652 | 8,318,973 |
| 3.50%, with due dates from 12/1/42 to 4/1/43 | 431,430 | 476,879 |
| 3.00%, with due dates from 3/1/43 to 2/1/47 | 2,463,233 | 2,615,828 |
| Federal National Mortgage Association Pass-Through Certificates | ||
| 5.50%, with due dates from 7/1/33 to 11/1/38 | 1,268,901 | 1,475,688 |
| 5.00%, with due dates from 8/1/33 to 1/1/39 | 377,233 | 431,774 |
| 4.50%, with due dates from 5/1/48 to 2/1/49 | 5,804,200 | 6,360,961 |
| 4.00%, with due dates from 9/1/45 to 4/1/49 | 7,063,599 | 7,548,736 |
| 3.50%, 5/1/56 | 1,349,001 | 1,495,536 |
| 3.50%, with due dates from 5/1/43 to 12/1/49 | 14,074,866 | 14,930,367 |
| 3.00%, with due dates from 2/1/43 to 3/1/47 | 6,672,101 | 7,205,995 |
| 3.00%, 12/1/30 | 2,212,137 | 2,329,723 |
| 2.00%, with due dates from 10/1/27 to 8/1/28 | 5,335,575 | 5,555,566 |
| Uniform Mortgage-Backed Securities | ||
| 4.50%, TBA, 8/1/50 | 3,000,000 | 3,225,000 |
| 4.00%, TBA, 9/1/50 | 2,000,000 | 2,125,625 |
| 4.00%, TBA, 8/1/50 | 3,000,000 | 3,187,031 |
| 3.50%, TBA, 9/1/50 | 1,000,000 | 1,054,688 |
| 3.50%, TBA, 8/1/50 | 2,000,000 | 2,108,906 |
| 3.00%, TBA, 9/1/50 | 1,000,000 | 1,055,547 |
| 3.00%, TBA, 8/1/50 | 1,000,000 | 1,058,047 |
| 2.50%, TBA, 9/1/50 | 13,000,000 | 13,634,765 |
| 2.50%, TBA, 8/1/50 | 13,000,000 | 13,659,140 |
| 99,855,983 | ||
| Total U.S. government and agency mortgage obligations (cost $127,773,263) | $131,941,939 | |
| Principal | ||
| U.S. TREASURY OBLIGATIONS (14.6%)* | amount | Value |
| U.S. Treasury Bonds | ||
| 3.00%, 2/15/47 | $20,180,000 | $28,650,535 |
| 2.75%, 8/15/42 # ∆ | 21,110,000 | 28,106,183 |
| 1.25%, 5/15/50 | 5,000,000 | 5,065,820 |
| U.S. Treasury Notes | ||
| 2.75%, 2/15/24 | 9,120,000 | 9,958,042 |
| 2.25%, 4/30/21 i | 108,000 | 110,328 |
| 2.125%, 12/31/22 | 19,740,000 | 20,691,699 |
| 2.00%, 2/15/22 | 10,980,000 | 11,294,174 |
| 1.875%, 11/30/21 | 11,800,000 | 12,072,560 |
| 1.75%, 9/30/22 | 20,700,000 | 21,427,734 |
| 1.75%, 6/30/22 | 21,780,000 | 22,452,048 |
| 1.625%, 2/15/26 ∆ | 16,800,000 | 18,044,690 |
| 1.625%, 10/31/23 | 23,070,000 | 24,185,181 |
| 1.50%, 3/31/23 | 22,000,000 | 22,806,168 |
| Total U.S. treasury obligations (cost $209,527,628) | $224,865,162 |
| 30 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
| Principal | ||
| CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (14.2%)* | amount | Value |
| Basic materials (0.8%) | ||
| Celanese US Holdings, LLC company guaranty sr. unsec. notes | ||
| 3.50%, 5/8/24 (Germany) | $289,000 | $308,094 |
| Celanese US Holdings, LLC company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. | ||
| notes 4.625%, 11/15/22 (Germany) | 668,000 | 715,962 |
| CF Industries, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. notes | ||
| 4.50%, 12/1/26 | 1,595,000 | 1,793,627 |
| Georgia-Pacific, LLC 144A sr. unsec. sub. notes 2.10%, 4/30/27 | 1,525,000 | 1,620,240 |
| Glencore Funding, LLC 144A company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. | ||
| notes 4.625%, 4/29/24 | 1,036,000 | 1,146,230 |
| Glencore Funding, LLC 144A company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. | ||
| notes 4.00%, 4/16/25 | 703,000 | 767,254 |
| International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. sr. unsec. notes | ||
| 4.45%, 9/26/28 | 625,000 | 726,897 |
| International Paper Co. sr. unsec. notes 8.70%, 6/15/38 | 10,000 | 16,398 |
| Nutrien, Ltd. sr. unsec. notes 2.95%, 5/13/30 (Canada) | 1,305,000 | 1,434,853 |
| Sherwin-Williams Co. (The) sr. unsec. unsub. bonds 3.45%, 6/1/27 | 801,000 | 918,216 |
| WestRock MWV, LLC company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes | ||
| 8.20%, 1/15/30 | 1,040,000 | 1,488,516 |
| WestRock MWV, LLC company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes | ||
| 7.95%, 2/15/31 | 187,000 | 269,268 |
| Weyerhaeuser Co. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 7.375%, 3/15/32 R | 553,000 | 797,247 |
| 12,002,802 | ||
| Capital goods (0.5%) | ||
| Boeing Co. (The) sr. unsec. notes 4.875%, 5/1/25 | 1,143,000 | 1,236,904 |
| Johnson Controls International PLC sr. unsec. unsub. bonds | ||
| 4.50%, 2/15/47 | 1,145,000 | 1,402,173 |
| L3Harris Technologies, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 3.85%, 12/15/26 | 940,000 | 1,086,430 |
| L3Harris Technologies, Inc. sr. unsec. sub. notes 4.40%, 6/15/28 | 510,000 | 619,518 |
| Northrop Grumman Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 3.25%, 1/15/28 | 1,619,000 | 1,851,261 |
| Oshkosh Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 3.10%, 3/1/30 | 164,000 | 171,503 |
| Otis Worldwide Corp. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec. notes | ||
| 2.565%, 2/15/30 | 695,000 | 753,649 |
| Waste Connections, Inc. sr. unsec. sub. bonds 3.50%, 5/1/29 | 1,010,000 | 1,176,608 |
| 8,298,046 | ||
| Communication services (1.9%) | ||
| American Tower Corp. sr. unsec. notes 2.90%, 1/15/30 R | 921,000 | 1,019,902 |
| American Tower Corp. sr. unsec. sub. notes 2.75%, 1/15/27 R | 686,000 | 749,388 |
| American Tower Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. bonds 3.375%, 10/15/26 R | 385,000 | 436,291 |
| AT&T, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 2.30%, 6/1/27 | 1,227,000 | 1,299,560 |
| AT&T, Inc. sr. unsec. bonds 4.30%, 2/15/30 | 936,000 | 1,124,338 |
| AT&T, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 4.10%, 2/15/28 | 1,714,000 | 2,008,150 |
| AT&T, Inc. sr. unsec. sub. notes 2.95%, 7/15/26 | 62,000 | 68,029 |
| AT&T, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. bonds 3.30%, 2/1/52 | 1,700,000 | 1,758,157 |
| AT&T, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4.75%, 5/15/46 | 132,000 | 164,460 |
| CC Holdings GS V, LLC/Crown Castle GS III Corp. company guaranty | ||
| sr. notes 3.849%, 4/15/23 | 240,000 | 259,428 |
| Charter Communications Operating, LLC/Charter | ||
| Communications Operating Capital Corp. company guaranty sr. | ||
| bonds 2.80%, 4/1/31 | 291,000 | 305,326 |
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 31 |
| Principal | ||
| CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (14.2%)* cont. | amount | Value |
| Communication services cont. | ||
| Charter Communications Operating, LLC/Charter | ||
| Communications Operating Capital Corp. company guaranty sr. | ||
| sub. bonds 6.484%, 10/23/45 | $1,055,000 | $1,472,726 |
| Charter Communications Operating, LLC/Charter | ||
| Communications Operating Capital Corp. company guaranty sr. | ||
| sub. notes 4.908%, 7/23/25 | 274,000 | 318,144 |
| Charter Communications Operating, LLC/Charter | ||
| Communications Operating Capital Corp. company guaranty sr. | ||
| sub. bonds 5.375%, 5/1/47 | 506,000 | 640,707 |
| Comcast Cable Communications Holdings, Inc. company | ||
| guaranty sr. unsec. notes 9.455%, 11/15/22 | 645,000 | 782,624 |
| Comcast Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. bonds | ||
| 3.999%, 11/1/49 | 921,000 | 1,195,609 |
| Comcast Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes | ||
| 6.50%, 11/15/35 | 268,000 | 420,212 |
| Comcast Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes | ||
| 3.15%, 3/1/26 | 490,000 | 553,022 |
| Comcast Corp. sr. unsec. bonds 3.45%, 2/1/50 | 1,618,000 | 1,962,563 |
| Cox Communications, Inc. 144A sr. unsec. bonds 3.50%, 8/15/27 | 637,000 | 720,648 |
| Cox Communications, Inc. 144A sr. unsec. notes 3.35%, 9/15/26 | 551,000 | 621,199 |
| Crown Castle International Corp. sr. unsec. bonds 3.80%, 2/15/28 R | 458,000 | 533,507 |
| Crown Castle International Corp. sr. unsec. bonds 3.65%, 9/1/27 R | 549,000 | 630,002 |
| Crown Castle International Corp. sr. unsec. notes 4.75%, 5/15/47 R | 185,000 | 243,193 |
| Crown Castle International Corp. sr. unsec. notes 3.15%, 7/15/23 R | 85,000 | 90,989 |
| Crown Castle International Corp. sr. unsec. sub. bonds | ||
| 3.30%, 7/1/30 R | 205,000 | 232,874 |
| Equinix, Inc. sr. unsec. sub. notes 3.20%, 11/18/29 R | 1,483,000 | 1,663,911 |
| Rogers Communications, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. bonds | ||
| 8.75%, 5/1/32 (Canada) | 95,000 | 149,654 |
| Rogers Communications, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. | ||
| notes 4.50%, 3/15/43 (Canada) | 215,000 | 271,475 |
| Sprint Spectrum Co., LLC/Sprint Spectrum Co. II, LLC/Sprint | ||
| Spectrum Co. III, LLC 144A company guaranty sr. notes | ||
| 3.36%, 9/20/21 | 298,438 | 302,168 |
| T-Mobile USA, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. notes | ||
| 3.875%, 4/15/30 | 743,000 | 850,921 |
| T-Mobile USA, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. notes | ||
| 3.75%, 4/15/27 | 1,762,000 | 1,996,011 |
| Verizon Communications, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes | ||
| 4.329%, 9/21/28 | 3,269,000 | 4,035,748 |
| Videotron, Ltd./Videotron Ltee. 144A sr. unsec. notes 5.125%, | ||
| 4/15/27 (Canada) | 490,000 | 518,175 |
| 29,399,111 | ||
| Consumer cyclicals (1.6%) | ||
| Alimentation Couche-Tard, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec. | ||
| notes 3.55%, 7/26/27 (Canada) | 995,000 | 1,095,744 |
| Alimentation Couche-Tard, Inc. 144A sr. unsec. notes 2.95%, | ||
| 1/25/30 (Canada) | 919,000 | 988,292 |
| Amazon.com, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 4.05%, 8/22/47 | 1,105,000 | 1,521,700 |
| Amazon.com, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 3.15%, 8/22/27 | 654,000 | 756,138 |
| Amazon.com, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 1.50%, 6/3/30 | 600,000 | 621,182 |
| 32 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
| Principal | ||
| CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (14.2%)* cont. | amount | Value |
| Consumer cyclicals cont. | ||
| Autonation, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 4.50%, 10/1/25 | $255,000 | $280,341 |
| BMW US Capital, LLC 144A company guaranty sr. unsec. notes | ||
| 3.95%, 8/14/28 | 671,000 | 774,334 |
| BMW US Capital, LLC 144A company guaranty sr. unsec. notes | ||
| 3.40%, 8/13/21 | 390,000 | 401,049 |
| Discovery Communications, LLC company guaranty sr. unsec. | ||
| unsub. notes 3.625%, 5/15/30 | 473,000 | 524,830 |
| Fox Corp. sr. unsec. notes Ser. WI, 4.03%, 1/25/24 | 445,000 | 493,554 |
| Fox Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 3.05%, 4/7/25 | 385,000 | 422,777 |
| General Motors Financial Co., Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. | ||
| notes 4.00%, 10/6/26 | 287,000 | 307,346 |
| General Motors Financial Co., Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. | ||
| unsub. notes 4.30%, 7/13/25 | 252,000 | 274,969 |
| General Motors Financial Co., Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. | ||
| unsub. notes 4.00%, 1/15/25 | 175,000 | 186,274 |
| Global Payments, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 2.90%, 5/15/30 | 889,000 | 975,278 |
| Hilton Domestic Operating Co., Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. | ||
| sub. notes 4.25%, 9/1/24 | 205,000 | 207,050 |
| Hilton Worldwide Finance, LLC/Hilton Worldwide Finance Corp. | ||
| company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 4.875%, 4/1/27 | 575,000 | 597,281 |
| IHS Markit, Ltd. 144A company guaranty notes 4.75%, 2/15/25 | ||
| (United Kingdom) | 1,415,000 | 1,606,025 |
| IHS Markit, Ltd. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 4.00%, | ||
| 3/1/26 (United Kingdom) | 350,000 | 390,250 |
| Interpublic Group of Cos., Inc. (The) sr. unsec. sub. bonds | ||
| 4.65%, 10/1/28 | 1,668,000 | 1,976,684 |
| Marriott International, Inc. sr. unsec. notes Ser. EE, 5.75%, 5/1/25 | 290,000 | 322,140 |
| Omnicom Group, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes | ||
| 3.60%, 4/15/26 | 416,000 | 466,161 |
| Omnicom Group, Inc. sr. unsec. sub. notes 2.45%, 4/30/30 | 1,330,000 | 1,385,165 |
| QVC, Inc. company guaranty sr. notes 4.85%, 4/1/24 | 390,000 | 410,339 |
| S&P Global, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. bonds | ||
| 2.50%, 12/1/29 | 1,550,000 | 1,715,093 |
| S&P Global, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes | ||
| 4.40%, 2/15/26 | 539,000 | 641,333 |
| Sirius XM Radio, Inc. 144A sr. unsec. bonds 5.00%, 8/1/27 | 1,115,000 | 1,186,081 |
| Standard Industries, Inc. 144A sr. unsec. notes 5.00%, 2/15/27 | 1,315,000 | 1,397,188 |
| ViacomCBS, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. bonds 4.20%, 6/1/29 | 360,000 | 415,939 |
| ViacomCBS, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. bonds | ||
| 2.90%, 1/15/27 | 457,000 | 492,420 |
| ViacomCBS, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes | ||
| 4.00%, 1/15/26 | 198,000 | 222,774 |
| ViacomCBS, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 4.20%, 5/19/32 | 8,000 | 9,220 |
| Walt Disney Co. (The) company guaranty sr. unsec. bonds | ||
| 4.75%, 9/15/44 | 30,000 | 40,511 |
| Walt Disney Co. (The) company guaranty sr. unsec. notes | ||
| 7.75%, 1/20/24 | 1,060,000 | 1,305,179 |
| 24,410,641 |
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 33 |
| Principal | ||
| CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (14.2%)* cont. | amount | Value |
| Consumer staples (0.7%) | ||
| Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide, Inc. company guaranty sr. | ||
| unsec. unsub. bonds 5.55%, 1/23/49 | $1,172,000 | $1,647,393 |
| Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide, Inc. company guaranty sr. | ||
| unsec. unsub. bonds 4.95%, 1/15/42 | 200,000 | 255,185 |
| Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide, Inc. company guaranty sr. | ||
| unsec. unsub. notes 4.75%, 1/23/29 | 827,000 | 1,017,802 |
| Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide, Inc. company guaranty sr. | ||
| unsec. unsub. notes 4.15%, 1/23/25 | 239,000 | 272,732 |
| Ashtead Capital, Inc. 144A notes 4.375%, 8/15/27 | 1,155,000 | 1,204,088 |
| CVS Pass-Through Trust 144A sr. mtge. notes 7.507%, 1/10/32 | 534,657 | 673,974 |
| ERAC USA Finance, LLC 144A company guaranty sr. unsec. notes | ||
| 7.00%, 10/15/37 | 1,434,000 | 1,976,227 |
| ERAC USA Finance, LLC 144A company guaranty sr. unsec. notes | ||
| 5.625%, 3/15/42 | 566,000 | 700,884 |
| Keurig Dr Pepper, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. bonds | ||
| 3.20%, 5/1/30 | 187,000 | 212,271 |
| Keurig Dr Pepper, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes | ||
| 4.597%, 5/25/28 | 717,000 | 882,318 |
| Keurig Dr Pepper, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes | ||
| 4.417%, 5/25/25 | 563,000 | 658,073 |
| Keurig Dr Pepper, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes | ||
| 4.057%, 5/25/23 | 369,000 | 403,881 |
| Kraft Heinz Co. (The) 144A company guaranty sr. unsec. notes | ||
| 3.875%, 5/15/27 | 215,000 | 231,559 |
| Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec. | ||
| unsub. notes 4.875%, 11/1/26 | 816,000 | 856,800 |
| 10,993,187 | ||
| Energy (0.9%) | ||
| BG Energy Capital PLC 144A company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. | ||
| notes 4.00%, 10/15/21 (United Kingdom) | 250,000 | 259,288 |
| BP Capital Markets America, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. | ||
| notes 3.119%, 5/4/26 | 770,000 | 858,680 |
| BP Capital Markets America, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. | ||
| unsub. notes 3.937%, 9/21/28 | 690,000 | 812,561 |
| Cheniere Corpus Christi Holdings, LLC company guaranty sr. notes | ||
| 5.125%, 6/30/27 | 1,245,000 | 1,407,570 |
| Concho Resources, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. notes | ||
| 3.75%, 10/1/27 | 999,000 | 1,094,507 |
| Diamondback Energy, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. notes | ||
| 3.25%, 12/1/26 | 780,000 | 799,139 |
| Energy Transfer Operating LP jr. unsec. sub. FRB Ser. B, 6.625%, | ||
| perpetual maturity | 2,076,000 | 1,494,720 |
| Energy Transfer Operating LP sr. unsec. unsub. notes 7.60%, 2/1/24 | 470,000 | 539,512 |
| Energy Transfer Operating LP sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6.50%, 2/1/42 | 137,000 | 150,402 |
| Energy Transfer Operating LP sr. unsec. unsub. notes | ||
| 5.20%, 2/1/22 | 265,000 | 275,931 |
| EOG Resources, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4.15%, 1/15/26 | 1,480,000 | 1,722,627 |
| Equinor ASA company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5.10%, | ||
| 8/17/40 (Norway) | 550,000 | 788,209 |
| Marathon Petroleum Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6.50%, 3/1/41 | 175,000 | 229,013 |
| Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC sr. bonds 4.20%, 3/15/28 | 175,000 | 192,621 |
| 34 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
| Principal | ||
| CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (14.2%)* cont. | amount | Value |
| Energy cont. | ||
| Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC sr. notes 5.00%, 3/15/27 | $878,000 | $1,004,523 |
| Targa Resources Partners LP/Targa Resources Partners Finance | ||
| Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5.00%, 1/15/28 | 560,000 | 571,200 |
| Transcanada Trust company guaranty jr. unsec. sub. FRB 5.30%, | ||
| 3/15/77 (Canada) | 1,285,000 | 1,297,850 |
| 13,498,353 | ||
| Financials (4.2%) | ||
| Air Lease Corp. sr. unsec. sub. bonds 4.625%, 10/1/28 | 328,000 | 338,647 |
| Air Lease Corp. sr. unsec. sub. notes 3.25%, 10/1/29 | 928,000 | 888,749 |
| American International Group, Inc. jr. unsec. sub. FRB | ||
| 8.175%, 5/15/58 | 856,000 | 1,181,280 |
| Aon PLC company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes | ||
| 4.25%, 12/12/42 | 1,265,000 | 1,538,164 |
| Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, Ltd./United | ||
| Kingdom 144A jr. unsec. sub. FRB 6.75%, perpetual maturity | ||
| (United Kingdom) | 200,000 | 223,624 |
| Aviation Capital Group, LLC 144A sr. unsec. unsub. notes | ||
| 7.125%, 10/15/20 | 265,000 | 266,265 |
| Banco Santander SA unsec. sub. notes 5.179%, 11/19/25 (Spain) | 1,200,000 | 1,360,308 |
| Bank of America Corp. jr. unsec. sub. bonds Ser. JJ, 5.125%, | ||
| perpetual maturity | 1,135,000 | 1,169,050 |
| Bank of America Corp. jr. unsec. sub. FRN Ser. AA, 6.10%, | ||
| perpetual maturity | 314,000 | 342,260 |
| Bank of America Corp. sr. unsec. FRN Ser. MTN, 2.496%, 2/13/31 | 715,000 | 759,795 |
| Bank of America Corp. unsec. sub. FRN (BBA LIBOR USD 3 Month | ||
| + 0.76%), 1.073%, 9/15/26 | 275,000 | 262,627 |
| Bank of America Corp. unsec. sub. notes 6.11%, 1/29/37 | 600,000 | 875,551 |
| Bank of Montreal unsec. sub. FRN 3.803%, 12/15/32 (Canada) | 390,000 | 433,891 |
| Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec. | ||
| notes 4.30%, 5/15/43 | 808,000 | 1,104,942 |
| BGC Partners, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 5.125%, 5/27/21 | 155,000 | 156,993 |
| BPCE SA 144A unsec. sub. notes 5.15%, 7/21/24 (France) | 810,000 | 907,839 |
| BPCE SA 144A unsec. sub. notes 4.50%, 3/15/25 (France) | 1,060,000 | 1,174,145 |
| Camden Property Trust sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4.875%, 6/15/23 R | 1,213,000 | 1,333,986 |
| Cantor Fitzgerald LP 144A unsec. notes 6.50%, 6/17/22 | 824,000 | 888,318 |
| Capital One Bank USA NA unsec. sub. notes 3.375%, 2/15/23 | 462,000 | 488,795 |
| Capital One Financial Corp. unsec. sub. notes 4.20%, 10/29/25 | 227,000 | 255,043 |
| CBRE Services, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. notes | ||
| 5.25%, 3/15/25 | 197,000 | 226,648 |
| CBRE Services, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes | ||
| 4.875%, 3/1/26 | 545,000 | 635,738 |
| CIT Bank NA sr. unsec. FRN Ser. BKNT, 2.969%, 9/27/25 | 250,000 | 236,950 |
| CIT Group, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5.25%, 3/7/25 | 1,894,000 | 2,026,580 |
| Citigroup, Inc. sr. unsec. FRB 3.668%, 7/24/28 | 10,000 | 11,361 |
| Citigroup, Inc. unsec. sub. bonds 4.75%, 5/18/46 | 1,540,000 | 2,061,069 |
| Citigroup, Inc. unsec. sub. bonds 4.45%, 9/29/27 | 2,634,000 | 3,066,493 |
| CNO Financial Group, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5.25%, 5/30/25 | 241,000 | 273,423 |
| Cooperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank BA/ | ||
| Netherlands company guaranty unsec. sub. notes 4.625%, | ||
| 12/1/23 (Netherlands) | 250,000 | 276,382 |
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 35 |
| Principal | ||
| CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (14.2%)* cont. | amount | Value |
| Financials cont. | ||
| Cooperative Rabobank UA company guaranty unsec. sub. notes | ||
| 3.75%, 7/21/26 (Netherlands) | $285,000 | $320,443 |
| Credit Agricole SA 144A unsec. sub. FRN 4.00%, 1/10/33 (France) | 340,000 | 377,825 |
| Credit Suisse Group AG 144A sr. unsec. bonds 3.869%, | ||
| 1/12/29 (Switzerland) | 443,000 | 498,160 |
| Credit Suisse Group AG 144A sr. unsec. FRN 2.193%, | ||
| 6/5/26 (Switzerland) | 320,000 | 328,854 |
| Credit Suisse Group AG 144A unsec. sub. notes 6.50%, | ||
| 8/8/23 (Switzerland) | 729,000 | 815,946 |
| Digital Realty Trust LP company guaranty sr. unsec. bonds | ||
| 4.45%, 7/15/28 R | 1,395,000 | 1,692,263 |
| Fairfax Financial Holdings, Ltd. sr. unsec. notes 4.85%, | ||
| 4/17/28 (Canada) | 1,225,000 | 1,354,348 |
| Fairfax US, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec. notes | ||
| 4.875%, 8/13/24 | 330,000 | 347,402 |
| Fifth Third Bancorp jr. unsec. sub. FRB 5.10%, perpetual maturity | 217,000 | 200,117 |
| Five Corners Funding Trust 144A sr. unsec. bonds 4.419%, 11/15/23 | 425,000 | 473,892 |
| Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) sr. unsec. FRB 4.223%, 5/1/29 | 804,000 | 951,492 |
| Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) sr. unsec. unsub. notes | ||
| 3.85%, 1/26/27 | 1,477,000 | 1,681,099 |
| HSBC USA, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 3.50%, 6/23/24 | 105,000 | 115,770 |
| ING Bank NV 144A unsec. sub. notes 5.80%, 9/25/23 (Netherlands) | 2,225,000 | 2,498,622 |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. jr. unsec. bonds 6.10%, perpetual maturity | 195,000 | 206,213 |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. jr. unsec. sub. FRB Ser. HH, 4.60%, | ||
| perpetual maturity | 1,113,000 | 1,076,939 |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. jr. unsec. sub. FRB Ser. W, (BBA LIBOR USD | ||
| 3 Month + 1.00%), 1.392%, 5/15/47 | 664,000 | 480,696 |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. sr. unsec. unsub. FRB 3.964%, 11/15/48 | 1,710,000 | 2,218,575 |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. unsec. sub. FRB 2.956%, 5/13/31 | 488,000 | 531,524 |
| KKR Group Finance Co. VI, LLC 144A company guaranty sr. unsec. | ||
| bonds 3.75%, 7/1/29 | 105,000 | 121,763 |
| Lloyds Banking Group PLC unsec. sub. notes 4.65%, 3/24/26 | ||
| (United Kingdom) | 315,000 | 357,559 |
| Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc. sr. unsec. sub. notes 4.375%, 3/15/29 | 1,422,000 | 1,764,387 |
| Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. 144A unsec. sub. bonds | ||
| 3.729%, 10/15/70 | 1,457,000 | 1,684,656 |
| MetLife Capital Trust IV 144A jr. unsec. sub. notes 7.875%, 12/15/37 | 2,564,000 | 3,461,400 |
| Morgan Stanley unsec. sub. notes Ser. GMTN, 4.35%, 9/8/26 | 3,409,000 | 3,997,515 |
| NatWest Group PLC sr. unsec. unsub. notes 3.875%, 9/12/23 | ||
| (United Kingdom) | 200,000 | 217,238 |
| Prologis LP sr. unsec. unsub. notes 2.25%, 4/15/30 R | 467,000 | 505,660 |
| Prologis LP sr. unsec. unsub. notes 2.125%, 4/15/27 R | 194,000 | 208,010 |
| Prudential Financial, Inc. jr. unsec. sub. FRN 5.20%, 3/15/44 | 1,485,000 | 1,587,094 |
| Royal Bank of Canada unsec. sub. notes Ser. GMTN, 4.65%, | ||
| 1/27/26 (Canada) | 322,000 | 382,620 |
| Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. 144A unsec. sub. bonds | ||
| 4.436%, 4/2/24 (Japan) | 412,000 | 450,873 |
| Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America 144A unsec. | ||
| sub. notes 6.85%, 12/16/39 | 263,000 | 416,853 |
| Toronto-Dominion Bank (The) unsec. sub. FRB 3.625%, | ||
| 9/15/31 (Canada) | 759,000 | 865,204 |
| 36 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
| Principal | ||
| CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (14.2%)* cont. | amount | Value |
| Financials cont. | ||
| Truist Financial Corp. jr. unsec. sub. FRB Ser. N, 4.80%, 12/31/99 | $580,000 | $584,720 |
| U.S. Bancorp unsec. sub. notes 3.00%, 7/30/29 | 1,955,000 | 2,180,377 |
| UBS AG unsec. sub. notes 5.125%, 5/15/24 (Switzerland) | 2,640,000 | 2,879,342 |
| Wells Fargo & Co. jr. unsec. sub. FRB Ser. U, 5.875%, | ||
| perpetual maturity | 580,000 | 627,850 |
| Westpac Banking Corp. unsec. sub. bonds 4.421%, | ||
| 7/24/39 (Australia) | 670,000 | 848,451 |
| Willis Towers Watson PLC company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. | ||
| notes 5.75%, 3/15/21 | 710,000 | 733,090 |
| 64,809,758 | ||
| Health care (1.3%) | ||
| AbbVie, Inc. 144A sr. unsec. notes 3.45%, 3/15/22 | 186,000 | 193,454 |
| AbbVie, Inc. 144A sr. unsec. notes 3.20%, 11/21/29 | 2,440,000 | 2,742,586 |
| Amgen, Inc. sr. unsec. bonds 4.663%, 6/15/51 | 710,000 | 1,005,312 |
| Amgen, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 2.60%, 8/19/26 | 273,000 | 299,731 |
| Becton Dickinson and Co. sr. unsec. notes 2.823%, 5/20/30 | 820,000 | 901,043 |
| Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. sr. unsec. sub. notes 3.40%, 7/26/29 | 2,325,000 | 2,737,773 |
| Cigna Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes | ||
| 3.75%, 7/15/23 | 1,857,000 | 2,023,259 |
| CVS Health Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 3.70%, 3/9/23 | 715,000 | 769,241 |
| CVS Pass-Through Trust 144A sr. mtge. notes 4.704%, 1/10/36 | 561,923 | 606,047 |
| DH Europe Finance II Sarl company guaranty sr. unsec. bonds | ||
| 3.40%, 11/15/49 (Luxembourg) | 1,425,000 | 1,724,539 |
| DH Europe Finance II Sarl company guaranty sr. unsec. notes | ||
| 2.60%, 11/15/29 (Luxembourg) | 600,000 | 658,847 |
| HCA, Inc. company guaranty sr. bonds 5.25%, 6/15/26 | 143,000 | 168,009 |
| HCA, Inc. company guaranty sr. notes 4.125%, 6/15/29 | 505,000 | 591,079 |
| HCA, Inc. company guaranty sr. sub. bonds 5.50%, 6/15/47 | 270,000 | 363,305 |
| HCA, Inc. company guaranty sr. sub. notes 5.00%, 3/15/24 | 475,000 | 535,951 |
| Service Corp. International sr. unsec. notes 4.625%, 12/15/27 | 185,000 | 196,563 |
