NPORT-EX 3 b_2dnnport.htm QUARTERLY PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

Putnam VT International Value Fund
The fund's portfolio
3/31/20 (Unaudited)



COMMON STOCKS (95.5%)(a)
        Shares Value
Aerospace and defense (0.9%)
BAE Systems PLC (United Kingdom) 77,849 $502,332
502,332
Airlines (0.6%)
Qantas Airways, Ltd. (Australia) 173,976 341,247
341,247
Auto components (0.8%)
Magna International, Inc. (Canada) 13,013 415,273
415,273
Automobiles (0.5%)
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (Japan) 24,000 289,901
289,901
Banks (9.9%)
Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, Ltd. (Australia) 80,364 866,701
CaixaBank SA (Spain) 164,568 306,928
DBS Group Holdings, Ltd. (Singapore) 32,500 424,943
DNB ASA (Norway) 37,978 425,932
ING Groep NV (Netherlands) 200,670 1,051,121
Lloyds Banking Group PLC (United Kingdom) 575,304 226,867
Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (Japan) 402,800 460,993
Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (Sweden) 16,236 109,828
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (Japan) 37,300 906,290
UniCredit SpA (Italy) 56,925 445,707
5,225,310
Beverages (1.1%)
Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. (Japan) 18,700 607,169
607,169
Building products (0.7%)
Compagnie De Saint-Gobain (France) 14,655 356,320
356,320
Capital markets (3.2%)
Credit Suisse Group AG (Switzerland) 34,309 283,303
Partners Group Holding AG (Switzerland) 599 414,317
Quilter PLC (United Kingdom) 442,232 646,259
UBS Group AG (Switzerland) 38,396 358,866
1,702,745
Chemicals (0.7%)
LANXESS AG (Germany) 9,029 361,463
361,463
Construction and engineering (3.1%)
Vinci SA (France) 19,594 1,621,307
1,621,307
Construction materials (0.8%)
CRH PLC (Ireland) 14,749 402,042
402,042
Containers and packaging (2.0%)
SIG Combibloc Group AG (Switzerland) 69,763 1,045,254
1,045,254
Diversified financial services (2.1%)
Eurazeo SA (France) 11,376 514,741
ORIX Corp. (Japan) 49,500 595,255
1,109,996
Diversified telecommunication services (4.5%)
BCE, Inc. (Canada)(S) 15,500 635,838
Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (Japan) 58,000 1,376,353
Telstra Corp., Ltd. (Australia) 180,011 343,565
2,355,756
Electric utilities (2.3%)
Fortum OYJ (Finland) 29,307 430,910
SSE PLC (United Kingdom) 49,856 804,631
1,235,541
Electronic equipment, instruments, and components (0.8%)
Kyocera Corp. (Japan) 6,800 403,257
403,257
Entertainment (0.9%)
Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Japan) 1,200 462,833
462,833
Food and staples retail (2.6%)
Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize NV (Netherlands) 35,185 823,445
Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. (Japan) 15,900 525,055
1,348,500
Food products (1.2%)
Kerry Group PLC Class A (Ireland) 5,408 619,989
619,989
Health-care equipment and supplies (1.8%)
Alcon, Inc. (Switzerland)(NON) 4,010 204,638
Hoya Corp. (Japan) 8,700 740,013
944,651
Hotels, restaurants, and leisure (1.6%)
Compass Group PLC (United Kingdom) 28,042 438,145
Dalata Hotel Group PLC (Ireland) 103,645 281,155
La Francaise des Jeux SAEM (France)(NON) 5,237 130,695
849,995
Household durables (2.3%)
Panasonic Corp. (Japan) 52,500 400,772
Sony Corp. (Japan) 13,400 796,539
1,197,311
Industrial conglomerates (2.0%)
Siemens AG (Germany) 12,130 1,044,009
1,044,009
Insurance (8.7%)
AIA Group, Ltd. (Hong Kong) 172,000 1,547,364
Allianz SE (Germany) 4,167 718,314
AXA SA (France) 52,108 902,350
Prudential PLC (United Kingdom) 74,677 953,254
QBE Insurance Group, Ltd. (Australia) 85,625 467,828
4,589,110
Machinery (2.1%)
MinebeaMitsumi, Inc. (Japan) 51,300 764,930
NSK, Ltd. (Japan) 55,100 353,443
1,118,373
Metals and mining (2.6%)
Anglo American PLC (United Kingdom) 37,167 649,467
Rio Tinto PLC (United Kingdom) 15,550 713,788
1,363,255
Multi-utilities (2.0%)
Veolia Environnement SA (France) 50,554 1,081,496
1,081,496
Oil, gas, and consumable fuels (6.1%)
BP PLC (United Kingdom) 267,085 1,136,225
Ovintiv, Inc. 13,800 37,851
Royal Dutch Shell PLC Class B (United Kingdom) 32,905 551,715
Suncor Energy, Inc. (Canada) 48,931 780,921
TOTAL SA (France) 18,832 730,295
3,237,007
Personal products (2.3%)
Shiseido Co., Ltd. (Japan) 7,300 431,224
Unilever NV (Netherlands) 16,233 799,800
1,231,024
Pharmaceuticals (10.0%)
AstraZeneca PLC (United Kingdom) 17,835 1,593,166
Novartis AG (Switzerland) 28,126 2,324,473
Sanofi (France) 15,781 1,389,371
5,307,010
Semiconductors and semiconductor equipment (0.9%)
Sino-American Silicon Products, Inc. (Taiwan) 178,000 451,908
451,908
Technology hardware, storage, and peripherals (2.2%)
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (South Korea) 29,880 1,161,260
1,161,260
Tobacco (1.2%)
Imperial Brands PLC (United Kingdom) 34,678 642,789
642,789
Trading companies and distributors (7.2%)
Ashtead Group PLC (United Kingdom) 35,943 798,317
Ferguson PLC (United Kingdom) 11,309 707,161
ITOCHU Corp. (Japan) 49,300 1,022,881
Mitsubishi Corp. (Japan) 59,400 1,260,745
3,789,104
Transportation infrastructure (0.7%)
Aena SME SA (Spain) 3,370 367,775
367,775
Wireless telecommunication services (3.1%)
KDDI Corp. (Japan) 18,600 549,780
Vodafone Group PLC (United Kingdom) 797,860 1,114,537
1,664,317
Total common stocks (cost $61,473,232) $50,446,629









SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (6.2%)(a)
        Principal amount/
shares		 Value
Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC 0.54%(AFF) Shares 241,310 $241,310
Putnam Short Term Investment Fund 0.92%(AFF) Shares 2,528,161 2,528,161
State Street Institutional U.S. Government Money Market Fund, Premier Class 0.32%(P) Shares 140,000 140,000
U.S. Treasury Bills 1.543%, 7/16/20(SEGSF) $120,000 119,972
U.S. Treasury Bills 0.015%, 9/3/20(SEGSF) 111,000 110,954
U.S. Treasury Bills 0.011%, 8/6/20(SEGSF) 14,000 13,996
U.S. Treasury Bills zero%, 8/20/20(SEGSF) 17,000 16,994
U.S. Treasury Bills zero%, 8/13/20(SEGSF) 111,000 110,968
Total short-term investments (cost $3,281,930) $3,282,355
TOTAL INVESTMENTS
Total investments (cost $64,755,162) $53,728,984









FORWARD CURRENCY CONTRACTS at 3/31/20 (aggregate face value $23,366,958) (Unaudited)
  Counterparty Currency Contract type* Delivery
date		 Value Aggregate face value Unrealized
appreciation/
(depreciation)
Bank of America N.A.
British Pound Sell 6/17/20 $168,902 $175,533 $6,631
Canadian Dollar Sell 4/15/20 539,988 585,474 45,486
Barclays Bank PLC
British Pound Sell 6/17/20 54,850 57,007 2,157
Canadian Dollar Sell 4/15/20 163,816 177,592 13,776
Euro Buy 6/17/20 303,073 312,904 (9,831)
Hong Kong Dollar Buy 5/20/20 588,860 587,369 1,491
Swedish Krona Buy 6/17/20 157,989 165,702 (7,713)
Citibank, N.A.
British Pound Sell 6/17/20 373,873 388,596 14,723
Canadian Dollar Sell 4/15/20 492,584 539,511 46,927
Danish Krone Buy 6/17/20 155,683 156,934 (1,251)
Euro Sell 6/17/20 2,366,399 2,391,494 25,095
Goldman Sachs International
British Pound Sell 6/17/20 169,897 176,594 6,697
Canadian Dollar Buy 4/15/20 241,282 217,595 23,687
Euro Buy 6/17/20 249,095 251,751 (2,656)
Japanese Yen Buy 5/20/20 1,363,681 1,337,912 25,769
HSBC Bank USA, National Association
Australian Dollar Buy 4/15/20 109,618 123,755 (14,137)
Euro Buy 6/17/20 3,108,595 3,140,678 (32,083)
Japanese Yen Sell 5/20/20 165,939 160,315 (5,624)
JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.
British Pound Buy 6/17/20 1,452,955 1,510,139 (57,184)
Canadian Dollar Sell 4/15/20 119,397 129,461 10,064
Euro Buy 6/17/20 864,420 874,643 (10,223)
Japanese Yen Buy 5/20/20 470,240 462,826 7,414
New Zealand Dollar Buy 4/15/20 152,675 170,841 (18,166)
Norwegian Krone Sell 6/17/20 119,008 133,240 14,232
Singapore Dollar Buy 5/20/20 296,420 307,352 (10,932)
South Korean Won Sell 5/20/20 1,276,473 1,312,300 35,827
Swiss Franc Sell 6/17/20 1,296,845 1,293,313 (3,532)
NatWest Markets PLC
British Pound Sell 6/17/20 835,679 868,615 32,936
Swedish Krona Buy 6/17/20 862,330 904,492 (42,162)
State Street Bank and Trust Co.
Australian Dollar Buy 4/15/20 999,361 1,128,200 (128,839)
British Pound Sell 6/17/20 666,777 682,994 16,217
Canadian Dollar Sell 4/15/20 170,923 191,315 20,392
Euro Sell 6/17/20 415,342 422,821 7,479
Israeli Shekel Buy 4/16/20 363,489 372,090 (8,601)
Japanese Yen Sell 5/20/20 290,439 290,091 (348)
UBS AG
Canadian Dollar Sell 4/15/20 208,376 271,885 63,509
Japanese Yen Buy 5/20/20 832,473 817,608 14,865
WestPac Banking Corp.
Euro Buy 6/17/20 273,208 276,016 (2,808)
Unrealized appreciation 435,374
Unrealized (depreciation) (356,090)
Total $79,284
* The exchange currency for all contracts listed is the United States Dollar.













