| 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: | (811–07237) |
| Exact name of registrant as specified in charter: | Putnam Investment Funds |
| 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: | April 30, 2020 |
| Date of reporting period: | May 1, 2019 — April 30, 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: | |||
Putnam
Sustainable Future
Fund
Annual report
4 | 30 | 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
June 11, 2020
Dear Fellow Shareholder:
Financial markets worldwide continue to be challenged by volatility and economic uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After considerable losses earlier in the year, equity markets rallied in April to recover partially from their steepest declines. Bond markets, which dealt with severe liquidity challenges, have in large part stabilized thanks to aggressive policy responses from central banks and governments worldwide.
It is still unclear what the costs will be and how long the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will last, but history has shown that markets rebound from downturns over time. For investors, we believe the most important course of action is to remember your long-term goals and consult with your financial advisor. At Putnam, our investment professionals remain focused on actively managing fund portfolios with a research-intensive approach that includes risk management strategies.
We would like to take this opportunity to announce the arrival of Mona K. Sutphen to your fund’s Board of Trustees. Ms. Sutphen brings extensive professional and directorship experience to her role as a Trustee, and we are pleased to welcome her.
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 8–10 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.
Before March 21, 2018, the fund was managed with a materially different investment strategy and may have achieved materially different performance results under its current investment strategy from that shown for periods before this date.
* The Russell 3000 Value – Russell Midcap Growth Linked Benchmark represents performance of the Russell 3000 Value Index from inception date of the fund, November 1, 1999, through March 20, 2018, and performance of the Russell Midcap Growth Index from March 21, 2018, and thereafter.
† Source: Lipper, a Refinitiv company.
This comparison shows your fund’s performance in the context of broad market indexes for the 12 months ended 4/30/20. See above and pages 8–10 for additional fund performance information. Index descriptions can be found on pages 14–15.
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How were conditions for stock market investors during the reporting period?
STEPHANIE For the first 10 months of the period, stocks advanced with occasional bouts of volatility. In late February 2020, however, conditions changed dramatically due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This turned out to be a very difficult period, both in terms of human suffering and sizeable drawdowns in the stock market as a result of the health crisis and the economic impact of the unprecedented shelter-in-place orders. Like all segments of the global financial markets, the fund encountered significant challenges late in the period. However, it outperformed its primary benchmark, which we believe was due to our focus on investing in companies that are solving key sustainability issues.
The period began in May 2019, which was a tumultuous month for stocks due to investor concerns over an escalating global trade conflict. Volatility continued through June and into July, when the Federal Reserve cut short-term interest rates for the first time since 2008. Stocks struggled again in August as trade conflict headlines sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its biggest intraday drop of the year.
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Allocations are shown as a percentage of the fund’s net assets as of 4/30/20. 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 holdings by percentage of the fund’s net assets as of 4/30/20. Short-term investments and derivatives, if any, are excluded. Holdings may vary over time.
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The remainder of 2019 was much better for investors, and stocks advanced after the Fed lowered short-term interest rates two more times. In December 2019, the Fed noted a favorable economic outlook for 2020, and all three major U.S. stock market indexes set new record highs.
After a relatively calm start to 2020, COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, began its global spread, and financial markets became unusually volatile. Manufacturing and service activities paused across the globe as businesses were closed and stay-at-home orders went into effect. Also contributing to losses was a breakdown in Saudi Arabia–Russia oil output negotiations, which was one of several issues that caused oil prices to plummet.
All three major U.S. stock indexes fell into bear market territory, which is defined as a 20% drop from a previous high. At the close of March, the S&P 500 Index posted its sharpest quarterly decline since 2008, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced its worst quarter since 1987. However, in the final weeks of the period, the stock market posted a historic rebound, recording double-digit gains for the month of April.
How did the fund perform in this environment?
KATHERINE During this volatile 12-month reporting period, the fund returned 3.15%, outperforming its primary benchmark, the Russell Midcap Growth Index, which returned 0.23%. The fund underperformed the average return for funds in its Lipper peer group, which was 4.50%.
Could you discuss some holdings that contributed to the fund’s performance during the period?
STEPHANIE The top contributor for the period was Teladoc Health, a company that provides medical consultations by phone and video. Teladoc enables patients and clinicians to connect virtually in a secure and HIPAA-compliant manner. In our last report, six months ago, we highlighted the stock’s strong performance and noted that the company provides an important service — timely and efficient access to high-quality medical care. Today, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, this specialized expertise is particularly meaningful, in our view. Teladoc’s core business has been growing rapidly as the company reaches new patients and expands to offer new services, including ongoing care for chronic conditions. Teladoc’s fundamental outlook is closely linked to our solutions-oriented sustainability focus. We believe it can have a positive impact on improving health outcomes and access to care while decreasing frustration and costs.
KATHERINE Our investment in Everbridge was also a top contributor to fund performance. This company offers services to help organizations with critical event management. For example, it provides incident response technology, preparedness training, and alert systems for communicating during emergencies in real time with employees and community residents. As with Teledoc, demand for these types of services has increased further as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
STEPHANIE Another portfolio highlight was Danaher, a developer of leading-edge diagnostic tools. Danaher’s businesses seek to advance lifesaving research, improve health and safety, and promote environmental stewardship. In our view, many of these businesses have strong long-term structural demand growth. Danaher also benefited recently from the approval of its rapid point-of-care COVID-19 diagnostic test. We believe that Danaher’s broader expertise in diagnostics, along with
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the development of this specific, highly sought-after test, should drive continued strength in this part of its business.
What were some holdings that detracted from performance?
KATHERINE Among the top detractors for the period were two technology companies: PluralSight and Talend. In our view, these companies provide important solutions to client needs. PluralSight provides a learning platform for growing IT skills, and we believe both companies improve efficiency and effectiveness for their customers. PluralSight reported disappointing billings during the summer period, while Talend’s legacy business showed faster deceleration than investors anticipated. By the close of the period, we had sold PluralSight from the portfolio, but Talend remained a fund holding.
STEPHANIE Also detracting from performance was Herman Miller, a provider of office and home furniture. The stock underperformed in the period due to fears of a broad economic slowdown and increasing uncertainty about future demand for office furniture. We believe that the company’s longstanding design-centric focus will continue to appeal to customers. In our view, the company continues to offer solid long-term fundamental prospects and its stock is attractively valued. Herman Miller remained in the portfolio at period-end.
What role did derivatives play in the fund’s performance?
KATHERINE On occasion, the fund employs forward currency contracts to hedge foreign exchange risk. These investments detracted from performance during the period.
What are some key sustainability issues in the current environment?
KATHERINE As with any crisis, there are a mix of short-term and long-term impacts. In the short term, environmental indicators such as air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions have been improving due to lower transportation and manufacturing volumes, while the safety attributes of some single-use products have been causing consumption to rise. We are assessing these shifts to determine which ones we expect will be temporary, and which might become more permanent trends. We are also seeing some companies adjust the specific
This chart shows the fund’s largest allocation shifts, by percentage, 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.
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tactics of their own environmental improvement plans, though for the most part a strong commitment to climate-related action has been maintained.
STEPHANIE We believe the COVID-19 pandemic also has important implications for the social component of ESG. Beyond its obvious and deeply concerning effects on patients and caregivers, there is a growing focus on the broader social impact of the crisis. Essential issues include treatment of contract workers, support for individuals whose work cannot be done remotely, impact on mental health and other aspects of well-being, and access to care. We believe some of these issues will need to be addressed by corporations across all types of industries, and we are already seeing some notable responses from companies.