| UnitedHealth Group, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 2.00%, 5/15/30 | 1,602,000 | 1,707,657 |
| Upjohn, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec. notes | ||
| 2.30%, 6/22/27 | 565,000 | 593,746 |
| Zoetis, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 3.90%, 8/20/28 | 1,210,000 | 1,450,940 |
| Zoetis, Inc. sr. unsec. sub. notes 2.00%, 5/15/30 | 306,000 | 323,816 |
| 19,592,898 | ||
| Technology (1.1%) | ||
| Alphabet, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 1.998%, 8/15/26 | 748,000 | 810,036 |
| Apple, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 3.45%, 5/6/24 | 245,000 | 271,553 |
| Apple, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 1.65%, 5/11/30 | 15,000 | 15,760 |
| Apple, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4.375%, 5/13/45 | 342,000 | 478,586 |
| Apple, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 3.85%, 5/4/43 | 486,000 | 630,522 |
| Broadcom Corp./Broadcom Cayman Finance, Ltd. company | ||
| guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 3.875%, 1/15/27 | 1,667,000 | 1,851,898 |
| Broadcom, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes | ||
| 4.15%, 11/15/30 | 970,000 | 1,089,515 |
| Diamond 1 Finance Corp./Diamond 2 Finance Corp. 144A | ||
| company guaranty sr. notes 6.02%, 6/15/26 | 1,356,000 | 1,590,011 |
| Diamond 1 Finance Corp./Diamond 2 Finance Corp. 144A sr. bonds | ||
| 8.35%, 7/15/46 | 271,000 | 377,664 |
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 37 |
| Principal | ||
| CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (14.2%)* cont. | amount | Value |
| Technology cont. | ||
| Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. sr. unsec. notes | ||
| 3.00%, 8/15/26 | $522,000 | $585,105 |
| Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. sr. unsec. sub. notes | ||
| Ser. 10Y, 4.25%, 5/15/28 | 487,000 | 590,208 |
| Fiserv, Inc. sr. unsec. bonds 3.50%, 7/1/29 | 540,000 | 624,941 |
| Fiserv, Inc. sr. unsec. sub. bonds 4.20%, 10/1/28 | 1,295,000 | 1,566,645 |
| Microchip Technology, Inc. company guaranty sr. notes | ||
| 4.333%, 6/1/23 | 1,195,000 | 1,288,055 |
| Microsoft Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 3.70%, 8/8/46 | 1,150,000 | 1,497,691 |
| Oracle Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 2.65%, 7/15/26 | 531,000 | 584,987 |
| Salesforce.com, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 3.70%, 4/11/28 | 1,900,000 | 2,256,846 |
| VMware, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 3.90%, 8/21/27 | 374,000 | 411,903 |
| 16,521,926 | ||
| Transportation (—%) | ||
| Penske Truck Leasing Co. LP/PTL Finance Corp. 144A sr. unsec. | ||
| bonds 3.40%, 11/15/26 | 595,000 | 647,943 |
| 647,943 | ||
| Utilities and power (1.2%) | ||
| AES Corp. (The) sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5.125%, 9/1/27 | 392,000 | 424,563 |
| American Electric Power Co., Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes Ser. J, | ||
| 4.30%, 12/1/28 | 528,000 | 636,028 |
| Appalachian Power Co. sr. unsec. unsub. notes Ser. L, | ||
| 5.80%, 10/1/35 | 560,000 | 787,059 |
| Commonwealth Edison Co. sr. mtge. bonds 5.875%, 2/1/33 | 610,000 | 865,219 |
| Consolidated Edison Co. of New York, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes | ||
| 4.20%, 3/15/42 | 255,000 | 319,358 |
| Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC sr. mtge. notes 4.25%, 12/15/41 | 520,000 | 690,702 |
| Duke Energy Ohio, Inc. sr. bonds 3.65%, 2/1/29 | 280,000 | 332,187 |
| El Paso Natural Gas Co., LLC company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. | ||
| notes 8.375%, 6/15/32 | 490,000 | 685,976 |
| Enbridge, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. bonds 4.25%, 12/1/26 (Canada) | 416,000 | 479,323 |
| Enterprise Products Operating, LLC company guaranty sr. unsec. | ||
| notes 2.80%, 1/31/30 | 1,704,000 | 1,830,924 |
| Enterprise Products Operating, LLC company guaranty sr. unsec. | ||
| unsub. bonds 4.25%, 2/15/48 | 560,000 | 648,122 |
| FirstEnergy Transmission, LLC 144A sr. unsec. unsub. notes | ||
| 5.45%, 7/15/44 | 1,120,000 | 1,459,042 |
| IPALCO Enterprises, Inc. sr. sub. notes 3.70%, 9/1/24 | 340,000 | 369,551 |
| IPALCO Enterprises, Inc. 144A sr. bonds 4.25%, 5/1/30 | 793,000 | 875,160 |
| Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP company guaranty sr. unsec. | ||
| notes 5.40%, 9/1/44 | 199,000 | 247,073 |
| Kinder Morgan, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes | ||
| 3.15%, 1/15/23 | 720,000 | 757,214 |
| NRG Energy, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. bonds 4.45%, 6/15/29 | 1,259,000 | 1,370,844 |
| NRG Energy, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. notes 3.75%, 6/15/24 | 620,000 | 664,618 |
| Oncor Electric Delivery Co., LLC sr. notes 5.75%, 3/15/29 | 445,000 | 598,274 |
| Pacific Gas and Electric Co. notes 2.10%, 8/1/27 | 660,000 | 658,534 |
| PacifiCorp sr. bonds 2.70%, 9/15/30 | 656,000 | 743,080 |
| PPL Capital Funding, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. | ||
| notes 4.20%, 6/15/22 | 145,000 | 153,185 |
| 38 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
| Principal | ||
| CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (14.2%)* cont. | amount | Value |
| Utilities and power cont. | ||
| Vistra Operations Co., LLC 144A sr. bonds 4.30%, 7/15/29 | $442,000 | $477,237 |
| Vistra Operations Co., LLC 144A sr. notes 3.55%, 7/15/24 | 523,000 | 550,198 |
| WEC Energy Group, Inc. jr. unsec. sub. FRN Ser. A, (BBA LIBOR USD | ||
| 3 Month + 2.11%), 2.505%, 5/15/67 | 1,945,000 | 1,517,100 |
| 18,140,571 | ||
| Total corporate bonds and notes (cost $194,178,493) | $218,315,236 |
| Principal | ||
| MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES (0.6%)* | amount | Value |
| Citigroup Commercial Mortgage Trust | ||
| Ser. 14-GC21, Class C, 4.78%, 5/10/47 W | $508,000 | $469,188 |
| Ser. 14-GC21, Class AS, 4.026%, 5/10/47 | 520,000 | 556,854 |
| COMM Mortgage Trust | ||
| FRB Ser. 12-LC4, Class C, 5.536%, 12/10/44 W | 500,000 | 438,224 |
| FRB Ser. 14-CR18, Class C, 4.724%, 7/15/47 W | 2,392,000 | 2,357,577 |
| Ser. 13-CR13, Class AM, 4.449%, 11/10/46 W | 777,000 | 847,544 |
| Ser. 12-CR1, Class AM, 3.912%, 5/15/45 | 1,046,000 | 1,055,103 |
| Eagle Re, Ltd. 144A FRB Ser. 18-1, Class M1, (1 Month US LIBOR | ||
| + 1.70%), 1.872%, 11/25/28 (Bermuda) | 261,538 | 252,772 |
| Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Structured Agency | ||
| Credit Risk Debt FRN Ser. 14-HQ2, Class M2, (1 Month US LIBOR | ||
| + 2.20%), 2.372%, 9/25/24 | 185,540 | 185,772 |
| Federal National Mortgage Association | ||
| Connecticut Avenue Securities FRB Ser. 16-C01, Class 1M2, | ||
| (1 Month US LIBOR + 6.75%), 6.922%, 8/25/28 | 601,410 | 625,467 |
| Connecticut Avenue Securities FRB Ser. 16-C02, Class 1M2, | ||
| (1 Month US LIBOR + 6.00%), 6.172%, 9/25/28 | 99,602 | 103,064 |
| Connecticut Avenue Securities FRB Ser. 17-C01, Class 1EB1, | ||
| (1 Month US LIBOR + 1.25%), 1.422%, 7/25/29 | 260,000 | 256,256 |
| REMICs Ser. 01-79, Class BI, IO, 0.268%, 3/25/45 W | 525,493 | 1,629 |
| FIRSTPLUS Home Loan Owner Trust Ser. 97-3, Class B1, 7.79%, | ||
| 11/10/23 (In default) † | 194,241 | 19 |
| Home Re, Ltd. 144A FRB Ser. 18-1, Class M1, (1 Month US LIBOR | ||
| + 1.60%), 1.772%, 10/25/28 (Bermuda) | 175,194 | 172,352 |
| JPMorgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust FRB | ||
| Ser. 12-C6, Class D, 5.152%, 5/15/45 W | 772,000 | 622,497 |
| JPMorgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust 144A FRB | ||
| Ser. 12-C8, Class D, 4.671%, 10/15/45 W | 404,000 | 318,160 |
| Morgan Stanley Capital I Trust 144A FRB Ser. 12-C4, Class D, | ||
| 5.419%, 3/15/45 W | 1,794,000 | 1,020,531 |
| TIAA Real Estate CDO, Ltd. 144A Ser. 03-1A, Class E, 8.00%, | ||
| 12/28/38 (In default) † | 2,032,334 | 58,995 |
| Total mortgage-backed securities (cost $11,556,270) | $9,342,004 |
| Principal | ||
| MUNICIPAL BONDS AND NOTES (0.1%)* | amount | Value |
| CA State G.O. Bonds, (Build America Bonds), 7.50%, 4/1/34 | $215,000 | $361,845 |
| North TX, Tollway Auth. Rev. Bonds, (Build America Bonds), | ||
| 6.718%, 1/1/49 | 350,000 | 642,670 |
| OH State U. Rev. Bonds, (Build America Bonds), 4.91%, 6/1/40 | 275,000 | 403,719 |
| Total municipal bonds and notes (cost $841,177) | $1,408,234 |
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 39 |
| SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (5.8%)* | Shares | Value |
| Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC 0.22% d | 7,020,885 | 7,020,885 |
| Putnam Short Term Investment Fund Class P 0.29% L | 82,721,675 | $82,721,675 |
| Total short-term investments (cost $89,742,560) | $89,742,560 |
| TOTAL INVESTMENTS | |
| Total investments (cost $1,407,486,544) | $1,597,180,525 |
Key to holding’s abbreviations
| ADR | American Depository Receipts: represents ownership of foreign securities on deposit with a custodian bank |
| BKNT | Bank Note |
| FRB | Floating Rate Bonds: the rate shown is the current interest rate at the close of the reporting period. Rates may be subject to a cap or floor. For certain securities, the rate may represent a fixed rate |
| currently in place at the close of the reporting period. | |
| FRN | Floating Rate Notes: the rate shown is the current interest rate or yield at the close of the reporting period. Rates may be subject to a cap or floor. For certain securities, the rate may represent a fixed |
| rate currently in place at the close of the reporting period. | |
| GMTN | Global Medium Term Notes |
| G.O. Bonds | General Obligation Bonds |
| IO | Interest Only |
| MTN | Medium Term Notes |
| TBA | To Be Announced Commitments |
Notes to the fund’s portfolio
Unless noted otherwise, the notes to the fund’s portfolio are for the close of the fund’s reporting period, which ran from August 1, 2019 through July 31, 2020 (the reporting period). Within the following notes to the portfolio, references to “Putnam Management” represent Putnam Investment Management, LLC, the fund’s manager, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Putnam Investments, LLC and references to “ASC 820” represent Accounting Standards Codification 820 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures.
* Percentages indicated are based on net assets of $1,541,761,047.
† This security is non-income-producing.
# This security, in part or in entirety, was pledged and segregated with the broker to cover margin requirements for futures contracts at the close of the reporting period. Collateral at period end totaled $717,760 and is included in Investments in securities on the Statement of assets and liabilities (Notes 1 and 8).
∆ This security, in part or in entirety, was pledged and segregated with the custodian for collateral on certain derivative contracts at the close of the reporting period. Collateral at period end totaled $1,581,084 and is included in Investments in securities on the Statement of assets and liabilities (Notes 1 and 8).
d Affiliated company. See Notes 1 and 5 to the financial statements regarding securities lending. The rate quoted in the security description is the annualized 7-day yield of the fund at the close of the reporting period.
F This security is valued by Putnam Management at fair value following procedures approved by the Trustees. Securities are classified as Level 3 for ASC 820 based on the securities’ valuation inputs. At the close of the reporting period, fair value pricing was also used for certain foreign securities in the portfolio (Note 1).
i This security was pledged, or purchased with cash that was pledged, to the fund for collateral on certain derivative contracts (Note 1).
L Affiliated company (Note 5). The rate quoted in the security description is the annualized 7-day yield of the fund at the close of the reporting period.
P This security was pledged, or purchased with cash that was pledged, to the fund for collateral on certain derivative contracts. The rate quoted in the security description is the annualized 7-day yield of the fund at the close of the reporting period.
| 40 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
R Real Estate Investment Trust.
S Security on loan, in part or in entirety, at the close of the reporting period (Note 1).
W The rate shown represents the weighted average coupon associated with the underlying mortgage pools. Rates may be subject to a cap or floor.
At the close of the reporting period, the fund maintained liquid assets totaling $40,815,278 to cover certain derivative contracts, delayed delivery securities and the settlement of certain securities.
Unless otherwise noted, the rates quoted in Short-term investments security descriptions represent the weighted average yield to maturity.
Debt obligations are considered secured unless otherwise indicated.
144A after the name of an issuer represents securities exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. These securities may be resold in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers.
See Note 1 to the financial statements regarding TBA commitments.
