PUTNAM OVERSEAS GROWTH FUND (the "fund")
              Prospectus Supplement dated August 1, 1996 to
                   Prospectuses dated November 1, 1995


Effective August 12, 1996, the fund's name will change to "Putnam
International Growth Fund."  In addition, the first two
paragraphs under the section entitled "Basic investment strategy"
is replaced by the following:

     THE FUND SEEKS ITS OBJECTIVE BY INVESTING PRIMARILY IN
     EQUITY SECURITIES OF COMPANIES LOCATED IN A COUNTRY OUTSIDE
     THE UNITED STATES.  The fund's investments will normally
     include common stocks, preferred stocks, securities
     convertible into common or preferred stocks, and warrants to
     purchase common or preferred stocks.  The fund may also
     invest to a lesser extent in debt securities and other types
     of investments if Putnam Investment Management, Inc., the
     fund's investment adviser ("Putnam Management"), believes
     purchasing them would help achieve the fund's objective. 
     The fund will, under normal circumstances, invest at least
     65% of its total assets in issuers located in at least three
     different countries other than the United States.  The fund
     may hold a portion of its assets in cash or money market
     instruments.

     The fund will consider an issuer of securities to be
     "located in a country other than the United States" if it is
     organized under the laws of a country outside United States
     and has a principal office outside United States, or if it
     derives 50% or more of its total revenues from business
     outside United States.

The following text replaces the second and third paragraphs under
the heading "How to buy shares -- Class A shares."

     There is no initial sales charge on purchases of class A
     shares of $1 million or more.  However, a CDSC of 1.00% or
     0.50%, respectively, will be imposed on redemptions (other
     than redemptions by certain participant-directed qualified
     retirement plans, which are subject to a two-year CDSC of
     1.00%, as described below) within the first or second year
     after purchase.

     There are also no initial sales charges on Class A shares
     purchased by participant-directed qualified retirement plans
     with at least 200 eligible employees.  A CDSC of 1.00% will,
     however, be imposed upon the redemption of shares purchased
     after July 31, 1996 at net asset value by a participant-
     directed qualified retirement plan (including a plan with at
     least 200 eligible employees) that initially invested less
     than $20 million in Putnam funds and other investments
     managed by Putnam Management or its affiliates and that
     sells 90% or more of the amount initially invested within
     two years after its initial purchase.


                                             26642 7/96