What is your outlook for this challenging time?
KATHERINE The COVID-19 crisis has changed many things and has caused tremendous disruption and suffering worldwide. However, these circumstances also remind us of what is constant. Now more than ever, we believe that sustainable companies could prove to be more resilient and beneficial than others over the long term. We believe that current conditions will illuminate new opportunities and new solutions that contribute to a thriving society, planet, and economy.
Our ongoing, disciplined research and investment processes are helping us to identify new opportunities for investment in three main types of companies: those that are providing solutions to some of our current challenges, those whose strong long-term prospects have been only temporarily dampened, and those whose businesses are well-positioned for an eventual recovery in a post-COVID-19 world. We believe, in all of these cases, our sustainability research links directly to our fundamental and valuation assessments, providing a “through line” to follow during these turbulent times.
Thank you both for your time and insights today.
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.
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Your fund’s performance
This section shows your fund’s performance, price, and distribution information for periods ended April 30, 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. Before March 21, 2018 the fund was managed with a materially different investment strategy and may have achieved materially different performance results under its current investment strategy from that shown for periods before this date. 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, 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 4/30/20
| Annual | ||||||||
| average | Annual | Annual | Annual | |||||
| (life of fund) | 10 years | average | 5 years | average | 3 years | average | 1 year | |
| Class A (11/1/99) | ||||||||
| Before sales charge | 9.49% | 157.80% | 9.93% | 35.53% | 6.27% | 23.91% | 7.41% | 3.15% |
| After sales charge | 9.18 | 142.98 | 9.28 | 27.73 | 5.02 | 16.78 | 5.31 | –2.78 |
| Class B (1/16/01) | ||||||||
| Before CDSC | 9.29 | 148.32 | 9.52 | 30.54 | 5.48 | 21.14 | 6.60 | 2.39 |
| After CDSC | 9.29 | 148.32 | 9.52 | 28.87 | 5.20 | 18.59 | 5.85 | –2.58 |
| Class C (1/16/01) | ||||||||
| Before CDSC | 9.09 | 139.26 | 9.12 | 30.54 | 5.47 | 21.14 | 6.60 | 2.40 |
| After CDSC | 9.09 | 139.26 | 9.12 | 30.54 | 5.47 | 21.14 | 6.60 | 1.40 |
| Class R (4/1/03) | ||||||||
| Net asset value | 9.23 | 151.51 | 9.66 | 33.84 | 6.00 | 23.01 | 7.15 | 2.92 |
| Class R6 (5/22/18) | ||||||||
| Net asset value | 9.75 | 165.01 | 10.24 | 37.56 | 6.59 | 25.14 | 7.76 | 3.51 |
| Class Y (4/2/02) | ||||||||
| Net asset value | 9.74 | 164.34 | 10.21 | 37.21 | 6.53 | 24.82 | 7.67 | 3.38 |
Current performance may be lower or higher than the quoted past performance, which cannot guarantee future results. After-sales-charge returns for class A shares reflect the deduction of the maximum 5.75% sales charge 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 2% in the fifth 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, R6, and Y shares have no initial sales charge or CDSC. Performance for class B, C, 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 R6 shares prior to their inception is derived from the historical performance of class Y shares and has not been adjusted for the lower investor servicing fees applicable to class 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 five years.
Class C share performance reflects conversion to class A shares after 10 years.
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Comparative index returns For periods ended 4/30/20
| Annual | ||||||||
| average | Annual | Annual | Annual | |||||
| (life of fund) | 10 years | average | 5 years | average | 3 years | average | 1 year | |
| Russell Midcap | ||||||||
| Growth Index | 7.38% | 215.79% | 12.19% | 53.02% | 8.88% | 37.80% | 11.28% | 0.23% |
| Russell 3000 Value — | ||||||||
| Russell Midcap Growth | 6.87 | 167.06 | 10.32 | 43.97 | 7.56 | 23.54 | 7.30 | 0.23 |
| Linked Benchmark* | ||||||||
| Lipper Multi-Cap Growth | ||||||||
| Funds category average† | 6.42 | 215.22 | 11.93 | 60.65 | 9.68 | 42.82 | 12.37 | 4.50 |
Index and Lipper results should be compared with fund performance before sales charge, before CDSC, or at net asset value.
* The Russell 3000 Value – Russell Midcap Growth Linked Benchmark represents performance of the Russell 3000 Value Index from inception date of the fund, November 1, 1999, through March 20, 2018, and performance of the Russell Midcap Growth Index from March 21, 2018 and thereafter.
† Over the 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, 10-year, and life-of-fund periods ended 4/30/20, there were 534, 478, 412, 292, and 114 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 $24,832 and $23,926, respectively, and no contingent deferred sales charges would apply. A $10,000 investment in the fund’s class R, R6, and Y shares would have been valued at $25,151, $26,501 and $26,434, respectively.
* The Russell 3000 Value – Russell Midcap Growth Linked Benchmark represents performance of the Russell 3000 Value Index from inception date of the fund, November 1, 1999, through March 20, 2018, and performance of the Russell Midcap Growth Index from March 21, 2018 and thereafter.
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Fund price and distribution information For the 12-month period ended 4/30/20
| Distributions | Class A | Class B | Class C | Class R | Class R6 | Class Y | ||
| Number | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Income | $0.007 | — | — | — | $0.075 | $0.051 | ||
| Capital gains | ||||||||
| Long-term gains | 0.477 | $0.477 | $0.477 | $0.477 | 0.477 | 0.477 | ||
| Short-term gains | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Total | $0.484 | $0.477 | $0.477 | $0.477 | $0.552 | $0.528 | ||
| Before | After | Net | Net | Net | Net | Net | ||
| sales | sales | asset | asset | asset | asset | asset | ||
| Share value | charge | charge | value | value | value | value | value | |
| 4/30/19 | $17.45 | $18.51 | $15.53 | $15.48 | $16.87 | $17.58 | $17.54 | |
| 4/30/20 | 17.52 | 18.59 | 15.43 | 15.38 | 16.89 | 17.65 | 17.61 |
The classification of distributions, if any, is an estimate. Before-sales-charge share value and current dividend rate for class A 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) was levied at the time of purchase. Final distribution information will appear on your year-end tax forms.
Fund performance as of most recent calendar quarter Total return for periods ended 3/31/20
| Annual | ||||||||
| average | Annual | Annual | Annual | |||||
| (life of fund) | 10 years | average | 5 years | average | 3 years | average | 1 year | |
| Class A (11/1/99) | ||||||||
| Before sales charge | 8.80% | 137.41% | 9.03% | 16.57% | 3.11% | 8.63% | 2.80% | –6.89% |
| After sales charge | 8.49 | 123.75 | 8.39 | 9.87 | 1.90 | 2.39 | 0.79 | –12.24 |
| Class B (1/16/01) | ||||||||
| Before CDSC | 8.61 | 128.58 | 8.62 | 12.26 | 2.34 | 6.22 | 2.03 | –7.58 |
| After CDSC | 8.61 | 128.58 | 8.62 | 10.82 | 2.08 | 3.98 | 1.31 | –12.07 |
| Class C (1/16/01) | ||||||||
| Before CDSC | 8.40 | 120.27 | 8.22 | 12.28 | 2.34 | 6.20 | 2.02 | –7.60 |
| After CDSC | 8.40 | 120.27 | 8.22 | 12.28 | 2.34 | 6.20 | 2.02 | –8.50 |
| Class R (4/1/03) | ||||||||
| Net asset value | 8.54 | 131.59 | 8.76 | 15.14 | 2.86 | 7.86 | 2.55 | –7.16 |
| Class R6 (5/22/18) | ||||||||
| Net asset value | 9.06 | 143.96 | 9.33 | 18.36 | 3.43 | 9.75 | 3.15 | –6.55 |
| Class Y (4/2/02) | ||||||||
| Net asset value | 9.05 | 143.26 | 9.30 | 18.02 | 3.37 | 9.43 | 3.05 | –6.69 |
See the discussion following the fund performance table on page 8 for information about the calculation of fund performance.