The dates shown on debt obligations are the original maturity dates.
| FORWARD CURRENCY CONTRACTS at 7/31/20 (aggregate face value $86,506,271) | ||||||
| Unrealized | ||||||
| Contract | Delivery | Aggregate | appreciation/ | |||
| Counterparty | Currency | type* | date | Value | face value | (depreciation) |
| Bank of America N. A. | ||||||
| British Pound | Sell | 9/16/20 | $9,528,860 | $9,168,281 | $(360,579) | |
| Barclays Bank PLC | ||||||
| British Pound | Sell | 9/16/20 | 11,512,327 | 11,074,558 | (437,769) | |
| Canadian Dollar | Sell | 10/21/20 | 2,579,372 | 2,542,545 | (36,827) | |
| Euro | Sell | 9/16/20 | 6,522,609 | 6,212,884 | (309,725) | |
| Citibank, N.A. | ||||||
| British Pound | Buy | 9/16/20 | 4,670,291 | 4,493,553 | 176,738 | |
| Canadian Dollar | Sell | 10/21/20 | 3,367,677 | 3,318,275 | (49,402) | |
| Euro | Sell | 9/16/20 | 4,234,473 | 4,032,518 | (201,955) | |
| Goldman Sachs International | ||||||
| British Pound | Sell | 9/16/20 | 8,585,244 | 8,257,815 | (327,429) | |
| Canadian Dollar | Sell | 10/21/20 | 109,394 | 107,802 | (1,592) | |
| HSBC Bank USA, National Association | ||||||
| Chinese Yuan | Buy | 8/19/20 | 3,368,679 | 3,330,506 | 38,173 | |
| Chinese Yuan | Sell | 8/19/20 | 3,368,679 | 3,305,593 | (63,086) | |
| Euro | Sell | 9/16/20 | 2,422,192 | 2,335,483 | (86,709) | |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. | ||||||
| British Pound | Buy | 9/16/20 | 4,976,799 | 4,787,409 | 189,390 | |
| Canadian Dollar | Sell | 10/21/20 | 1,185,557 | 1,168,057 | (17,500) | |
| Swiss Franc | Sell | 9/16/20 | 2,014,292 | 1,919,009 | (95,283) | |
| State Street Bank and Trust Co. | ||||||
| British Pound | Buy | 9/16/20 | 3,530,410 | 3,396,159 | 134,251 | |
| Canadian Dollar | Buy | 10/21/20 | 660,692 | 650,888 | 9,804 | |
| Hong Kong Dollar | Sell | 8/19/20 | 2,485,137 | 2,483,301 | (1,836) | |
| UBS AG | ||||||
| British Pound | Buy | 9/16/20 | 4,270,952 | 4,109,435 | 161,517 | |
| Euro | Buy | 9/16/20 | 857,270 | 816,595 | 40,675 | |
| Swiss Franc | Buy | 9/16/20 | 2,018,890 | 1,941,485 | 77,405 | |
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 41 |
| FORWARD CURRENCY CONTRACTS at 7/31/20 (aggregate face value $86,506,271) cont. | ||||||
| Unrealized | ||||||
| Contract | Delivery | Aggregate | appreciation/ | |||
| Counterparty | Currency | type* | date | Value | face value | (depreciation) |
| WestPac Banking Corp. | ||||||
| British Pound | Sell | 9/16/20 | $6,484,726 | $6,237,631 | $(247,095) | |
| Euro | Buy | 9/16/20 | 857,388 | 816,489 | 40,899 | |
| Unrealized appreciation | 868,852 | |||||
| Unrealized (depreciation) | (2,236,787) | |||||
| Total | $(1,367,935) | |||||
* The exchange currency for all contracts listed is the United States Dollar.
| FUTURES CONTRACTS OUTSTANDING at 7/31/20 | |||||
| Unrealized | |||||
| Number of | Notional | Expiration | appreciation/ | ||
| contracts | amount | Value | date | (depreciation) | |
| S&P 500 Index E-Mini (Long) | 75 | $12,266,700 | $12,238,125 | Sep-20 | $224,501 |
| Unrealized appreciation | 224,501 | ||||
| Unrealized (depreciation) | — | ||||
| Total | $224,501 | ||||
| TBA SALE COMMITMENTS OUTSTANDING at 7/31/20 (proceeds receivable $23,116,387) | |||
| Principal | Settlement | ||
| Agency | amount | date | Value |
| Government National Mortgage Association, 4.00%, 8/1/50 | $5,000,000 | 8/20/20 | $5,305,469 |
| Uniform Mortgage-Backed Securities, 4.00%, 8/1/50 | 2,000,000 | 8/13/20 | 2,124,688 |
| Uniform Mortgage-Backed Securities, 3.50%, 8/1/50 | 1,000,000 | 8/13/20 | 1,054,453 |
| Uniform Mortgage-Backed Securities, 3.00%, 8/1/50 | 1,000,000 | 8/13/20 | 1,058,047 |
| Uniform Mortgage-Backed Securities, 2.50%, 8/1/50 | 13,000,000 | 8/13/20 | 13,659,140 |
| Total | $23,201,797 | ||
| 42 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
ASC 820 establishes a three-level hierarchy for disclosure of fair value measurements. The valuation hierarchy is based upon the transparency of inputs to the valuation of the fund’s investments. The three levels are defined as follows:
Level 1: Valuations based on quoted prices for identical securities in active markets.
Level 2: Valuations based on quoted prices in markets that are not active or for which all significant inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly.
Level 3: Valuations based on inputs that are unobservable and significant to the fair value measurement.
The following is a summary of the inputs used to value the fund’s net assets as of the close of the reporting period:
| Valuation inputs | |||||
| Investments in securities: | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | ||
| Common stocks*: | |||||
| Basic materials | $25,154,314 | $3,019,491 | $— | ||
| Capital goods | 42,461,292 | — | — | ||
| Communication services | 19,306,376 | — | — | ||
| Conglomerates | 11,316,657 | — | — | ||
| Consumer cyclicals | 169,086,009 | — | — | ||
| Consumer staples | 62,219,382 | — | — | ||
| Energy | 9,195,429 | 9,186,652 | — | ||
| Financials | 92,733,475 | 18,468,298 | — | ||
| Health care | 125,016,391 | — | — | ||
| Miscellaneous | — | — | 2,101,021 | ||
| Technology | 276,183,198 | 1,613,077 | — | ||
| Transportation | 20,855,217 | — | — | ||
| Utilities and power | 33,649,111 | — | — | ||
| Total common stocks | 887,176,851 | 32,287,518 | 2,101,021 | ||
| Corporate bonds and notes | — | 218,315,236 | — | ||
| Mortgage-backed securities | — | 9,342,004 | — | ||
| Municipal bonds and notes | — | 1,408,234 | — | ||
| U.S. government and agency mortgage obligations | — | 131,941,939 | — | ||
| U.S. treasury obligations | — | 224,865,162 | — | ||
| Short-term investments | 82,721,675 | 7,020,885 | — | ||
| Totals by level | $969,898,526 | $625,180,978 | $2,101,021 | ||
| Valuation inputs | |||||
| Other financial instruments: | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | ||
| Forward currency contracts | $— | $(1,367,935) | $— | ||
| Futures contracts | 224,501 | — | — | ||
| TBA sale commitments | — | (23,201,797) | — | ||
| Totals by level | $224,501 | $(24,569,732) | $— | ||
* Common stock classifications are presented at the sector level, which may differ from the fund’s portfolio presentation.
At the start and close of the reporting period, Level 3 investments in securities represented less than 1% of the fund’s net assets and were not considered a significant portion of the fund’s portfolio.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 43 |
Statement of assets and liabilities 7/31/20
| ASSETS | |
| Investment in securities, at value, including $6,751,395 of securities on loan (Notes 1 and 8): | |
| Unaffiliated issuers (identified cost $1,317,743,984) | $1,507,437,965 |
| Affiliated issuers (identified cost $89,742,560) (Notes 1 and 5) | 89,742,560 |
| Cash | 136 |
| Foreign currency (cost $299) (Note 1) | 299 |
| Dividends, interest and other receivables | 4,865,532 |
| Receivable for shares of the fund sold | 2,353,455 |
| Receivable for investments sold | 6,378,838 |
| Receivable for sales of TBA securities (Note 1) | 11,630,450 |
| Receivable for variation margin on futures contracts (Note 1) | 46,152 |
| Unrealized appreciation on forward currency contracts (Note 1) | 868,852 |
| Prepaid assets | 64,926 |
| Total assets | 1,623,389,165 |
| LIABILITIES | |
| Payable for investments purchased | 4,932,235 |
| Payable for purchases of delayed delivery securities (Note 1) | 1,894,860 |
| Payable for purchases of TBA securities (Note 1) | 37,845,324 |
| Payable for shares of the fund repurchased | 2,197,851 |
| Payable for compensation of Manager (Note 2) | 667,101 |
| Payable for custodian fees (Note 2) | 54,950 |
| Payable for investor servicing fees (Note 2) | 347,862 |
| Payable for Trustee compensation and expenses (Note 2) | 521,521 |
| Payable for administrative services (Note 2) | 5,115 |
| Unrealized depreciation on forward currency contracts (Note 1) | 2,236,787 |
| Payable for distribution fees (Note 2) | 359,054 |
| TBA sale commitments, at value (proceeds receivable $23,116,387) (Note 1) | 23,201,797 |
| Collateral on securities loaned, at value (Note 1) | 7,020,885 |
| Collateral on certain derivative contracts and TBA commitments, at value (Notes 1 and 8) | 110,328 |
| Other accrued expenses | 232,448 |
| Total liabilities | 81,628,118 |
| Net assets | $1,541,761,047 |
| REPRESENTED BY | |
| Paid-in capital (Unlimited shares authorized) (Notes 1 and 4) | $1,286,510,903 |
| Total distributable earnings (Note 1) | 255,250,144 |
| Total — Representing net assets applicable to capital shares outstanding | $1,541,761,047 |
(Continued on next page)
| 44 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
Statement of assets and liabilities cont.
| COMPUTATION OF NET ASSET VALUE AND OFFERING PRICE | |
| Net asset value and redemption price per class A share | |
| ($1,147,249,489 divided by 52,905,943 shares) | $21.68 |
| Offering price per class A share (100/94.25 of $21.68)* | $23.00 |
| Net asset value and offering price per class B share ($13,532,540 divided by 632,132 shares)** | $21.41 |
| Net asset value and offering price per class C share ($86,199,285 divided by 4,013,205 shares)** | $21.48 |
| Net asset value and redemption price per class M share | |
| ($54,871,371 divided by 2,571,098 shares) | $21.34 |
| Offering price per class M share (100/96.50 of $21.34)* | $22.11 |
| Net asset value, offering price and redemption price per class R share | |
| ($1,112,841 divided by 51,526 shares) | $21.60 |
| Net asset value, offering price and redemption price per class R5 share | |
| ($222,672 divided by 10,171 shares) | $21.89 |
| Net asset value, offering price and redemption price per class R6 share | |
| ($46,529,240 divided by 2,135,549 shares) | $21.79 |
| Net asset value, offering price and redemption price per class Y share | |
| ($192,043,609 divided by 8,816,957 shares) | $21.78 |
* On single retail sales of less than $50,000. On sales of $50,000 or more the offering price is reduced.
** Redemption price per share is equal to net asset value less any applicable contingent deferred sales charge.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 45 |
Statement of operations Year ended 7/31/20
| INVESTMENT INCOME | |
| Interest (including interest income of $873,104 from investments in affiliated issuers) (Note 5) | $15,703,612 |
| Dividends (net of foreign tax of $98,457) | 14,846,570 |
| Securities lending (net of expenses) (Notes 1 and 5) | 44,513 |
| Total investment income | 30,594,695 |
| EXPENSES | |
| Compensation of Manager (Note 2) | 7,244,190 |
| Investor servicing fees (Note 2) | 2,032,155 |
| Custodian fees (Note 2) | 63,464 |
| Trustee compensation and expenses (Note 2) | 52,916 |
| Distribution fees (Note 2) | 3,985,778 |
| Administrative services (Note 2) | 38,336 |
| Other | 535,520 |
| Total expenses | 13,952,359 |
| Expense reduction (Note 2) | (25,389) |
| Net expenses | 13,926,970 |
| Net investment income | 16,667,725 |
| REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) | |
| Net realized gain (loss) on: | |
| Securities from unaffiliated issuers (Notes 1 and 3) | 76,464,041 |
| Foreign currency transactions (Note 1) | (59,175) |
| Forward currency contracts (Note 1) | 2,773,047 |
| Futures contracts (Note 1) | 1,854,692 |
| Total net realized gain | 81,032,605 |
| Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on: | |
| Securities from unaffiliated issuers and TBA sale commitments | 65,494,107 |
| Assets and liabilities in foreign currencies | 1,163 |
| Forward currency contracts | (2,734,643) |
| Futures contracts | 224,501 |
| Total change in net unrealized appreciation | 62,985,128 |
| Net gain on investments | 144,017,733 |
| Net increase in net assets resulting from operations | $160,685,458 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
| 46 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
Statement of changes in net assets
| INCREASE IN NET ASSETS | Year ended 7/31/20 | Year ended 7/31/19 |
| Operations | ||
| Net investment income | $16,667,725 | $17,102,834 |
| Net realized gain on investments | ||
| and foreign currency transactions | 81,032,605 | 74,527,943 |
| Change in net unrealized appreciation of investments | ||
| and assets and liabilities in foreign currencies | 62,985,128 | 13,339,889 |
| Net increase in net assets resulting from operations | 160,685,458 | 104,970,666 |
| Distributions to shareholders (Note 1): | ||
| From ordinary income | ||
| Net investment income | ||
| Class A | (26,925,311) | (13,785,181) |
| Class B | (258,497) | (99,703) |
| Class C | (1,329,921) | (330,052) |
| Class M | (1,127,008) | (612,219) |
| Class R | (26,338) | (9,753) |
| Class R5 | (3,770) | (240) |
| Class R6 | (992,159) | (414,141) |
| Class Y | (3,837,069) | (1,344,408) |
| Net realized short-term gain on investments | ||
| Class A | (4,870,903) | (15,067,455) |
| Class B | (67,896) | (249,377) |
| Class C | (328,484) | (633,964) |
| Class M | (255,685) | (1,035,979) |
| Class R | (5,610) | (11,943) |
| Class R5 | (607) | (219) |
| Class R6 | (153,777) | (350,615) |
| Class Y | (609,820) | (1,197,716) |
| From net realized long-term gain on investments | ||
| Class A | (36,267,984) | (50,096,888) |
| Class B | (505,539) | (829,138) |
| Class C | (2,446,391) | (2,107,829) |
| Class M | (1,903,375) | (3,444,465) |
| Class R | (41,774) | (39,708) |
| Class R5 | (4,522) | (730) |
| Class R6 | (1,145,382) | (1,165,739) |
| Class Y | (4,540,864) | (3,982,213) |
| Increase from capital share transactions (Note 4) | 149,833,495 | 75,914,400 |
| Total increase in net assets | 222,870,267 | 84,075,391 |
| NET ASSETS | ||
| Beginning of year | 1,318,890,780 | 1,234,815,389 |
| End of year | $1,541,761,047 | $1,318,890,780 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 47 |
Financial highlights (For a common share outstanding throughout the period)
| INVESTMENT OPERATIONS | LESS DISTRIBUTIONS | RATIOS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA | |||||||||||
| Ratio of net | |||||||||||||
| Net asset | Net realized | From | Ratio | investment | |||||||||
| value, | and unrealized | Total from | net | From | Net asset | Total return | Net assets, | of expenses | income (loss) | Portfolio | |||
| beginning | Net investment | gain (loss) | investment | investment | net realized gain | Total | value, end | at net asset | end of period | to average | to average | turnover | |
| Period ended | of period | income (loss)a | on investments | operations | income | on investments | distributions | of period | value (%)b | (in thousands) | net assets (%)c | net assets (%) | (%)d |
| Class A | |||||||||||||
| July 31, 2020 | $20.63 | .25 | 2.13 | 2.38 | (.52) | (.81) | (1.33) | $21.68 | 12.04 | $1,147,249 | .97 | 1.23 | 97 |
| July 31, 2019 | 20.62 | .28 | 1.37 | 1.65 | (.28) | (1.36) | (1.64) | 20.63 | 8.86 | 1,041,441 | .98 | 1.44 | 143 |
| July 31, 2018 | 19.09 | .23 | 1.53 | 1.76 | (.23) | — | (.23) | 20.62 | 9.28 | 1,004,781 | .99 | 1.18 | 179 |
| July 31, 2017 | 17.38 | .23 | 1.69 | 1.92 | (.21) | — | (.21) | 19.09 | 11.14 | 972,570 | 1.01 | 1.29 | 204 |
| July 31, 2016 | 17.22 | .22 | .14 | .36 | (.20) | — | (.20) | 17.38 | 2.17 | 953,549 | 1.00e | 1.33e | 154 |
| Class B | |||||||||||||
| July 31, 2020 | $20.38 | .10 | 2.11 | 2.21 | (.37) | (.81) | (1.18) | $21.41 | 11.23 | $13,533 | 1.72 | .49 | 97 |
| July 31, 2019 | 20.39 | .14 | 1.34 | 1.48 | (.13) | (1.36) | (1.49) | 20.38 | 8.02 | 14,844 | 1.73 | .70 | 143 |
| July 31, 2018 | 18.87 | .08 | 1.52 | 1.60 | (.08) | — | (.08) | 20.39 | 8.49 | 17,258 | 1.74 | .43 | 179 |
| July 31, 2017 | 17.18 | .10 | 1.67 | 1.77 | (.08) | — | (.08) | 18.87 | 10.33 | 20,188 | 1.76 | .55 | 204 |