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 January 1, 2020 through March 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, references to "ASC 820" represent Accounting Standards Codification 820 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures and references to "OTC", if any, represent over-the-counter.
(a) Percentages indicated are based on net assets of $52,825,026.
(NON) This security is non-income-producing.
(AFF) Affiliated company. For investments in Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC and Putnam Short Term Investment Fund, the rate quoted in the security description is the annualized 7-day yield of the fund at the close of the reporting period. Transactions during the period with any company which is under common ownership or control were as follows:
Name of affiliate Fair value
as of
12/31/19		 Purchase
cost		 Sale
proceeds		 Investment
income		 Shares outstanding
and fair
value as of
3/31/20
Short-term investments
Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC*# $— $900,190 $658,880 $80 $241,310
Putnam Short Term Investment Fund** — 7,956,404 5,428,243 5,863 2,528,161
Total Short-term investments $— $8,856,594 $6,087,123 $5,943 $2,769,471
* No management fees are charged to Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC. There were no realized or unrealized gains or losses during the period.
# 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. The fund received cash collateral of $241,310, which 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. The rate quoted in the security description is the annualized 7-day yield at the close of the reporting period. At the close of the reporting period, the value of securities loaned amounted to $239,300.
** 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.
(SEGSF) 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 $363,904.
(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.
(S) This security is on loan, in part or in entirety, at the close of the reporting period.
At the close of the reporting period, the fund maintained liquid assets totaling $217,325 to cover certain derivative contracts 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.
The dates shown on debt obligations are the original maturity dates.
DIVERSIFICATION BY COUNTRY
Distribution of investments by country of risk at the close of the reporting period, excluding collateral received, if any (as a percentage of Portfolio Value):
Japan 22.4%
United Kingdom 21.5
France 12.6
Switzerland 8.7
United States 5.5
Netherlands 5.0
Germany 4.0
Australia 3.8
Canada 3.4
Hong Kong 2.9
Ireland 2.4
South Korea 2.2
Spain 1.3
Taiwan 0.8
Italy 0.8
Finland 0.8
Norway 0.8
Singapore 0.8
Other 0.3
Total 100.0%
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 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 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. 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.
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 were 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.
For the fund's average contract amount on forward currency contracts, see the appropriate table at the end of these footnotes.
Master agreements: The fund is a party to ISDA (International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc.) Master Agreements (Master Agreements) with certain counterparties that govern OTC derivative and foreign exchange contracts 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, is presented in the fund’s portfolio.
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.
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 and 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 $190,198 on open derivative contracts subject to the Master Agreements. Collateral posted by the fund at period end for these agreements totaled $363,904 and may include amounts related to unsettled agreements.









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*:
Communication services $635,838 $3,847,068 $—
Consumer discretionary 415,273 2,337,207 —
Consumer staples — 4,449,471 —
Energy 818,772 2,418,235 —
Financials — 12,627,161 —
Health care — 6,251,661 —
Industrials — 9,140,467 —
Information technology — 2,016,425 —
Materials — 3,172,014 —
Utilities — 2,317,037 —
Total common stocks 1,869,883 48,576,746 —
Short-term investments 2,668,161 614,194 —
Totals by level $4,538,044 $49,190,940 $—
 
Valuation inputs
Other financial instruments: Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Forward currency contracts $— $79,284 $—
Totals by level $— $79,284 $—
* Common stock classifications are presented at the sector level, which may differ from the fund's portfolio presentation.
The volume of activity for the reporting period for any derivative type that was held at the close of the period is listed below and was based on an average of the holdings of that derivative at the end of each fiscal quarter in the reporting period:
Forward currency contracts (contract amount) $26,800,000

For additional information regarding the fund please see the fund's most recent annual or semiannual shareholder report filed on the Securities and Exchange Commission's Web site, www.sec.gov, or visit Putnam's Individual Investor Web site at www.putnaminvestments.com