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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 R | Class R6 | Class Y | |
| Total annual operating expenses for the | ||||||
| fiscal year ended 4/30/19 | 1.09% | 1.84% | 1.84% | 1.34% | 0.70%* | 0.84% |
| Annualized expense ratio for the | ||||||
| six-month period ended 4/30/20† | 1.08% | 1.83% | 1.83% | 1.33% | 0.69% | 0.83% |
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.
* Other expenses have been annualized.
† 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 11/1/19 to 4/30/20. 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 R | Class R6 | Class Y | |
| Expenses paid per $1,000*† | $5.46 | $9.24 | $9.24 | $6.72 | $3.49 | $4.20 |
| Ending value (after expenses) | $1,034.40 | $1,031.20 | $1,030.60 | $1,033.50 | $1,036.30 | $1,035.60 |
* 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 4/30/20. 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.
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Estimate the expenses you paid
To estimate the ongoing expenses you paid for the six months ended 4/30/20, use the following calculation method. To find the value of your investment on 11/1/19, 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 R | Class R6 | Class Y | |
| Expenses paid per $1,000*† | $5.42 | $9.17 | $9.17 | $6.67 | $3.47 | $4.17 |
| Ending value (after expenses) | $1,019.49 | $1,015.76 | $1,015.76 | $1,018.25 | $1,021.43 | $1,020.74 |
* 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 4/30/20. 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.
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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, technological obsolescence, falling prices and profits, and the market may not favor growth-style investing. Investments in small and midsize companies increase the risk of greater price fluctuations. International investing involves currency, economic, and political risks. Emerging-market securities have illiquidity and volatility risks. The fund’s sustainable and environmental, social, and/or corporate governance (ESG) investment strategy may cause the fund to forego otherwise attractive investment opportunities or may increase or decrease the fund’s exposure to certain types of companies and, therefore, to underperform funds that do not invest with a similar focus. From time to time, the fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related industries or sectors, which would make the fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting those industries or sectors. In evaluating an investment opportunity, we may make investment decisions based on information and data that is incomplete or inaccurate. Due to changes in the products or services of the companies in which the fund invests, the fund may temporarily hold securities that are inconsistent with its sustainable investment criteria. 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.
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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.
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 2% during the fifth year. After the fifth year, the CDSC no longer applies. The CDSC for class C shares is 1% for one year after purchase.
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 R shares are not subject to an initial sales charge or CDSC and 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.
Russell® 3000 Value Index is an unmanaged index of those companies in the Russell 3000 Index chosen for their value orientation.
Russell® Midcap Growth Index is an unmanaged index of those companies in the Russell Midcap Index chosen for their growth orientation.
Russell 3000 Value–Russell Midcap Growth Linked Benchmark represents performance of the Russell 3000 Value Index through March 20, 2018, and performance of the Russell Midcap Growth Index thereafter.
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.
| 14 Sustainable Future Fund |
Frank Russell Company is the source and owner of the trademarks, service marks, and copyrights related to the Russell Indexes. Russell® is a trademark of Frank Russell Company.
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, 2019, 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 April 30, 2020, Putnam employees had approximately $434,000,000 and the Trustees had approximately $71,000,000 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.
| Sustainable Future Fund 15 |
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.
| 16 Sustainable Future Fund |
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.
| Sustainable Future Fund 17 |
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Shareholders and the Board of Trustees
Putnam Investment Funds:
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities of Putnam Sustainable Future Fund (the “fund”), a series of the Putnam Investment Funds, including the fund’s portfolio, as of April 30, 2020, and the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the related notes (collectively, the “financial statements”) and the financial highlights for each of the years or periods in the five-year period then ended. In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the fund as of April 30, 2020, and the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years or periods in the five-year period then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights 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 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 and financial highlights 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 and financial highlights, 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 and financial highlights. Such procedures also included confirmation of securities owned as of April 30, 2020, by correspondence with the custodian, transfer agent and brokers or by other appropriate auditing procedures. 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 and financial highlights. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
We have served as the auditor of one or more Putnam investment companies since 1999.
Boston, Massachusetts
June 11, 2020
| 18 Sustainable Future Fund |
The fund’s portfolio 4/30/20
| COMMON STOCKS (94.4%)* | Shares | Value |
| Banks (2.3%) | ||
| First Republic Bank | 84,519 | $8,814,487 |
| 8,814,487 | ||
| Biotechnology (4.0%) | ||
| Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. † | 9,200 | 4,838,096 |
| Seattle Genetics, Inc. † | 28,400 | 3,897,332 |
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. † | 27,200 | 6,832,640 |
| 15,568,068 | ||
| Building products (1.5%) | ||
| Carrier Global Corp. † | 171,400 | 3,035,494 |
| Trex Co., Inc. † S | 30,400 | 2,894,688 |