| July 31, 2016 | 17.02 | .10 | .14 | .24 | (.08) | — | (.08) | 17.18 | 1.42 | 21,592 | 1.75e | .58e | 154 |
| Class C | |||||||||||||
| July 31, 2020 | $20.46 | .09 | 2.12 | 2.21 | (.38) | (.81) | (1.19) | $21.48 | 11.20 | $86,199 | 1.72 | .47 | 97 |
| July 31, 2019 | 20.47 | .13 | 1.36 | 1.49 | (.14) | (1.36) | (1.50) | 20.46 | 8.06 | 61,417 | 1.73 | .68 | 143 |
| July 31, 2018 | 18.95 | .08 | 1.52 | 1.60 | (.08) | — | (.08) | 20.47 | 8.45 | 40,002 | 1.74 | .43 | 179 |
| July 31, 2017 | 17.26 | .10 | 1.67 | 1.77 | (.08) | — | (.08) | 18.95 | 10.29 | 45,970 | 1.76 | .54 | 204 |
| July 31, 2016 | 17.10 | .09 | .15 | .24 | (.08) | — | (.08) | 17.26 | 1.45 | 41,700 | 1.75e | .58e | 154 |
| Class M | |||||||||||||
| July 31, 2020 | $20.32 | .15 | 2.09 | 2.24 | (.41) | (.81) | (1.22) | $21.34 | 11.46 | $54,871 | 1.47 | .75 | 97 |
| July 31, 2019 | 20.33 | .18 | 1.35 | 1.53 | (.18) | (1.36) | (1.54) | 20.32 | 8.34 | 65,488 | 1.48 | .94 | 143 |
| July 31, 2018 | 18.82 | .13 | 1.52 | 1.65 | (.14) | — | (.14) | 20.33 | 8.77 | 70,239 | 1.49 | .68 | 179 |
| July 31, 2017 | 17.15 | .14 | 1.66 | 1.80 | (.13) | — | (.13) | 18.82 | 10.53 | 70,919 | 1.51 | .79 | 204 |
| July 31, 2016 | 16.99 | .14 | .14 | .28 | (.12) | — | (.12) | 17.15 | 1.69 | 66,779 | 1.50e | .83e | 154 |
| Class R | |||||||||||||
| July 31, 2020 | $20.56 | .20 | 2.12 | 2.32 | (.47) | (.81) | (1.28) | $21.60 | 11.76 | $1,113 | 1.22 | .98 | 97 |
| July 31, 2019 | 20.56 | .23 | 1.36 | 1.59 | (.23) | (1.36) | (1.59) | 20.56 | 8.58 | 999 | 1.23 | 1.19 | 143 |
| July 31, 2018 | 19.03 | .18 | 1.53 | 1.71 | (.18) | — | (.18) | 20.56 | 9.02 | 838 | 1.24 | .93 | 179 |
| July 31, 2017 | 17.33 | .18 | 1.70 | 1.88 | (.18) | — | (.18) | 19.03 | 10.90 | 1,090 | 1.26 | .99 | 204 |
| July 31, 2016 | 17.16 | .19 | .13 | .32 | (.15) | — | (.15) | 17.33 | 1.93 | 409 | 1.25e | 1.13e | 154 |
| Class R5 | |||||||||||||
| July 31, 2020 | $20.82 | .29 | 2.17 | 2.46 | (.58) | (.81) | (1.39) | $21.89 | 12.33 | $223 | .72 | 1.41 | 97 |
| July 31, 2019 | 20.79 | .32 | 1.40 | 1.72 | (.33) | (1.36) | (1.69) | 20.82 | 9.17 | 16 | .72 | 1.56 | 143 |
| July 31, 2018 | 19.24 | .27f | 1.56 | 1.83 | (.28) | — | (.28) | 20.79 | 9.60 | 14 | .73 | 1.30f | 179 |
| July 31, 2017 | 17.45 | .30f | 1.69 | 1.99 | (.20) | — | (.20) | 19.24 | 11.46 | 13 | .74 | 1.71f | 204 |
| July 31, 2016 | 17.28 | .26 | .16 | .42 | (.25) | — | (.25) | 17.45 | 2.49 | 76,674 | .73e | 1.59e | 154 |
See notes to financial highlights at the end of this section.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
| 48 George Putnam Balanced Fund | George Putnam Balanced Fund 49 |
Financial highlights cont.
| INVESTMENT OPERATIONS | LESS DISTRIBUTIONS | RATIOS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA | |||||||||||
| Ratio of net | |||||||||||||
| Net asset | Net realized | From | Ratio | investment | |||||||||
| value, | and unrealized | Total from | net | From | Net asset | Total return | Net assets, | of expenses | income (loss) | Portfolio | |||
| beginning | Net investment | gain (loss) | investment | investment | net realized gain | Total | value, end | at net asset | end of period | to average | to average | turnover | |
| Period ended | of period | income (loss) a | on investments | operations | income | on investments | distributions | of period | value (%)b | (in thousands) | net assets (%)c | net assets (%) | (%) d |
| Class R6 | |||||||||||||
| July 31, 2020 | $20.73 | .32 | 2.15 | 2.47 | (.60) | (.81) | (1.41) | $21.79 | 12.42 | $46,529 | .62 | 1.56 | 97 |
| July 31, 2019 | 20.71 | .36 | 1.37 | 1.73 | (.35) | (1.36) | (1.71) | 20.73 | 9.27 | 29,859 | .62 | 1.80 | 143 |
| July 31, 2018 | 19.17 | .31 | 1.53 | 1.84 | (.30) | — | (.30) | 20.71 | 9.69 | 19,694 | .63 | 1.54 | 179 |
| July 31, 2017 | 17.45 | .30 | 1.70 | 2.00 | (.28) | — | (.28) | 19.17 | 11.57 | 11,738 | .64 | 1.64 | 204 |
| July 31, 2016 | 17.28 | .28 | .15 | .43 | (.26) | — | (.26) | 17.45 | 2.58 | 8,013 | .63e | 1.71e | 154 |
| Class Y | |||||||||||||
| July 31, 2020 | $20.72 | .30 | 2.15 | 2.45 | (.58) | (.81) | (1.39) | $21.78 | 12.32 | $192,044 | .72 | 1.45 | 97 |
| July 31, 2019 | 20.70 | .33 | 1.38 | 1.71 | (.33) | (1.36) | (1.69) | 20.72 | 9.15 | 104,828 | .73 | 1.68 | 143 |
| July 31, 2018 | 19.16 | .28 | 1.54 | 1.82 | (.28) | — | (.28) | 20.70 | 9.56 | 81,989 | .74 | 1.43 | 179 |
| July 31, 2017 | 17.45 | .28 | 1.69 | 1.97 | (.26) | — | (.26) | 19.16 | 11.37 | 77,716 | .76 | 1.54 | 204 |
| July 31, 2016 | 17.28 | .26 | .15 | .41 | (.24) | — | (.24) | 17.45 | 2.48 | 58,289 | .75e | 1.60e | 154 |
a Per share net investment income (loss) has been determined on the basis of the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period.
b Total return assumes dividend reinvestment and does not reflect the effect of sales charges.
c Includes amounts paid through expense offset and/or brokerage/service arrangements, if any (Note 2). Also excludes acquired fund fees and expenses, if any.
d Portfolio turnover includes TBA purchase and sales transactions.
e Reflects a voluntary waiver of certain fund expenses in effect during the period. As a result of such waivers, the expenses of each class reflect a reduction of less than .01% as a percentage of average net assets per share for each class (Note 2).
f The net investment income ratio and per share amount shown for the period ended may not correspond with the expected class specific differences for the period due to the timing of redemptions out of the class.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
| 50 George Putnam Balanced Fund | George Putnam Balanced Fund 51 |
Notes to financial statements 7/31/20
Within the following Notes to financial statements, references to “State Street” represent State Street Bank and Trust Company, references to “the SEC” represent the Securities and Exchange Commission, references to “Putnam Management” represent Putnam Investment Management, LLC, the fund’s manager, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Putnam Investments, LLC and references to “OTC”, if any, represent over-the-counter. Unless otherwise noted, the “reporting period” represents the period from August 1, 2019 through July 31, 2020.
George Putnam Balanced Fund (the fund) is a Massachusetts business trust, which is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, as a diversified open-end management investment company. The goal of the fund is to seek to provide a balanced investment composed of a well-diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds which produce both capital growth and current income. The fund invests 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, Putnam Management may purchase stocks of companies with stock prices that reflect a value lower than that which we place on the company. Putnam Management may also consider other factors that Putnam Management believes will cause the stock price to rise. The fund buys bonds of governments and private companies that are mostly investment-grade in quality with intermediate- to long-term maturities (three years or longer). Putnam Management 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. The fund may also use derivatives, such as futures, options, warrants and swap contracts, for both hedging and non-hedging purposes.
The fund offers class A, class B, class C, class M, class R, class R5, class R6 and class Y shares. Effective November 25. 2019, class M shares are closed to new purchases except (1) through employer-sponsored retirement plans to the extent class A shares are not available through the plan (Eligible Plans) that had open positions in the fund’s Class M shares with Putnam Investor Services on November 25, 2019, or (2) by clients of administrators or other service providers of Eligible Plans that had open positions on behalf of their clients in the fund’s Class M shares with Putnam Investor Services on November 25, 2019, and in either case maintained the open position through November 25, 2019. Purchases of class B shares are closed to new and existing investors except by exchange from class B shares of another Putnam fund of through dividend and/or capital gains reinvestment. Class A shares are sold with a maximum front-end sales-charge of 5.75%. Class A shares generally are not subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and class R, class R5, class R6 and class Y shares are not subject to a contingent deferred sales charge. Prior to November 25, 2019, class M shares were sold with a maximum front-end sales charge of 3.50% and were not subject to a contingent deferred sales charge. Class B shares, which convert to class A shares after approximately eight years, are not subject to a front-end sales charge and are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge if those shares are redeemed within six years of purchase. Class C shares are subject to a one-year 1.00% contingent deferred sales charge and generally convert to class A shares after approximately ten years. Class R shares, which are not available to all investors, are sold at net asset value. The expenses for class A, class B, class C and class R shares may differ based on the distribution fee of each class, which is identified in Note 2. Class R5, class R6 and class Y shares, which are sold at net asset value, are generally subject to the same expenses as class A, class B, class C and class R shares, but do not bear a distribution fee, and in the case of class R5 and class R6 shares, bear a lower investor servicing fee, which is identified in Note 2. Class R5, class R6 and class Y shares are not available to all investors.
In the normal course of business, the fund enters into contracts that may include agreements to indemnify another party under given circumstances. The fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown as this would involve future claims that may be, but have not yet been, made against the fund. However, the fund’s management team expects the risk of material loss to be remote.
The fund has entered into contractual arrangements with an investment adviser, administrator, distributor, shareholder servicing agent and custodian, who each provide services to the fund. Unless expressly stated otherwise, shareholders are not parties to, or intended beneficiaries of these contractual arrangements, and these contractual arrangements are not intended to create any shareholder right to enforce them against the service providers or to seek any remedy under them against the service providers, either directly or on behalf of the fund.
Under the fund’s Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust, any claims asserted against or on behalf of the Putnam Funds, including claims against Trustees and Officers, must be brought in state and federal courts located within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
| 52 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
Note 1: Significant accounting policies
The following is a summary of significant accounting policies consistently followed by the fund in the preparation of its financial statements. The preparation of financial statements is in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements and the reported amounts of increases and decreases in net assets from operations. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Subsequent events after the Statement of assets and liabilities date through the date that the financial statements were issued have been evaluated in the preparation of the financial statements.
Investment income, realized and unrealized gains and losses and expenses of the fund are borne pro-rata based on the relative net assets of each class to the total net assets of the fund, except that each class bears expenses unique to that class (including the distribution fees applicable to such classes). Each class votes as a class only with respect to its own distribution plan or other matters on which a class vote is required by law or determined by the Trustees. If the fund were liquidated, shares of each class would receive their pro-rata share of the net assets of the fund. In addition, the Trustees declare separate dividends on each class of shares.
Security valuation Portfolio securities and other investments are valued using policies and procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. The Trustees have formed a Pricing Committee to oversee the implementation of these procedures and have delegated responsibility for valuing the fund’s assets in accordance with these procedures to Putnam Management. Putnam Management has established an internal Valuation Committee that is responsible for making fair value determinations, evaluating the effectiveness of the pricing policies of the fund and reporting to the Pricing Committee.
Investments for which market quotations are readily available are valued at the last reported sales price on their principal exchange, or official closing price for certain markets, and are classified as Level 1 securities under Accounting Standards Codification 820 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (ASC 820). If no sales are reported, as in the case of some securities that are traded OTC, a security is valued at its last reported bid price and is generally categorized as a Level 2 security.
Investments in open-end investment companies (excluding exchange-traded funds), if any, which can be classified as Level 1 or Level 2 securities, are valued based on their net asset value. The net asset value of such investment companies equals the total value of their assets less their liabilities and divided by the number of their outstanding shares.
Market quotations are not considered to be readily available for certain debt obligations (including short-term investments with remaining maturities of 60 days or less) and other investments; such investments are valued on the basis of valuations furnished by an independent pricing service approved by the Trustees or dealers selected by Putnam Management. Such services or dealers determine valuations for normal institutional-size trading units of such securities using methods based on market transactions for comparable securities and various relationships, generally recognized by institutional traders, between securities (which consider such factors as security prices, yields, maturities and ratings). These securities will generally be categorized as Level 2.
Many securities markets and exchanges outside the U.S. close prior to the scheduled close of the New York Stock Exchange and therefore the closing prices for securities in such markets or on such exchanges may not fully reflect events that occur after such close but before the scheduled close of the New York Stock Exchange. Accordingly, on certain days, the fund will fair value certain foreign equity securities taking into account multiple factors including movements in the U.S. securities markets, currency valuations and comparisons to the valuation of American Depository Receipts, exchange-traded funds and futures contracts. The foreign equity securities, which would generally be classified as Level 1 securities, will be transferred to Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy when they are valued at fair value. The number of days on which fair value prices will be used will depend on market activity and it is possible that fair value prices will be used by the fund to a significant extent. At the close of the reporting period, fair value pricing was used for certain foreign securities in the portfolio. Securities quoted in foreign currencies, if any, are translated into U.S. dollars at the current exchange rate.