| 5,930,182 | ||
| Capital markets (1.9%) | ||
| MSCI, Inc. | 22,500 | 7,357,500 |
| 7,357,500 | ||
| Chemicals (4.4%) | ||
| Ecolab, Inc. | 32,400 | 6,269,400 |
| Koninklijke DSM NV (Netherlands) | 52,234 | 6,396,638 |
| Novozymes A/S Class B (Denmark) | 91,469 | 4,481,266 |
| 17,147,304 | ||
| Commercial services and supplies (2.3%) | ||
| Herman Miller, Inc. | 227,000 | 5,116,580 |
| Interface, Inc. | 430,717 | 3,979,825 |
| 9,096,405 | ||
| Containers and packaging (1.9%) | ||
| Ball Corp. | 113,400 | 7,437,906 |
| 7,437,906 | ||
| Diversified consumer services (1.8%) | ||
| Chegg, Inc. † | 99,600 | 4,257,900 |
| WW International, Inc. † | 102,200 | 2,607,122 |
| 6,865,022 | ||
| Diversified financial services (1.5%) | ||
| Eurazeo SA (France) | 89,167 | 4,266,177 |
| VectoIQ Acquisition Corp † S | 120,100 | 1,591,325 |
| 5,857,502 | ||
| Electric utilities (1.6%) | ||
| NextEra Energy, Inc. | 27,400 | 6,332,688 |
| 6,332,688 | ||
| Electrical equipment (1.4%) | ||
| Sunrun, Inc. † S | 384,757 | 5,398,141 |
| 5,398,141 | ||
| Electronic equipment, instruments, and components (2.4%) | ||
| Itron, Inc. † | 64,300 | 4,489,426 |
| Trimble Inc. † | 134,100 | 4,643,883 |
| 9,133,309 | ||
| Equity real estate investment trusts (REITs) (1.1%) | ||
| Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc. R S | 155,700 | 4,358,043 |
| 4,358,043 |
| Sustainable Future Fund 19 |
| COMMON STOCKS (94.4%)* cont. | Shares | Value |
| Food products (5.3%) | ||
| McCormick & Co., Inc. (non-voting shares) | 60,200 | $9,441,768 |
| Nomad Foods, Ltd. (United Kingdom) † | 358,800 | 7,394,868 |
| Simply Good Foods Co. (The) † | 195,500 | 3,685,175 |
| 20,521,811 | ||
| Health-care equipment and supplies (11.2%) | ||
| Becton Dickinson and Co. | 21,023 | 5,308,938 |
| Danaher Corp. | 84,300 | 13,779,676 |
| Edwards Lifesciences Corp. † | 14,000 | 3,045,000 |
| Hologic, Inc. † | 92,300 | 4,624,230 |
| IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. † | 20,700 | 5,746,320 |
| Insulet Corp. † | 20,000 | 3,994,400 |
| Mesa Laboratories, Inc. S | 18,965 | 4,513,670 |
| ResMed, Inc. | 15,900 | 2,469,588 |
| 43,481,822 | ||
| Health-care providers and services (2.0%) | ||
| 1Life Healthcare, Inc. † S | 92,613 | 2,284,763 |
| HealthEquity, Inc. † | 96,100 | 5,407,547 |
| 7,692,310 | ||
| Health-care technology (2.3%) | ||
| Livongo Health, Inc. † S | 76,416 | 3,057,404 |
| Teladoc Health, Inc. † S | 36,200 | 5,958,158 |
| 9,015,562 | ||
| Hotels, restaurants, and leisure (4.1%) | ||
| Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. † | 10,900 | 9,576,195 |
| Vail Resorts, Inc. | 36,000 | 6,156,000 |
| 15,732,195 | ||
| Household products (0.7%) | ||
| Clorox Co. (The) | 13,800 | 2,572,872 |
| 2,572,872 | ||
| Interactive media and services (0.5%) | ||
| Pinterest, Inc. Class A † S | 97,937 | 2,023,378 |
| 2,023,378 | ||
| Internet and direct marketing retail (2.2%) | ||
| Etsy, Inc. † | 52,700 | 3,418,649 |
| Stitch Fix, Inc. Class A † S | 318,400 | 5,110,320 |
| 8,528,969 | ||
| IT Services (4.0%) | ||
| GoDaddy, Inc. Class A † | 130,600 | 9,067,558 |
| Mastercard, Inc. Class A | 23,300 | 6,406,801 |
| 15,474,359 | ||
| Life sciences tools and services (4.8%) | ||
| Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. Class A † | 15,800 | 6,953,580 |
| Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. | 35,300 | 11,814,204 |
| 18,767,784 | ||
| Machinery (1.3%) | ||
| Xylem, Inc. | 68,500 | 4,925,150 |
| 4,925,150 |
| 20 Sustainable Future Fund |
| COMMON STOCKS (94.4%)* cont. | Shares | Value |
| Media (0.7%) | ||
| Liberty Global PLC Class C (United Kingdom) † | 156,800 | $2,871,008 |
| 2,871,008 | ||
| Personal products (0.5%) | ||
| Unilever PLC (United Kingdom) | 39,520 | 2,041,788 |
| 2,041,788 | ||
| Pharmaceuticals (0.5%) | ||
| Zoetis, Inc. | 14,200 | 1,836,202 |
| 1,836,202 | ||
| Professional services (1.1%) | ||
| Clarivate Analytics PLC (United Kingdom) † | 181,600 | 4,173,168 |
| 4,173,168 | ||
| Road and rail (0.7%) | ||
| Lyft, Inc. Class A † S | 76,800 | 2,521,344 |
| 2,521,344 | ||
| Semiconductors and semiconductor equipment (5.8%) | ||
| Applied Materials, Inc. | 123,300 | 6,125,544 |
| ASML Holding NV (Netherlands) | 18,600 | 5,364,798 |
| Cree, Inc. † S | 88,700 | 3,825,631 |
| First Solar Inc. † S | 49,195 | 2,165,072 |
| NXP Semiconductors NV | 48,300 | 4,809,231 |
| 22,290,276 | ||
| Software (15.5%) | ||
| Adobe, Inc. † | 36,400 | 12,872,496 |
| Anaplan, Inc. † | 103,800 | 4,241,268 |
| Crowdstrike Holdings, Inc. Class A † | 67,700 | 4,580,582 |
| DocuSign, Inc. † | 53,600 | 5,614,600 |
| Dynatrace, Inc. † | 246,127 | 7,346,891 |
| Elastic NV † | 25,100 | 1,609,914 |
| Everbridge, Inc. † | 61,143 | 6,810,107 |
| RingCentral, Inc. Class A † | 24,901 | 5,690,626 |
| Salesforce.com, Inc. † | 39,300 | 6,364,635 |
| Talend SA ADR † | 171,100 | 4,462,288 |
| 59,593,407 | ||
| Textiles, apparel, and luxury goods (1.4%) | ||
| lululemon athletica, Inc. (Canada) † | 24,845 | 5,552,361 |
| 5,552,361 | ||
| Trading companies and distributors (1.7%) | ||
| United Rentals, Inc. † | 52,300 | 6,720,550 |
| 6,720,550 | ||
| Total common stocks (cost $308,509,120) | $365,632,873 | |
| CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCKS (1.4%)* | Shares | Value |
| Fortive Corp. Ser. A, 5.00% cv. pfd. | 6,794 | $5,615,241 |
| Total convertible preferred stocks (cost $5,146,248) | $5,615,241 | |
| Principal | ||
| U.S. TREASURY OBLIGATIONS (—%)* | amount | Value |
| U.S. Treasury Notes 2.75%, 8/31/23 i | $106,000 | $115,191 |
| Total U.S. treasury obligations (cost $115,191) | $115,191 | |
| Sustainable Future Fund 21 |
| SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (15.3%)* | Shares | Value |
| Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC 0.40% d | 42,887,835 | $42,887,835 |
| Putnam Short Term Investment Fund 0.64% L | 16,143,591 | 16,143,591 |
| State Street Institutional U.S. Government Money Market Fund, | ||
| Premier Class 0.22% P | 130,000 | 130,000 |
| Total short-term investments (cost $59,161,426) | $59,161,426 | |
| TOTAL INVESTMENTS | ||
| Total investments (cost $372,931,985) | $430,524,731 | |
Key to holding’s abbreviations
| ADR | American Depository Receipts: represents ownership of foreign securities on deposit with a custodian bank |
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 May 1, 2019 through April 30, 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 $387,271,016.
† This security is non-income-producing.
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.
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.
R Real Estate Investment Trust.
S Security on loan, in part or in entirety, at the close of the reporting period (Note 1).