To the extent a pricing service or dealer is unable to value a security or provides a valuation that Putnam Management does not believe accurately reflects the security’s fair value, the security will be valued at fair value by Putnam Management in accordance with policies and procedures approved by the Trustees. Certain investments, including certain restricted and illiquid securities and derivatives, are also valued at fair value following procedures approved by the Trustees. These valuations consider such factors as significant market or specific security events such as interest rate or credit quality changes, various relationships with other securities, discount rates, U.S. Treasury, U.S. swap and credit yields, index levels, convexity exposures, recovery rates, sales and other
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 53 |
multiples and resale restrictions. These securities are classified as Level 2 or as Level 3 depending on the priority of the significant inputs.
To assess the continuing appropriateness of fair valuations, the Valuation Committee reviews and affirms the reasonableness of such valuations on a regular basis after considering all relevant information that is reasonably available. Such valuations and procedures are reviewed periodically by the Trustees. Certain securities may be valued on the basis of a price provided by a single source. The fair value of securities is generally determined as the amount that the fund could reasonably expect to realize from an orderly disposition of such securities over a reasonable period of time. By its nature, a fair value price is a good faith estimate of the value of a security in a current sale and does not reflect an actual market price, which may be different by a material amount.
Security transactions and related investment income Security transactions are recorded on the trade date (the date the order to buy or sell is executed). Gains or losses on securities sold are determined on the identified cost basis.
Interest income, net of any applicable withholding taxes, if any, and including amortization and accretion of premiums and discounts on debt securities, is recorded on the accrual basis. Dividend income, net of any applicable withholding taxes, is recognized on the ex-dividend date except that certain dividends from foreign securities, if any, are recognized as soon as the fund is informed of the ex-dividend date. Non-cash dividends, if any, are recorded at the fair value of the securities received. Dividends representing a return of capital or capital gains, if any, are reflected as a reduction of cost and/or as a realized gain.
Securities purchased or sold on a delayed delivery basis may be settled at a future date beyond customary settlement time; interest income is accrued based on the terms of the securities. Losses may arise due to changes in the fair value of the underlying securities or if the counterparty does not perform under the contract.
Stripped securities The fund may invest in stripped securities which represent a participation in securities that may be structured in classes with rights to receive different portions of the interest and principal. Interest-only securities receive all of the interest and principal-only securities receive all of the principal. If the interest-only securities experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, the fund may fail to recoup fully its initial investment in these securities. Conversely, principal-only securities increase in value if prepayments are greater than anticipated and decline if prepayments are slower than anticipated. The fair value of these securities is highly sensitive to changes in interest rates.
Foreign currency translation The accounting records of the fund are maintained in U.S. dollars. The fair value of foreign securities, currency holdings, and other assets and liabilities is recorded in the books and records of the fund after translation to U.S. dollars based on the exchange rates on that day. The cost of each security is determined using historical exchange rates. Income and withholding taxes are translated at prevailing exchange rates when earned or incurred. The fund does not isolate that portion of realized or unrealized gains or losses resulting from changes in the foreign exchange rate on investments from fluctuations arising from changes in the market prices of the securities. Such gains and losses are included with the net realized and unrealized gain or loss on investments.
Net realized gains and losses on foreign currency transactions represent net realized exchange gains or losses on disposition of foreign currencies, currency gains and losses realized between the trade and settlement dates on securities transactions and the difference between the amount of investment income and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the fund’s books and the U.S. dollar equivalent amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized appreciation and depreciation of assets and liabilities in foreign currencies arise from changes in the value of assets and liabilities other than investments at the period end, resulting from changes in the exchange rate.
Futures contracts The fund uses futures contracts to equitize cash.
The potential risk to the fund is that the change in value of futures contracts may not correspond to the change in value of the hedged instruments. In addition, losses may arise from changes in the value of the underlying instruments, if there is an illiquid secondary market for the contracts, if interest or exchange rates move unexpectedly or if the counterparty to the contract is unable to perform. With futures, there is minimal counterparty credit risk to the fund since futures are exchange traded and the exchange’s clearinghouse, as counterparty to all exchange traded futures, guarantees the futures against default. Risks may exceed amounts recognized on the Statement of assets and liabilities. When the contract is closed, the fund records a realized gain or loss equal to the difference between the value of the contract at the time it was opened and the value at the time it was closed.
| 54 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
Futures contracts are valued at the quoted daily settlement prices established by the exchange on which they trade. The fund and the broker agree to exchange an amount of cash equal to the daily fluctuation in the value of the futures contract. Such receipts or payments are known as “variation margin.”
Futures contracts outstanding at period end, if any, are listed after the fund’s portfolio.
Forward currency contracts The fund buys and sells forward currency contracts, which are agreements between two parties to buy and sell currencies at a set price on a future date. These contracts are used to hedge foreign exchange risk.
The U.S. dollar value of forward currency contracts is determined using current forward currency exchange rates supplied by a quotation service. The fair value of the contract will fluctuate with changes in currency exchange rates. The contract is marked to market daily and the change in fair value is recorded as an unrealized gain or loss. The fund records a realized gain or loss equal to the difference between the value of the contract at the time it was opened and the value at the time it was closed when the contract matures or by delivery of the currency. The fund could be exposed to risk if the value of the currency changes unfavorably, if the counterparties to the contracts are unable to meet the terms of their contracts or if the fund is unable to enter into a closing position. Risks may exceed amounts recognized on the Statement of assets and liabilities.
Forward currency contracts outstanding at period end, if any, are listed after the fund’s portfolio.
TBA commitments The fund may enter into TBA (to be announced) commitments to purchase securities for a fixed unit price at a future date beyond customary settlement time. Although the unit price and par amount have been established, the actual securities have not been specified. However, it is anticipated that the amount of the commitments will not significantly differ from the principal amount. The fund holds, and maintains until settlement date, cash or high-grade debt obligations in an amount sufficient to meet the purchase price, or the fund may enter into offsetting contracts for the forward sale of other securities it owns. Income on the securities will not be earned until settlement date.
The fund may also enter into TBA sale commitments to hedge its portfolio positions, to sell mortgage-backed securities it owns under delayed delivery arrangements or to take a short position in mortgage-backed securities. Proceeds of TBA sale commitments are not received until the contractual settlement date. During the time a TBA sale commitment is outstanding, either equivalent deliverable securities or an offsetting TBA purchase commitment deliverable on or before the sale commitment date are held as “cover” for the transaction, or other liquid assets in an amount equal to the notional value of the TBA sale commitment are segregated. If the TBA sale commitment is closed through the acquisition of an offsetting TBA purchase commitment, the fund realizes a gain or loss. If the fund delivers securities under the commitment, the fund realizes a gain or a loss from the sale of the securities based upon the unit price established at the date the commitment was entered into.
TBA commitments, which are accounted for as purchase and sale transactions, may be considered securities themselves, and involve a risk of loss due to changes in the value of the security prior to the settlement date as well as the risk that the counterparty to the transaction will not perform its obligations. Counterparty risk is mitigated by having a master agreement between the fund and the counterparty.
Unsettled TBA commitments are valued at their fair value according to the procedures described under “Security valuation” above. The contract is marked to market daily and the change in fair value is recorded by the fund as an unrealized gain or loss. Based on market circumstances, Putnam Management will determine whether to take delivery of the underlying securities or to dispose of the TBA commitments prior to settlement.
TBA purchase commitments outstanding at period end, if any, are listed within the fund’s portfolio and TBA sale commitments outstanding at period end, if any, are listed after the fund’s portfolio.
Master agreements The fund is a party to ISDA (International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc.) Master Agreements that govern OTC derivative and foreign exchange contracts and Master Securities Forward Transaction Agreements that govern transactions involving mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities that may result in delayed delivery (Master Agreements) with certain counterparties entered into from time to time. The Master Agreements may contain provisions regarding, among other things, the parties’ general obligations, representations, agreements, collateral requirements, events of default and early termination. With respect to certain counterparties, in accordance with the terms of the Master Agreements, collateral posted to the fund is held in a segregated account by the fund’s custodian and, with respect to those amounts which can be sold or repledged, are presented in the fund’s portfolio. Collateral posted to the fund which cannot be sold or repledged totaled $222,289 at the close of the reporting period.
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 55 |
Collateral pledged by the fund is segregated by the fund’s custodian and identified in the fund’s portfolio. Collateral can be in the form of cash or debt securities issued by the U.S. Government or related agencies or other securities as agreed to by the fund and the applicable counterparty. Collateral requirements are determined based on the fund’s net position with each counterparty.
With respect to ISDA Master Agreements, termination events applicable to the fund may occur upon a decline in the fund’s net assets below a specified threshold over a certain period of time. Termination events applicable to counterparties may occur upon a decline in the counterparty’s long-term or short-term credit ratings below a specified level. In each case, upon occurrence, the other party may elect to terminate early and cause settlement of all derivative and foreign exchange contracts outstanding, including the payment of any losses and costs resulting from such early termination, as reasonably determined by the terminating party. Any decision by one or more of the fund’s counterparties to elect early termination could impact the fund’s future derivative activity.
At the close of the reporting period, the fund had a net liability position of $1,866,358 on open derivative contracts subject to the Master Agreements. Collateral posted by the fund at period end for these agreements totaled $1,581,084 and may include amounts related to unsettled agreements.
Securities lending The fund may lend securities, through its agent, to qualified borrowers in order to earn additional income. The loans are collateralized by cash in an amount at least equal to the fair value of the securities loaned. The fair value of securities loaned is determined daily and any additional required collateral is allocated to the fund on the next business day. The remaining maturities of the securities lending transactions are considered overnight and continuous. The risk of borrower default will be borne by the fund’s agent; the fund will bear the risk of loss with respect to the investment of the cash collateral. Income from securities lending, net of expenses, is included in investment income on the Statement of operations. Cash collateral is invested in Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC, a limited liability company managed by an affiliate of Putnam Management. Investments in Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC are valued at its closing net asset value each business day. There are no management fees charged to Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC. At the close of the reporting period, the fund received cash collateral of $7,020,885 and the value of the securities loaned amounted to $6,751,395.
Interfund lending The fund, along with other Putnam funds, may participate in an interfund lending program pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the SEC. This program allows the fund to borrow from or lend to other Putnam funds that permit such transactions. Interfund lending transactions are subject to each fund’s investment policies and borrowing and lending limits. Interest earned or paid on the interfund lending transaction will be based on the average of certain current market rates. During the reporting period, the fund did not utilize the program.
Lines of credit The fund participates, along with other Putnam funds, in a $317.5 million unsecured committed line of credit and a $235.5 million unsecured uncommitted line of credit, both provided by State Street. Borrowings may be made for temporary or emergency purposes, including the funding of shareholder redemption requests and trade settlements. Interest is charged to the fund based on the fund’s borrowing at a rate equal to 1.25% plus the higher of (1) the Federal Funds rate and (2) the overnight LIBOR for the committed line of credit and the Federal Funds rate plus 1.30% for the uncommitted line of credit. A closing fee equal to 0.04% of the committed line of credit and 0.04% of the uncommitted line of credit has been paid by the participating funds. In addition, a commitment fee of 0.21% per annum on any unutilized portion of the committed line of credit is allocated to the participating funds based on their relative net assets and paid quarterly. During the reporting period, the fund had no borrowings against these arrangements.
Federal taxes It is the policy of the fund to distribute all of its taxable income within the prescribed time period and otherwise comply with the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), applicable to regulated investment companies. It is also the intention of the fund to distribute an amount sufficient to avoid imposition of any excise tax under Section 4982 of the Code.
The fund is subject to the provisions of Accounting Standards Codification 740 Income Taxes (ASC 740). ASC 740 sets forth a minimum threshold for financial statement recognition of the benefit of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. The fund did not have a liability to record for any unrecognized tax benefits in the accompanying financial statements. No provision has been made for federal taxes on income, capital gains or unrealized appreciation on securities held nor for excise tax on income and capital gains. Each of the fund’s federal tax returns for the prior three fiscal years remains subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service.
The fund may also be subject to taxes imposed by governments of countries in which it invests. Such taxes are generally based on either income or gains earned or repatriated. The fund accrues and applies such taxes to net investment income, net realized gains and net unrealized gains as income and/or capital gains are earned. In
| 56 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
some cases, the fund may be entitled to reclaim all or a portion of such taxes, and such reclaim amounts, if any, are reflected as an asset on the fund’s books. In many cases, however, the fund may not receive such amounts for an extended period of time, depending on the country of investment.
Distributions to shareholders Distributions to shareholders from net investment income are recorded by the fund on the ex-dividend date. Distributions from capital gains, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date and paid at least annually. The amount and character of income and gains to be distributed are determined in accordance with income tax regulations, which may differ from generally accepted accounting principles. These differences include temporary and/or permanent differences from losses on wash sale transactions, from foreign currency gains and losses, from interest-only securities, and from redesignation of taxable distributions. Reclassifications are made to the fund’s capital accounts to reflect income and gains available for distribution (or available capital loss carryovers) under income tax regulations. At the close of the reporting period, the fund reclassified $2,692,731 to increase undistributed net investment income, $896 to decrease paid-in capital and $2,691,835 to decrease accumulated net realized gain.
Tax cost of investments includes adjustments to net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) which may not necessarily be final tax cost basis adjustments, but closely approximate the tax basis unrealized gains and losses that may be realized and distributed to shareholders. The tax basis components of distributable earnings and the federal tax cost as of the close of the reporting period were as follows:
| Unrealized appreciation | $245,641,697 |
| Unrealized depreciation | (59,427,594) |
| Net unrealized appreciation | 186,214,103 |
| Undistributed short-term gain | 13,734,142 |
| Undistributed long-term gain | 55,300,989 |
| Cost for federal income tax purposes | $1,386,621,191 |
Note 2: Management fee, administrative services and other transactions
The fund pays Putnam Management a management fee (based on the fund’s average net assets and computed and paid monthly) at annual rates that may vary based on the average of the aggregate net assets of all open-end mutual funds sponsored by Putnam Management (excluding net assets of funds that are invested in, or that are invested in by, other Putnam funds to the extent necessary to avoid “double counting” of those assets). Such annual rates may vary as follows:
| 0.680% | of the first $5 billion, | 0.480% | of the next $50 billion, | |
| 0.630% | of the next $5 billion, | 0.460% | of the next $50 billion, | |
| 0.580% | of the next $10 billion, | 0.450% | of the next $100 billion and | |
| 0.530% | of the next $10 billion, | 0.445% | of any excess thereafter. |
For the reporting period, the management fee represented an effective rate (excluding the impact from any expense waivers in effect) of 0.519% of the fund’s average net assets.
Putnam Management has contractually agreed, through November 30, 2021, to waive fees and/or reimburse the fund’s expenses to the extent necessary to limit the cumulative expenses of the fund, exclusive of brokerage, interest, taxes, investment-related expenses, extraordinary expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses and payments under the fund’s investor servicing contract, investment management contract and distribution plans, on a fiscal year-to-date basis to an annual rate of 0.20% of the fund’s average net assets over such fiscal year-to-date period. During the reporting period, the fund’s expenses were not reduced as a result of this limit.
Putnam Investments Limited (PIL), an affiliate of Putnam Management, is authorized by the Trustees to manage a separate portion of the assets of the fund as determined by Putnam Management from time to time. PIL did not manage any portion of the assets of the fund during the reporting period. If Putnam Management were to engage the services of PIL, Putnam Management would pay a quarterly sub-management fee to PIL for its services at an annual rate of 0.40% of the average net assets of the portion of the fund managed by PIL.
The fund reimburses Putnam Management an allocated amount for the compensation and related expenses of certain officers of the fund and their staff who provide administrative services to the fund. The aggregate amount of all such reimbursements is determined annually by the Trustees.