The dates shown on debt obligations are the original maturity dates.
| FORWARD CURRENCY CONTRACTS at 4/30/20 (aggregate face value $8,656,286) | ||||||
| Unrealized | ||||||
| Contract | Delivery | Aggregate | appreciation/ | |||
| Counterparty | Currency | type* | date | Value | face value | (depreciation) |
| Bank of America N.A. | ||||||
| Euro | Sell | 6/17/20 | $3,776,894 | $3,848,464 | $71,570 | |
| Barclays Bank PLC | ||||||
| British Pound | Sell | 6/17/20 | 2,492,748 | 2,587,950 | 95,202 | |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. | ||||||
| Euro | Sell | 6/17/20 | 1,086,695 | 1,108,889 | 22,194 | |
| State Street Bank and Trust Co. | ||||||
| Euro | Buy | 6/17/20 | 726,731 | 706,776 | 19,955 | |
| UBS AG | ||||||
| Euro | Sell | 6/17/20 | 396,707 | 404,207 | 7,500 | |
| Unrealized appreciation | 216,421 | |||||
| Unrealized (depreciation) | — | |||||
| Total | $216,421 | |||||
* The exchange currency for all contracts listed is the United States Dollar.
| 22 Sustainable Future 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*: | |||||
| Communication services | $4,894,386 | $— | $— | ||
| Consumer discretionary | 36,678,547 | — | — | ||
| Consumer staples | 25,136,471 | — | — | ||
| Financials | 22,029,489 | — | — | ||
| Health care | 96,361,748 | — | — | ||
| Industrials | 38,764,940 | — | — | ||
| Information technology | 106,491,351 | — | — | ||
| Materials | 24,585,210 | — | — | ||
| Real estate | 4,358,043 | — | — | ||
| Utilities | 6,332,688 | — | — | ||
| Total common stocks | 365,632,873 | — | — | ||
| Convertible preferred stocks | — | 5,615,241 | — | ||
| U.S. treasury obligations | — | 115,191 | — | ||
| Short-term investments | 16,273,591 | 42,887,835 | — | ||
| Totals by level | $381,906,464 | $48,618,267 | $— | ||
| Valuation inputs | |||||
| Other financial instruments: | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | ||
| Forward currency contracts | $— | $216,421 | $— | ||
| Totals by level | $— | $216,421 | $— | ||
* Common stock classifications are presented at the sector level, which may differ from the fund’s portfolio presentation.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
| Sustainable Future Fund 23 |
Statement of assets and liabilities 4/30/20
| ASSETS | |
| Investment in securities, at value, including $39,831,564 of securities on loan (Notes 1 and 8): | |
| Unaffiliated issuers (identified cost $313,900,559) | $371,493,305 |
| Affiliated issuers (identified cost $59,031,426) (Notes 1 and 5) | 59,031,426 |
| Cash | 2,500 |
| Foreign currency (cost $182) (Note 1) | 184 |
| Dividends, interest and other receivables | 166,202 |
| Foreign tax reclaim | 99,422 |
| Receivable for shares of the fund sold | 230,211 |
| Receivable for investments sold | 399,216 |
| Unrealized appreciation on forward currency contracts (Note 1) | 216,421 |
| Prepaid assets | 46,925 |
| Total assets | 431,685,812 |
| LIABILITIES | |
| Payable for shares of the fund repurchased | 688,319 |
| Payable for compensation of Manager (Note 2) | 165,761 |
| Payable for custodian fees (Note 2) | 20,576 |
| Payable for investor servicing fees (Note 2) | 112,820 |
| Payable for Trustee compensation and expenses (Note 2) | 115,955 |
| Payable for administrative services (Note 2) | 743 |
| Payable for distribution fees (Note 2) | 72,032 |
| Collateral on securities loaned, at value (Note 1) | 42,887,835 |
| Collateral on certain derivative contracts, at value (Notes 1 and 8) | 245,191 |
| Other accrued expenses | 105,564 |
| Total liabilities | 44,414,796 |
| Net assets | $387,271,016 |
| REPRESENTED BY | |
| Paid-in capital (Unlimited shares authorized) (Notes 1 and 4) | $318,066,530 |
| Total distributable earnings (Note 1) | 69,204,486 |
| Total — Representing net assets applicable to capital shares outstanding | $387,271,016 |
(Continued on next page)
| 24 Sustainable Future 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 | |
| ($311,057,847 divided by 17,754,075 shares) | $17.52 |
| Offering price per class A share (100/94.25 of $17.52)* | $18.59 |
| Net asset value and offering price per class B share ($145,568 divided by 9,436 shares)** | $15.43 |
| Net asset value and offering price per class C share ($11,503,281 divided by 747,890 shares)** | $15.38 |
| Net asset value, offering price and redemption price per class R share | |
| ($8,317,845 divided by 492,509 shares) | $16.89 |
| Net asset value, offering price and redemption price per class R6 share | |
| ($15,190,900 divided by 860,520 shares) | $17.65 |
| Net asset value, offering price and redemption price per class Y share | |
| ($41,055,575 divided by 2,331,147 shares) | $17.61 |
* 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.
| Sustainable Future Fund 25 |
Statement of operations Year ended 4/30/20
| INVESTMENT INCOME | |
| Dividends (net of foreign tax of $72,083) | $2,756,805 |
| Interest (including interest income of $452,742 from investments in affiliated issuers) (Note 5) | 455,952 |
| Securities lending (net of expenses) (Notes 1 and 5) | 317,438 |
| Total investment income | 3,530,195 |
| EXPENSES | |
| Compensation of Manager (Note 2) | 2,201,337 |
| Investor servicing fees (Note 2) | 730,769 |
| Custodian fees (Note 2) | 22,113 |
| Trustee compensation and expenses (Note 2) | 14,365 |
| Distribution fees (Note 2) | 995,571 |
| Administrative services (Note 2) | 11,369 |
| Other | 276,994 |
| Total expenses | 4,252,518 |
| Expense reduction (Note 2) | (15,286) |
| Net expenses | 4,237,232 |
| Net investment loss | (707,037) |
| REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) | |
| Net realized gain (loss) on: | |
| Securities from unaffiliated issuers (Notes 1 and 3) | 15,321,280 |
| Foreign currency transactions (Note 1) | (21,271) |
| Forward currency contracts (Note 1) | 643,669 |
| Total net realized gain | 15,943,678 |
| Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on: | |
| Securities from unaffiliated issuers | (3,209,814) |
| Assets and liabilities in foreign currencies | 532 |
| Forward currency contracts | 25,467 |