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 57 |
Custodial functions for the fund’s assets are provided by State Street. Custody fees are based on the fund’s asset level, the number of its security holdings and transaction volumes.
Putnam Investor Services, Inc., an affiliate of Putnam Management, provides investor servicing agent functions to the fund. Putnam Investor Services, Inc. received fees for investor servicing for class A, class B, class C, class M, class R, class R5, class R6, and class Y shares that included (1) a per account fee for each direct and underlying non-defined contribution account (retail account) of the fund; (2) a specified rate of the fund’s assets attributable to defined contribution plan accounts; and (3) a specified rate based on the average net assets in retail accounts. Putnam Investor Services, Inc. has agreed that the aggregate investor servicing fees for each fund’s retail and defined contribution accounts for these share classes will not exceed an annual rate of 0.25% of the fund’s average assets attributable to such accounts.
Class R5 shares paid a monthly fee based on the average net assets of class R5 shares at an annual rate of 0.15%.
Class R6 shares paid a monthly fee based on the average net assets of class R6 shares at an annual rate of 0.05%.
During the reporting period, the expenses for each class of shares related to investor servicing fees were as follows:
| Class A | $1,579,627 | Class R5 | 223 | |
| Class B | 20,633 | Class R6 | 18,115 | |
| Class C | 109,686 | Class Y | 217,309 | |
| Class M | 84,968 | Total | $2,032,155 | |
| Class R | 1,594 |
The fund has entered into expense offset arrangements with Putnam Investor Services, Inc. and State Street whereby Putnam Investor Services, Inc.’s and State Street’s fees are reduced by credits allowed on cash balances. The fund also reduced expenses through brokerage/service arrangements. For the reporting period, the fund’s expenses were reduced by $11,109 under the expense offset arrangements and by $14,280 under the brokerage/service arrangements.
Each Independent Trustee of the fund receives an annual Trustee fee, of which $1,076, as a quarterly retainer, has been allocated to the fund, and an additional fee for each Trustees meeting attended. Trustees also are reimbursed for expenses they incur relating to their services as Trustees.
The fund has adopted a Trustee Fee Deferral Plan (the Deferral Plan) which allows the Trustees to defer the receipt of all or a portion of Trustees fees payable on or after July 1, 1995. The deferred fees remain invested in certain Putnam funds until distribution in accordance with the Deferral Plan.
The fund has adopted an unfunded noncontributory defined benefit pension plan (the Pension Plan) covering all Trustees of the fund who have served as a Trustee for at least five years and were first elected prior to 2004. Benefits under the Pension Plan are equal to 50% of the Trustee’s average annual attendance and retainer fees for the three years ended December 31, 2005. The retirement benefit is payable during a Trustee’s lifetime, beginning the year following retirement, for the number of years of service through December 31, 2006. Pension expense for the fund is included in Trustee compensation and expenses in the Statement of operations. Accrued pension liability is included in Payable for Trustee compensation and expenses in the Statement of assets and liabilities. The Trustees have terminated the Pension Plan with respect to any Trustee first elected after 2003.
The fund has adopted distribution plans (the Plans) with respect to the following share classes pursuant to Rule 12b–1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The purpose of the Plans is to compensate Putnam Retail Management Limited Partnership, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Putnam Investments, LLC, for services provided and expenses incurred in distributing shares of the fund. The Plans provide payments by the fund to Putnam Retail Management Limited Partnership at an annual rate of up to the following amounts (Maximum %) of the average net assets attributable to each class. The Trustees have approved payment by the fund at the following annual rate (Approved %) of the average net assets attributable to each class. During the reporting period, the class-specific expenses related to distribution fees were as follows:
| 58 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
| Maximum % | Approved % | Amount | |
| Class A | 0.35% | 0.25% | $2,668,498 |
| Class B | 1.00% | 1.00% | 139,432 |
| Class C | 1.00% | 1.00% | 742,051 |
| Class M | 1.00% | 0.75% | 430,412 |
| Class R | 1.00% | 0.50% | 5,385 |
| Total | $3,985,778 |
For the reporting period, Putnam Retail Management Limited Partnership, acting as underwriter, received net commissions of $200,998 and $853 from the sale of class A and class M shares, respectively, and received $1,178 and $977 in contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of class B and class C shares, respectively.
A deferred sales charge of up to 1.00% is assessed on certain redemptions of class A shares. For the reporting period, Putnam Retail Management Limited Partnership, acting as underwriter, received $83 on class A redemptions.
Note 3: Purchases and sales of securities
During the reporting period, the cost of purchases and the proceeds from sales, excluding short-term investments, were as follows:
| Cost of purchases | Proceeds from sales | |
| Investments in securities, including TBA commitments (Long-term) | $1,253,739,272 | $1,231,751,965 |
| U.S. government securities (Long-term) | 143,163,300 | 86,703,867 |
| Total | $1,396,902,572 | $1,318,455,832 |
The fund may purchase or sell investments from or to other Putnam funds in the ordinary course of business, which can reduce the fund’s transaction costs, at prices determined in accordance with SEC requirements and policies approved by the Trustees. During the reporting period, purchases or sales of long-term securities from or to other Putnam funds, if any, did not represent more than 5% of the fund’s total cost of purchases and/or total proceeds from sales.
Note 4: Capital shares
At the close of the reporting period, there were an unlimited number of shares of beneficial interest authorized. Transactions, including, if applicable, direct exchanges pursuant to share conversions, in capital shares were as follows:
| YEAR ENDED 7/31/20 | YEAR ENDED 7/31/19 | |||
| Class A | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount |
| Shares sold | 5,949,720 | $122,072,098 | 3,381,318 | $66,091,632 |
| Shares issued in connection with | ||||
| reinvestment of distributions | 3,153,067 | 64,215,869 | 3,961,602 | 74,358,017 |
| 9,102,787 | 186,287,967 | 7,342,920 | 140,449,649 | |
| Shares repurchased | (6,667,341) | (134,653,072) | (5,592,320) | (109,303,080) |
| Net increase | 2,435,446 | $51,634,895 | 1,750,600 | $31,146,569 |
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 59 |
| YEAR ENDED 7/31/20 | YEAR ENDED 7/31/19 | |||
| Class B | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount |
| Shares sold | 75,547 | $1,516,319 | 53,844 | $1,039,800 |
| Shares issued in connection with | ||||
| reinvestment of distributions | 39,410 | 793,439 | 60,668 | 1,121,676 |
| 114,957 | 2,309,758 | 114,512 | 2,161,476 | |
| Shares repurchased | (211,001) | (4,231,306) | (232,836) | (4,498,174) |
| Net decrease | (96,044) | $(1,921,548) | (118,324) | $(2,336,698) |
| YEAR ENDED 7/31/20 | YEAR ENDED 7/31/19 | |||
| Class C | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount |
| Shares sold | 2,113,901 | $42,949,300 | 1,335,751 | $25,958,369 |
| Shares issued in connection with | ||||
| reinvestment of distributions | 195,953 | 3,959,050 | 152,759 | 2,837,732 |
| 2,309,854 | 46,908,350 | 1,488,510 | 28,796,101 | |
| Shares repurchased | (1,298,265) | (26,075,668) | (440,624) | (8,558,494) |
| Net increase | 1,011,589 | $20,832,682 | 1,047,886 | $20,237,607 |
| YEAR ENDED 7/31/20 | YEAR ENDED 7/31/19 | |||
| Class M | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount |
| Shares sold | 333,377 | $6,752,046 | 414,653 | $7,908,044 |
| Shares issued in connection with | ||||
| reinvestment of distributions | 163,750 | 3,285,468 | 274,983 | 5,073,820 |
| 497,127 | 10,037,514 | 689,636 | 12,981,864 | |
| Shares repurchased | (1,149,141) | (23,419,166) | (921,296) | (17,830,553) |
| Net decrease | (652,014) | $(13,381,652) | (231,660) | $(4,848,689) |
| YEAR ENDED 7/31/20 | YEAR ENDED 7/31/19 | |||
| Class R | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount |
| Shares sold | 22,363 | $457,310 | 9,097 | $179,756 |
| Shares issued in connection with | ||||
| reinvestment of distributions | 3,631 | 73,684 | 3,275 | 61,231 |
| 25,994 | 530,994 | 12,372 | 240,987 | |
| Shares repurchased | (23,044) | (475,413) | (4,565) | (94,156) |
| Net increase | 2,950 | $55,581 | 7,807 | $146,831 |
| YEAR ENDED 7/31/20 | YEAR ENDED 7/31/19 | |||
| Class R5 | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount |
| Shares sold | 9,715 | $202,525 | — | $— |
| Shares issued in connection with | ||||
| reinvestment of distributions | 433 | 8,899 | 63 | 1,189 |
| 10,148 | 211,424 | 63 | 1,189 | |
| Shares repurchased | (736) | (15,482) | — | — |
| Net increase | 9,412 | $195,942 | 63 | $1,189 |
| 60 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
| YEAR ENDED 7/31/20 | YEAR ENDED 7/31/19 | |||
| Class R6 | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount |
| Shares sold | 997,914 | $20,524,054 | 661,871 | $13,118,638 |
| Shares issued in connection with | ||||
| reinvestment of distributions | 112,053 | 2,291,317 | 102,319 | 1,930,495 |
| 1,109,967 | 22,815,371 | 764,190 | 15,049,133 | |
| Shares repurchased | (415,009) | (8,444,053) | (274,589) | (5,311,669) |
| Net increase | 694,958 | $14,371,318 | 489,601 | $9,737,464 |
| YEAR ENDED 7/31/20 | YEAR ENDED 7/31/19 | |||
| Class Y | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount |
| Shares sold | 5,262,848 | $107,995,062 | 2,102,971 | $41,845,266 |
| Shares issued in connection with | ||||
| reinvestment of distributions | 438,058 | 8,957,741 | 343,481 | 6,478,983 |
| 5,700,906 | 116,952,803 | 2,446,452 | 48,324,249 | |
| Shares repurchased | (1,942,861) | (38,906,526) | (1,347,546) | (26,494,122) |
| Net increase | 3,758,045 | $78,046,277 | 1,098,906 | $21,830,127 |
At the close of the reporting period, Putnam Investments, LLC owned 811 class R5 shares of the fund (7.97% of class R5 shares outstanding), valued at $17,753.
Note 5: Affiliated transactions
Transactions during the reporting period with any company which is under common ownership or control were as follows:
| Shares | |||||
| outstanding | |||||
| and fair | |||||
| Fair value as | Purchase | Sale | Investment | value as | |
| Name of affiliate | of 7/31/19 | cost | proceeds | income | of 7/31/20 |
| Short-term investments | |||||
| Putnam Cash Collateral | |||||
| Pool, LLC* | $3,897,725 | $239,204,370 | $236,081,210 | $160,075 | $7,020,885 |
| Putnam Short Term | |||||
| Investment Fund** | 46,255,634 | 367,311,857 | 330,845,816 | 873,104 | 82,721,675 |
| Total Short-term | |||||
| investments | $50,153,359 | $606,516,227 | $566,927,026 | $1,033,179 | $89,742,560 |
* No management fees are charged to Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC (Note 1). Investment income shown is included in securities lending income on the Statement of operations. There were no realized or unrealized gains or losses during the period.
** Management fees charged to Putnam Short Term Investment Fund have been waived by Putnam Management. There were no realized or unrealized gains or losses during the period.
Note 6: Market, credit and other risks
In the normal course of business, the fund trades financial instruments and enters into financial transactions where risk of potential loss exists due to changes in the market (market risk) or failure of the contracting party to the transaction to perform (credit risk). The fund may be exposed to additional credit risk that an institution or other entity with which the fund has unsettled or open transactions will default. Investments in foreign securities involve certain risks, including those related to economic instability, unfavorable political developments, and currency fluctuations. The fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in securitized debt instruments, including mortgage-backed and asset-backed investments. The yields and values of these investments are sensitive to changes in interest rates, the rate of principal payments on the underlying assets and the market’s
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 61 |
perception of the issuers. The market for these investments may be volatile and limited, which may make them difficult to buy or sell.
On July 27, 2017, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), which regulates LIBOR, announced a desire to phase out the use of LIBOR by the end of 2021. LIBOR has historically been a common benchmark interest rate index used to make adjustments to variable-rate loans. It is used throughout global banking and financial industries to determine interest rates for a variety of financial instruments and borrowing arrangements. The transition process might lead to increased volatility and illiquidity in markets that currently rely on LIBOR to determine interest rates. It could also lead to a reduction in the value of some LIBOR-based investments and reduce the effectiveness of new hedges placed against existing LIBOR-based investments. While some LIBOR-based instruments may contemplate a scenario where LIBOR is no longer available by providing for an alternative rate-setting methodology, not all may have such provisions and there may be significant uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of any such alternative methodologies. Since the usefulness of LIBOR as a benchmark could deteriorate during the transition period, these effects could occur prior to the end of 2021.
Beginning in January 2020, global financial markets have experienced, and may continue to experience, significant volatility resulting from the spread of a virus known as COVID–19. The outbreak of COVID–19 has resulted in travel and border restrictions, quarantines, supply chain disruptions, lower consumer demand, and general market uncertainty. The effects of COVID–19 have adversely affected, and may continue to adversely affect, the global economy, the economies of certain nations, and individual issuers, all of which may negatively impact the fund’s performance.