| Total change in net unrealized depreciation | (3,183,815) |
| Net gain on investments | 12,759,863 |
| Net increase in net assets resulting from operations | $12,052,826 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
| 26 Sustainable Future Fund |
Statement of changes in net assets
| DECREASE IN NET ASSETS | Year ended 4/30/20 | Year ended 4/30/19 |
| Operations | ||
| Net investment income (loss) | $(707,037) | $1,955,125 |
| Net realized gain on investments | ||
| and foreign currency transactions | 15,943,678 | 15,817,708 |
| Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) | ||
| of investments and assets and liabilities | ||
| in foreign currencies | (3,183,815) | 36,465,355 |
| Net increase in net assets resulting from operations | 12,052,826 | 54,238,188 |
| Distributions to shareholders (Note 1): | ||
| From ordinary income | ||
| Net investment income | ||
| Class A | (127,410) | (3,558,201) |
| Class B | — | (747) |
| Class C | — | (34,481) |
| Class M | — | (29,995) |
| Class R | — | (84,435) |
| Class R6 | (69,142) | (153,819) |
| Class Y | (112,237) | (398,427) |
| Net realized short-term gain on investments | ||
| Class A | — | (1,036,487) |
| Class B | — | (415) |
| Class C | — | (56,966) |
| Class M | — | (14,748) |
| Class R | — | (32,930) |
| Class R6 | — | (38,384) |
| Class Y | — | (95,561) |
| From net realized long-term gain on investments | ||
| Class A | (8,682,057) | (63,592,927) |
| Class B | (4,586) | (25,493) |
| Class C | (388,178) | (3,495,132) |
| Class M | — | (904,868) |
| Class R | (268,083) | (2,020,421) |
| Class R6 | (439,744) | (2,355,047) |
| Class Y | (1,049,745) | (5,863,118) |
| Increase (decrease) from capital share transactions (Note 4) | (13,356,668) | 26,586,021 |
| Total decrease in net assets | (12,445,024) | (2,968,393) |
| NET ASSETS | ||
| Beginning of year | 399,716,040 | 402,684,433 |
| End of year | $387,271,016 | $399,716,040 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
| Sustainable Future Fund 27 |
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 (%) | (%) |
| Class A | |||||||||||||
| April 30, 2020 | $17.45 | (.03) | .59 | .56 | (.01) | (.48) | (.49) | $17.52 | 3.15 | $311,058 | 1.07 | (.18) | 72 |
| April 30, 2019 | 19.58 | .10 | 2.23 | 2.33 | (.23) | (4.23) | (4.46) | 17.45 | 14.92 | 324,312 | 1.09 | .51 | 31 |
| April 30, 2018 | 19.59 | .11 | .77 | .88 | — | (.89) | (.89) | 19.58 | 4.53 | 324,298 | 1.07 | .56 | 116 |
| April 30, 2017 | 17.72 | .13 | 2.16 | 2.29 | (.13) | (.29) | (.42) | 19.59 | 13.01 | 338,915 | 1.08 | .72 | 78 |
| April 30, 2016 | 19.81 | .15 | (.82) | (.67) | (.18) | (1.24) | (1.42) | 17.72 | (3.21) | 326,727 | 1.07e | .79e | 76 |
| Class B | |||||||||||||
| April 30, 2020 | $15.53 | (.14) | .52 | .38 | — | (.48) | (.48) | $15.43 | 2.39 | $146 | 1.82 | (.91) | 72 |
| April 30, 2019 | 17.92 | (.04) | 2.00 | 1.96 | (.12) | (4.23) | (4.35) | 15.53 | 14.08 | 216 | 1.84 | (.26) | 31 |
| April 30, 2018 | 18.14 | .07 | .60 | .67 | — | (.89) | (.89) | 17.92 | 3.72 | 91 | 1.82 | .36 | 116 |
| April 30, 2017 | 16.44 | (.01) | 2.00 | 1.99 | —d | (.29) | (.29) | 18.14 | 12.18 | 6,616 | 1.83 | (.05) | 78 |
| April 30, 2016 | 18.47 | .01 | (.76) | (.75) | (.04) | (1.24) | (1.28) | 16.44 | (3.94) | 6,335 | 1.82e | .08e | 76 |
| Class C | |||||||||||||
| April 30, 2020 | $15.48 | (.14) | .52 | .38 | — | (.48) | (.48) | $15.38 | 2.40 | $11,503 | 1.82 | (.92) | 72 |
| April 30, 2019 | 17.80 | (.03) | 1.98 | 1.95 | (.04) | (4.23) | (4.27) | 15.48 | 14.04 | 14,027 | 1.84 | (.20) | 31 |
| April 30, 2018 | 18.02 | (.03) | .70 | .67 | — | (.89) | (.89) | 17.80 | 3.74 | 17,538 | 1.82 | (.16) | 116 |
| April 30, 2017 | 16.35 | (.01) | 1.98 | 1.97 | (.01) | (.29) | (.30) | 18.02 | 12.13 | 29,117 | 1.83 | (.04) | 78 |
| April 30, 2016 | 18.40 | —d | (.75) | (.75) | (.06) | (1.24) | (1.30) | 16.35 | (3.91) | 26,861 | 1.82e | .01e | 76 |
| Class R | |||||||||||||
| April 30, 2020 | $16.87 | (.07) | .57 | .50 | — | (.48) | (.48) | $16.89 | 2.92 | $8,318 | 1.32 | (.43) | 72 |
| April 30, 2019 | 19.06 | .05 | 2.16 | 2.21 | (.17) | (4.23) | (4.40) | 16.87 | 14.64 | 9,841 | 1.34 | .29 | 31 |
| April 30, 2018 | 19.14 | .06 | .75 | .81 | — | (.89) | (.89) | 19.06 | 4.26 | 10,835 | 1.32 | .32 | 116 |
| April 30, 2017 | 17.33 | .08 | 2.11 | 2.19 | (.09) | (.29) | (.38) | 19.14 | 12.68 | 12,770 | 1.33 | .46 | 78 |
| April 30, 2016 | 19.39 | .10 | (.80) | (.70) | (.12) | (1.24) | (1.36) | 17.33 | (3.45) | 12,223 | 1.32e | .54e | 76 |
| Class R6 | |||||||||||||
| April 30, 2020 | $17.58 | .03 | .60 | .63 | (.08) | (.48) | (.56) | $17.65 | 3.51 | $15,191 | .68 | .19 | 72 |
| April 30, 2019 # | 20.59 | .14 | 1.35 | 1.49 | (.27) | (4.23) | (4.50) | 17.58 | 10.17* | 13,953 | .66* | .78* | 31 |
| Class Y | |||||||||||||
| April 30, 2020 | $17.54 | .01 | .59 | .60 | (.05) | (.48) | (.53) | $17.61 | 3.38 | $41,056 | .82 | .06 | 72 |
| April 30, 2019 | 19.66 | .15 | 2.24 | 2.39 | (.28) | (4.23) | (4.51) | 17.54 | 15.23 | 32,539 | .84 | .79 | 31 |
| April 30, 2018 | 19.62 | .17 | .76 | .93 | — | (.89) | (.89) | 19.66 | 4.78 | 45,701 | .82 | .83 | 116 |
| April 30, 2017 | 17.74 | .14 | 2.21 | 2.35 | (.18) | (.29) | (.47) | 19.62 | 13.32 | 76,486 | .83 | .77 | 78 |
| April 30, 2016 | 19.84 | .17 | (.80) | (.63) | (.23) | (1.24) | (1.47) | 17.74 | (2.99) | 46,517 | .82e | .95e | 76 |
Before March 21, 2018, the fund was managed with a materially different investment strategy and may have achieved materially different performance results under its current investment strategy from that shown for periods before that date.
* Not annualized.
# For the period May 22, 2018 (commencement of operations) to April 30, 2019.
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 Amount represents less than $0.01 per share.
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).
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
| 28 Sustainable Future Fund | Sustainable Future Fund 29 |
Notes to financial statements 4/30/20
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 May 1, 2019 through April 30, 2020.
Putnam Sustainable Future Fund (the fund) is a diversified series of Putnam Investment Funds (the Trust), a Massachusetts business trust registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, as an open-end management investment company. The goal of the fund is to seek long-term capital appreciation. The fund invests mainly in common stocks of U.S. companies of any size, with a focus on companies whose products and services Putnam Management believes provide solutions that directly contribute to sustainable social, environmental and economic development (Impact Companies). Stocks of this type of company are typically, but not always, considered to be growth stocks. Growth stocks are stocks of companies whose earnings are expected to grow faster than those of similar firms, and whose business growth and other characteristics may lead to an increase in stock price. Putnam Management considers, among other factors, a company’s impact on sustainable environmental, social and economic development (as described below), valuation, financial strength, growth potential, competitive position in its industry, projected future earnings, cash flows and dividends when deciding whether to buy or sell investments. The fund may also invest in non-U.S. companies. Putnam Management believes that companies whose products and services produce positive environmental, social and economic development impact also often demonstrate strong financial growth and profitability. Accordingly, in selecting investments, Putnam Management considers the extent to which a company’s products or services may provide solutions that directly impact sustainable environmental, social and economic development. Environmental impact may include, for example, reduction of carbon emissions and improved water quality. Social impact may include, for example, fair labor practices and responsible supply chain management. Economic development may include, for example, stakeholder analysis and shared value approaches to business practices. It is likely that the metrics and measurements that Putnam Management uses to evaluate environmental, social and economic development impacts will continue to evolve over time.
The fund offers class A, class B, class C, class R, class R6 and class Y shares. Effective November 25, 2019, all class M shares were converted to class A shares and are no longer available for purchase. Purchases of class B shares are closed to new and existing investors except by exchange from class B shares of another Putnam fund or 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 R6 and class Y shares are not subject to a contingent deferred sales charge. Class B shares, which convert to class A shares after approximately five 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 five 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 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 R6 shares, bear a lower investor servicing fee, which is identified in Note 2. 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.
| 30 Sustainable Future 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. 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.
| Sustainable Future Fund 31 |
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
| 32 Sustainable Future Fund |
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 did not have a net liability position on open derivative contracts subject to the Master 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 $42,887,835 and the value of securities loaned amounted to $40,018,045. Certain of these securities were sold prior to the close of the reporting period and are included in Receivable for investments sold on the Statement of assets and liabilities.
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 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.
| Sustainable Future Fund 33 |
Pursuant to federal income tax regulations applicable to regulated investment companies, the fund has elected to defer $59,172 to its fiscal year ending April 30, 2021 of late year ordinary losses ((i) ordinary losses recognized between January 1, 2020 and April 30, 2020, and (ii) specified ordinary and currency losses recognized between November 1, 2019 and April 30, 2020).
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, foreign currency gains and losses, and a 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 $643,582 to decrease net investment loss, $5 to decrease paid-in capital and $643,577 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 | $78,764,447 |
| Unrealized depreciation | (22,156,216) |
| Net unrealized appreciation | 56,608,231 |
| Undistributed long-term gain | 12,659,276 |
| Late year ordinary loss deferral | (59,172) |
| Cost for federal income tax purposes | $374,132,921 |
Expenses of the Trust Expenses directly charged or attributable to any fund will be paid from the assets of that fund. Generally, expenses of the Trust will be allocated among and charged to the assets of each fund on a basis that the Trustees deem fair and equitable, which may be based on the relative assets of each fund or the nature of the services performed and relative applicability to each fund.
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:
| 0.710% | of the first $5 billion, | 0.510% | of the next $50 billion, | |
| 0.660% | of the next $5 billion, | 0.490% | of the next $50 billion, | |
| 0.610% | of the next $10 billion, | 0.480% | of the next $100 billion and | |
| 0.560% | of the next $10 billion, | 0.475% | 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 0.549% of the fund’s average net assets.
Putnam Management has contractually agreed, through August 30, 2020, 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
| 34 Sustainable Future Fund |
the services of PIL, Putnam Management would pay a quarterly sub-management fee to PIL for its services at an annual rate of 0.35% 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.
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 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. Effective November 25, 2019, the fund converted all of its class M shares to class A shares and class M shares were no longer able to be purchased.
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 | $597,155 | Class R | 17,836 | |
| Class B | 314 | Class R6 | 7,740 | |
| Class C | 24,023 | Class Y | 78,554 | |
| Class M | 5,147 | Total | $730,769 |
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 $3,802 under the expense offset arrangements and by $11,484 under the brokerage/service arrangements.
Each Independent Trustee of the fund receives an annual Trustee fee, of which $280, 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:
| Sustainable Future Fund 35 |
| Maximum % | Approved % | Amount | |
| Class A | 0.35% | 0.25% | $797,102 |
| Class B | 1.00% | 1.00% | 1,680 |
| Class C | 1.00% | 1.00% | 128,475 |
| ClassM * | 1.00% | 0.75% | 20,648 |
| Class R | 1.00% | 0.50% | 47,666 |
| Total | $995,571 |
* Effective November 25, 2019, the fund converted all of its class M shares to class A shares and class M shares were no longer able to be purchased.
For the reporting period, Putnam Retail Management Limited Partnership, acting as underwriter, received net commissions of $34,940 and $258 from the sale of class A and class M shares, respectively, and received $283 and $349 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 $55 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 (Long-term) | $274,112,880 | $292,405,094 |
| U.S. government securities (Long-term) | — | — |
| Total | $274,112,880 | $292,405,094 |
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 4/30/20 | YEAR ENDED 4/30/19 | |||
| Class A | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount |
| Shares sold | 1,820,907 | $32,097,797 | 855,992 | $15,055,851 |
| Shares issued in connection with | ||||
| reinvestment of distributions | 477,120 | 8,440,250 | 4,223,506 | 65,168,696 |
| 2,298,027 | 40,538,047 | 5,079,498 | 80,224,547 | |
| Shares repurchased | (3,129,726) | (54,588,730) | (3,055,516) | (56,395,850) |
| Net increase (decrease) | (831,699) | $(14,050,683) | 2,023,982 | $23,828,697 |
| 36 Sustainable Future Fund |
| YEAR ENDED 4/30/20 | YEAR ENDED 4/30/19 | |||
| Class B | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount |
| Shares sold | 2,200 | $34,548 | 13,251 | $215,271 |
| Shares issued in connection with | ||||
| reinvestment of distributions | 293 | 4,586 | 1,936 | 26,655 |
| 2,493 | 39,134 | 15,187 | 241,926 | |
| Shares repurchased | (6,949) | (108,972) | (6,362) | (114,666) |
| Net increase (decrease) | (4,456) | $(69,838) | 8,825 | $127,260 |
| YEAR ENDED 4/30/20 | YEAR ENDED 4/30/19 | |||
| Class C | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount |
| Shares sold | 102,604 | $1,563,819 | 88,574 | $1,421,857 |
| Shares issued in connection with | ||||
| reinvestment of distributions | 24,436 | 380,713 | 252,875 | 3,471,969 |
| 127,040 | 1,944,532 | 341,449 | 4,893,826 | |
| Shares repurchased | (285,159) | (4,385,522) | (420,606) | (6,700,877) |
| Net decrease | (158,119) | $(2,440,990) | (79,157) | $(1,807,051) |
| YEAR ENDED 4/30/20* | YEAR ENDED 4/30/19 | |||
| Class M | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount |
| Shares sold | 17,323 | $282,543 | 40,148 | $602,199 |
| Shares issued in connection with | ||||
| reinvestment of distributions | — | — | 65,807 | 949,589 |
| 17,323 | 282,543 | 105,955 | 1,551,788 | |
| Shares repurchased | (313,774) | (5,279,905) | (37,013) | (627,543) |
| Net increase (decrease) | (296,451) | $(4,997,362) | 68,942 | $924,245 |
| YEAR ENDED 4/30/20 | YEAR ENDED 4/30/19 | |||
| Class R | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount |
| Shares sold | 113,017 | $1,923,427 | 102,394 | $1,834,117 |
| Shares issued in connection with | ||||
| reinvestment of distributions | 14,748 | 251,751 | 129,773 | 1,937,506 |
| 127,765 | 2,175,178 | 232,167 | 3,771,623 | |
| Shares repurchased | (218,595) | (3,752,288) | (217,195) | (4,049,190) |
| Net increase (decrease) | (90,830) | $(1,577,110) | 14,972 | $(277,567) |
| FOR THE PERIOD 5/22/2018 | ||||
| (COMMENCEMENT OF OPERATIONS) | ||||
| YEAR ENDED 4/30/20 | TO 4/30/19 | |||
| Class R6 | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount |
| Shares sold | 436,093 | $7,734,573 | 729,399 | $14,637,089 |
| Shares issued in connection with | ||||
| reinvestment of distributions | 28,589 | 508,886 | 164,127 | 2,547,249 |
| 464,682 | 8,243,459 | 893,526 | 17,184,338 | |
| Shares repurchased | (397,981) | (6,921,942) | (99,707) | (1,812,297) |
| Net increase | 66,701 | $1,321,517 | 793,819 | $15,372,041 |
| Sustainable Future Fund 37 |
| YEAR ENDED 4/30/20 | YEAR ENDED 4/30/19 | |||
| Class Y | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount |
| Shares sold | 2,128,098 | $37,001,393 | 804,034 | $14,821,765 |
| Shares issued in connection with | ||||
| reinvestment of distributions | 62,849 | 1,116,829 | 391,266 | 6,060,717 |
| 2,190,947 | 38,118,222 | 1,195,300 | 20,882,482 | |
| Shares repurchased | (1,715,404) | (29,660,424) | (1,664,037) | (32,464,086) |
| Net increase (decrease) | 475,543 | $8,457,798 | (468,737) | $(11,581,604) |
* Effective November 25, 2019, the fund converted all of its class M shares to class A shares and class M shares were no longer able to be purchased.