Note 7: Summary of derivative activity
The volume of activity for the reporting period for any derivative type that was held during the period is listed below and was based on an average of the holdings at the end of each fiscal quarter:
| Futures contracts (number of contracts) | 60 |
| Forward currency contracts (contract amount) | $71,700,000 |
The following is a summary of the fair value of derivative instruments as of the close of the reporting period:
| Fair value of derivative instruments as of the close of the reporting period | ||||
| ASSET DERIVATIVES | LIABILITY DERIVATIVES | |||
| Derivatives not | ||||
| accounted for as | Statement of | Statement of | ||
| hedging instruments | assets and | assets and | ||
| under ASC 815 | liabilities location | Fair value | liabilities location | Fair value |
| Foreign exchange | ||||
| contracts | Receivables | $868,852 | Payables | $2,236,787 |
| Receivables, Net | ||||
| assets — Unrealized | Payables, Net assets — | |||
| Equity contracts | appreciation | 224,501* | Unrealized depreciation | — |
| Total | $1,093,353 | $2,236,787 | ||
* Includes cumulative appreciation/depreciation of futures contracts as reported in the fund’s portfolio. Only current day’s variation margin is reported within the Statement of assets and liabilities.
| 62 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
The following is a summary of realized and change in unrealized gains or losses of derivative instruments in the Statement of operations for the reporting period (Note 1):
| Amount of realized gain or (loss) on derivatives recognized in net gain or (loss) on investments | |||
| Derivatives not accounted for as hedging | Forward currency | ||
| instruments under ASC 815 | Futures | contracts | Total |
| Foreign exchange contracts | $— | $2,773,047 | $2,773,047 |
| Equity contracts | 1,854,692 | — | 1,854,692 |
| Total | $1,854,692 | $2,773,047 | $4,627,739 |
| Change in unrealized appreciation or (depreciation) on derivatives recognized in net gain or (loss) | |||
| on investments | |||
| Derivatives not accounted for as hedging | Forward currency | ||
| instruments under ASC 815 | Futures | contracts | Total |
| Foreign exchange contracts | $— | $(2,734,643) | $(2,734,643) |
| Equity contracts | 224,501 | — | 224,501 |
| Total | $224,501 | $(2,734,643) | $(2,510,142) |
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 63 |
Note 8: Offsetting of financial and derivative assets and liabilities
The following table summarizes any derivatives, repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements, at the end of the reporting period, that are subject to an enforceable master netting agreement or similar agreement. For securities lending transactions or borrowing transactions associated with securities sold short, if any, see Note 1. For financial reporting purposes, the fund does not offset financial assets and financial liabilities that are subject to the master netting agreements in the Statement of assets and liabilities.
| Bank of America N.A. |
Barclays Bank PLC |
BofA Securities, Inc. |
Citibank, N.A. | Goldman Sachs International |
HSBC Bank USA, National Association |
JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. |
State Street Bank and Trust Co. |
UBS AG | WestPac Banking Corp. |
Total | |
| Assets: | |||||||||||
| Futures contracts§ | $— | $— | $46,152 | $— | $— | $— | $— | $— | $— | $— | $46,152 |
| Forward currency contracts# | — | — | — | 176,738 | — | 38,173 | 189,390 | 144,055 | 279,597 | 40,899 | 868,852 |
| Total Assets | $— | $— | $46,152 | $176,738 | $— | $38,173 | $189,390 | $144,055 | $279,597 | $40,899 | $915,004 |
| Liabilities: | |||||||||||
| Futures contracts§ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Forward currency contracts# | 360,579 | 784,321 | — | 251,357 | 329,021 | 149,795 | 112,783 | 1,836 | — | 247,095 | 2,236,787 |
| Total Liabilities | $360,579 | $784,321 | $— | $251,357 | $329,021 | $149,795 | $112,783 | $1,836 | $— | $247,095 | $2,236,787 |
| Total Financial and Derivative Net Assets | $(360,579) | $(784,321) | $46,152 | $(74,619) | $(329,021) | $(111,622) | $76,607 | $142,219 | $279,597 | $(206,196) | $(1,321,783) |
| Total collateral received (pledged)†## | $(274,200) | $(782,278) | $— | $(74,619) | $(252,695) | $(111,622) | $— | $110,328 | $222,289 | $— | |
| Net amount | $(86,379) | $(2,043) | $46,152 | $— | $(76,326) | $— | $76,607 | $31,891 | $57,308 | $(206,196) | |
| Controlled collateral received (including TBA | |||||||||||
| commitments)** | $— | $— | $— | $— | $— | $— | $— | $110,328 | $— | $— | $110,328 |
| Uncontrolled collateral received | $— | $— | $— | $— | $— | $— | $— | $— | $222,289 | $— | $222,289 |
| Collateral (pledged) (including TBA commitments)** | $(274,200) | $(782,278) | $— | $(157,262) | $(252,695) | $(114,649) | $— | $— | $— | $— | $(1,581,084) |
** Included with Investments in securities on the Statement of assets and liabilities.
† Additional collateral may be required from certain brokers based on individual agreements.
# Covered by master netting agreement (Note 1).
## Any over-collateralization of total financial and derivative net assets is not shown. Collateral may include amounts related to unsettled agreements.
§ Includes current day’s variation margin only as reported on the Statement of assets and liabilities, which is not collateralized. Cumulative appreciation/(depreciation) for futures contracts and centrally cleared swap contracts is represented in the tables listed after the fund’s portfolio. Collateral pledged for initial margin on futures contracts, which is not included in the table above, amounted to $717,760.
The Form 1099 that will be mailed to you in January 2021 will show the tax status of all distributions paid to your account in calendar 2020.
Pursuant to §852 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, the fund hereby designates $67,014,858 as a capital gain dividend with respect to the taxable year ended July 31, 2020, or, if subsequently determined to be different, the net capital gain of such year.
The fund designated 34.06% of ordinary income distributions as qualifying for the dividends received deduction for corporations.
For the reporting period, the fund hereby designates 39.71%, or the maximum amount allowable, of its taxable ordinary income distributions as qualified dividends taxed at the individual net capital gain rates.
For the reporting period, pursuant to §871(k) of the Internal Revenue Code, the fund hereby designates $9,285,120 of distributions paid as qualifying to be taxed as interest-related dividends, and $6,292,783 to be taxed as short-term capital gain dividends for nonresident alien shareholders.
| 64 George Putnam Balanced Fund | George Putnam Balanced Fund 65 |
| 66 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
* Mr. Reynolds is an “interested person” (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940) of the fund and Putnam Investments. He is President and Chief Executive Officer of Putnam Investments, as well as the President of your fund and each of the other Putnam funds.
The address of each Trustee is 100 Federal Street, Boston, MA 02110.
As of July 31, 2020, there were 100 Putnam funds. All Trustees serve as Trustees of all Putnam funds.
Each Trustee serves for an indefinite term, until his or her resignation, retirement at age 75, removal, or death.
| George Putnam Balanced Fund 67 |
Officers
In addition to Robert L. Reynolds, the other officers of the fund are shown below:
| Robert T. Burns (Born 1961) | Richard T. Kircher (Born 1962) |
| Vice President and Chief Legal Officer | Vice President and BSA Compliance Officer |
| Since 2011 | Since 2019 |
| General Counsel, Putnam Investments, | Assistant Director, Operational Compliance, Putnam |
| Putnam Management, and Putnam Retail Management | Investments and Putnam Retail Management |
| James F. Clark (Born 1974) | Susan G. Malloy (Born 1957) |
| Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer | Vice President and Assistant Treasurer |
| Since 2016 | Since 2007 |
| Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Risk Officer, | Head of Accounting and Middle Office Services, |
| Putnam Investments and Chief Compliance Officer, | Putnam Investments and Putnam Management |
| Putnam Management | |
| Denere P. Poulack (Born 1968) | |
| Nancy E. Florek (Born 1957) | Assistant Vice President, Assistant Clerk, |
| Vice President, Director of Proxy Voting and Corporate | and Assistant Treasurer |
| Governance, Assistant Clerk, and Assistant Treasurer | Since 2004 |
| Since 2000 | |
| Janet C. Smith (Born 1965) | |
| Michael J. Higgins (Born 1976) | Vice President, Principal Financial Officer, Principal |
| Vice President, Treasurer, and Clerk | Accounting Officer, and Assistant Treasurer |
| Since 2010 | Since 2007 |
| Head of Fund Administration Services, | |
| Jonathan S. Horwitz (Born 1955) | Putnam Investments and Putnam Management |
| Executive Vice President, Principal Executive Officer, | |
| and Compliance Liaison | Mark C. Trenchard (Born 1962) |
| Since 2004 | Vice President |
| Since 2002 | |
| Director of Operational Compliance, Putnam | |
| Investments and Putnam Retail Management |
The principal occupations of the officers for the past five years have been with the employers as shown above, although in some cases they have held different positions with such employers. The address of each officer is 100 Federal Street, Boston, MA 02110.
| 68 George Putnam Balanced Fund |
Fund information
Founded over 80 years ago, Putnam Investments was built around the concept that a balance between risk and reward is the hallmark of a well-rounded financial program. We manage funds across income, value, blend, growth, sustainable, asset allocation, absolute return, and global sector categories.
| Investment Manager | Trustees | Michael J. Higgins |
| Putnam Investment | Kenneth R. Leibler, Chair | Vice President, Treasurer, |
| Management, LLC | Liaquat Ahamed | and Clerk |
| 100 Federal Street | Ravi Akhoury | |
| Boston, MA 02056 | Barbara M. Baumann | Jonathan S. Horwitz |
| Katinka Domotorffy | Executive Vice President, | |
| Investment Sub-Advisor | Catharine Bond Hill | Principal Executive Officer, |
| Putnam Investments Limited | Paul L. Joskow | and Compliance Liaison |
| 16 St James’s Street | George Putnam, III | |
| London, England SW1A 1ER | Robert L. Reynolds | Richard T. Kircher |
| Manoj P. Singh | Vice President and BSA | |
| Marketing Services | Mona K. Sutphen | Compliance Officer |
| Putnam Retail Management | ||
| 100 Federal Street | Officers | Susan G. Malloy |
| Boston, MA 02110 | Robert L. Reynolds | Vice President and |
| President | Assistant Treasurer | |
| Custodian | ||
| State Street Bank | Robert T. Burns | Denere P. Poulack |
| and Trust Company | Vice President and | Assistant Vice President, Assistant |
| Chief Legal Officer | Clerk, and Assistant Treasurer | |
| Legal Counsel | ||
| Ropes & Gray LLP | James F. Clark | Janet C. Smith |
| Vice President, Chief Compliance | Vice President, | |
| Independent Registered Public | Officer, and Chief Risk Officer | Principal Financial Officer, |
| Accounting Firm | Principal Accounting Officer, | |
| PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP | Nancy E. Florek | and Assistant Treasurer |
| Vice President, Director of | ||
| Proxy Voting and Corporate | Mark C. Trenchard | |
| Governance, Assistant Clerk, | Vice President | |
| and Assistant Treasurer |
This report is for the information of shareholders of George Putnam Balanced Fund. It may also be used as sales literature when preceded or accompanied by the current prospectus, the most recent copy of Putnam’s Quarterly Performance Summary, and Putnam’s Quarterly Ranking Summary. For more recent performance, please visit putnam.com. Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of a fund, which are described in its prospectus. For this and other information or to request a prospectus or summary prospectus, call 1-800-225-1581 toll free. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. The fund’s Statement of Additional Information contains additional information about the fund’s Trustees and is available without charge upon request by calling 1-800-225-1581.
| Item 2. Code of Ethics: |
| (a) The fund's principal executive, financial and accounting officers are employees of Putnam Investment Management, LLC, the Fund's investment manager. As such they are subject to a comprehensive Code of Ethics adopted and administered by Putnam Investments which is designed to protect the interests of the firm and its clients. The Fund has adopted a Code of Ethics which incorporates the Code of Ethics of Putnam Investments with respect to all of its officers and Trustees who are employees of Putnam Investment Management, LLC. For this reason, the Fund has not adopted a separate code of ethics governing its principal executive, financial and accounting officers. |
| (c) In October 2019, the Code of Ethics of Putnam Investments was amended. The key changes to the Code of Ethics are as follows: (i) Employee notification to the Code of Ethics Officer before acting as a public official for any government entity (ii) Clarifying changes to the Insider Trading provisions and to the rules for trading in securities issued by Great-West Lifeco. |
| Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert: |
| The Funds' Audit, Compliance and Distributions Committee is comprised solely of Trustees who are “independent” (as such term has been defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in regulations implementing Section 407 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (the “Regulations”)). The Trustees believe that each member of the Audit, Compliance and Distributions Committee also possesses a combination of knowledge and experience with respect to financial accounting matters, as well as other attributes, that qualifies him or her for service on the Committee. In addition, the Trustees have determined that each of Ms. Baumann, Dr. Joskow, and Mr. Singh qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” (as such term has been defined by the Regulations) based on their review of his or her pertinent experience and education; in the case of Dr. Joskow, including his experience serving on the audit committees of several public companies and institutions and his education and experience as an economist who studies companies and industries, routinely using public company financial statements in his research. The SEC has stated, and the funds' amended and restated agreement and Declaration of Trust provides, that the designation or identification of a person as an audit committee financial expert pursuant to this Item 3 of Form N-CSR does not impose on such person any duties, obligations or liability that are greater than the duties, obligations and liability imposed on such person as a member of the Audit, Compliance and Distributions Committee and the Board of Trustees in the absence of such designation or identification |
| Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services: |
| The following table presents fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for services rendered to the fund by the fund's independent auditor: |
| Fiscal year ended | Audit Fees | Audit-Related Fees | Tax Fees | All Other Fees | |
| July 31, 2020 | $113,094 | $ — | $13,679 | $ — | |
| July 31, 2019 | $116,074 | $1,281 | $16,873 | $ — | |
| For the fiscal years ended July 31, 2020 and July 31, 2019, the fund's independent auditor billed aggregate non-audit fees in the amounts of $359,521 and $565,138 respectively, to the fund, Putnam Management and any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with Putnam Management that provides ongoing services to the fund. |
| Audit Fees represent fees billed for the fund's last two fiscal years relating to the audit and review of the financial statements included in annual reports and registration statements, and other services that are normally provided in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements. |
| Audit-Related Fees represent fees billed in the fund's last two fiscal years for services traditionally performed by the fund's auditor, including accounting consultation for proposed transactions or concerning financial accounting and reporting standards and other audit or attest services not required by statute or regulation. |
| Tax Fees represent fees billed in the fund's last two fiscal years for tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice services. Tax planning and tax advice services include assistance with tax audits, employee benefit plans and requests for rulings or technical advice from taxing authorities. |
| Pre-Approval Policies of the Audit, Compliance and Distributions Committee. The Audit, Compliance and Distributions Committee of the Putnam funds has determined that, as a matter of policy, all work performed for the funds by the funds' independent auditors will be pre-approved by the Committee itself and thus will generally not be subject to pre-approval procedures. |
| The Audit, Compliance and Distributions Committee also has adopted a policy to pre-approve the engagement by Putnam Management and certain of its affiliates of the funds' independent auditors, even in circumstances where pre-approval is not required by applicable law. Any such requests by Putnam Management or certain of its affiliates are typically submitted in writing to the Committee and explain, among other things, the nature of the proposed engagement, the estimated fees, and why this work should be performed by that particular audit firm as opposed to another one. In reviewing such requests, the Committee considers, among other things, whether the provision of such services by the audit firm are compatible with the independence of the audit firm. |
| The following table presents fees billed by the fund's independent auditor for services required to be approved pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2–01 of Regulation S-X. |
| Fiscal year ended | Audit-Related Fees | Tax Fees | All Other Fees | Total Non-Audit Fees | |
| July 31, 2020 | $ — | $345,842 | $ — | $ — | |
| July 31, 2019 | $ — | $546,984 | $ — | $ — | |
| Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants |
| Not applicable |
| Item 6. Schedule of Investments: |
| The registrant's schedule of investments in unaffiliated issuers is included in the report to shareholders in Item 1 above. |
| Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures For Closed-End Management Investment Companies: |
| Not applicable |
| Item 8. Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Investment Companies |
| Not Applicable |
| Item 9. Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Companies and Affiliated Purchasers: |
| Not applicable |
| Item 10. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders: |
| Not applicable |
| Item 11. Controls and Procedures: |
| (a) The registrant's principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded, based on their evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures as of a date within 180 days of the filing date of this report, that the design and operation of such procedures are generally effective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by the registrant in this report is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Commission's rules and forms. |
| (b) Changes in internal control over financial reporting: Not applicable |
| Item 12. Disclosures of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Management Investment Companies: |
| Not Applicable |
| Item 13. Exhibits: |
| (a)(1) The Code of Ethics of The Putnam Funds, which incorporates the Code of Ethics of Putnam Investments, is filed herewith. |
| (b) The certifications required by Rule 30a-2(b) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, are filed herewith. |
| SIGNATURES |
| Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized. |
| George Putnam Balanced Fund |
| By (Signature and Title): |
| /s/ Janet C. Smith Janet C. Smith Principal Accounting Officer |
| Date: September 28, 2020 |
| Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated. |
| By (Signature and Title): |
| /s/ Jonathan S. Horwitz Jonathan S. Horwitz Principal Executive Officer |
| Date: September 28, 2020 |
| By (Signature and Title): |
| /s/ Janet C. Smith Janet C. Smith Principal Financial Officer |
| Date: September 28, 2020 |