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 4/30/19 | cost | proceeds | income | of 4/30/20 |
| Short-term investments | |||||
| Putnam Cash Collateral | |||||
| Pool, LLC* | $27,700,200 | $329,554,895 | $314,367,260 | $894,851 | $42,887,835 |
| Putnam Short Term | |||||
| Investment Fund** | 23,230,637 | 149,335,455 | 156,422,501 | 452,742 | 16,143,591 |
| Total Short-term | |||||
| investments | $50,930,837 | $478,890,350 | $470,789,761 | $1,347,593 | $59,031,426 |
* 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.
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.
| 38 Sustainable Future Fund |
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:
| Forward currency contracts (contract amount) | $11,300,000 |
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 | $216,421 | Payables | $— |
| Total | $216,421 | $— | ||
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 | Forward currency | |
| hedging instruments under ASC 815 | contracts | Total |
| Foreign exchange contracts | $643,669 | $643,669 |
| Total | $643,669 | $643,669 |
| Change in unrealized appreciation or (depreciation) on derivatives recognized in net gain or (loss) | ||
| on investments | ||
| Derivatives not accounted for as | Forward currency | |
| hedging instruments under ASC 815 | contracts | Total |
| Foreign exchange contracts | $25,467 | $25,467 |
| Total | $25,467 | $25,467 |
| Sustainable Future Fund 39 |
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 |
JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. |
State Street Bank and Trust Co. |
UBS AG | Total | |
| Assets: | ||||||
| Forward currency contracts# | $71,570 | $95,202 | $22,194 | $19,955 | $7,500 | $216,421 |
| Total Assets | $71,570 | $95,202 | $22,194 | $19,955 | $7,500 | $216,421 |
| Liabilities: | ||||||
| Forward currency contracts# | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Total Liabilities | $— | $— | $— | $— | $— | $— |
| Total Financial and Derivative | $71,570 | $95,202 | $22,194 | $19,955 | $7,500 | $216,421 |
| Net Assets | ||||||
| Total collateral received | $71,570 | $95,202 | $— | $— | $— | |
| (pledged)†## | ||||||
| Net amount | $— | $— | $22,194 | $19,955 | $7,500 | |
| Controlled collateral received | ||||||
| (including TBA commitments)** | $115,191 | $130,000 | $— | $— | $— | $245,191 |
| Uncontrolled collateral received | $— | $— | $— | $— | $— | $— |
| Collateral (pledged) (including TBA | ||||||
| commitments)** | $— | $— | $— | $— | $— | $— |
** 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.
Note 9: Change in independent accountants (Unaudited)
On March 20, 2020, the Audit, Compliance and Distributions Committee of the Trustees of the Putnam Funds approved and recommended the decision to change the fund’s independent accountant and to not retain KPMG LLP, and on April 3, 2020, upon request of the Putnam Funds, KPMG LLP provided a letter of resignation, effective upon the completion of its audit with respect to the fund’s financial statements for its fiscal year ended April 30, 2020 and the issuance of its report thereon. During the two previous fiscal years, KPMG LLP audit reports contained no adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion; nor were its reports qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope, or accounting principle. Further, in connection with its audits for the two previous fiscal years and the subsequent interim period through April 3, 2020: (i) there were no disagreements with KPMG LLP on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure, which disagreements if not resolved to the satisfaction of KPMG LLP would have caused it to make reference to the subject matter of the disagreements in its report on the fund’s financial statements for such years, and (ii) there were no “reportable events” of the kind described in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
On April 17, 2020, the Audit, Compliance and Distributions Committee of the Trustees of the Putnam Funds approved and recommended the decision to appoint PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the fund’s independent accountant effective upon the completion of the audit by KPMG LLP of the fund’s financial statements for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2020 and the issuance of KPMG LLP’s report thereon.
| 40 Sustainable Future Fund |
Federal tax information (Unaudited)
Pursuant to §852 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, the fund hereby designates $17,530,594 as a capital gain dividend with respect to the taxable year ended April 30, 2020, or, if subsequently determined to be different, the net capital gain of such year.
For the reporting period, pursuant to §871(k) of the Internal Revenue Code, the fund hereby designates $95,632 of distributions paid as qualifying to be taxed as interest-related dividends, and no amount to be taxed as short-term capital gain dividends for nonresident alien shareholders.
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.
| Sustainable Future Fund 41 |
| 42 Sustainable Future 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 April 30, 2020, there were 102 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.
| Sustainable Future Fund 43 |
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.
| 44 Sustainable Future 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 02110 | 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 | Robert E. Patterson | |
| London, England SW1A 1ER | George Putnam, III | Richard T. Kircher |
| Robert L. Reynolds | Vice President and BSA | |
| Marketing Services | Manoj P. Singh | Compliance Officer |
| Putnam Retail Management | Mona K. Sutphen | |
| 100 Federal Street | Susan G. Malloy | |
| Boston, MA 02110 | Officers | Vice President and |
| Robert L. Reynolds | Assistant Treasurer | |
| Custodian | President | |
| State Street Bank | Denere P. Poulack | |
| and Trust Company | Robert T. Burns | Assistant Vice President, Assistant |
| Vice President and | Clerk, and Assistant Treasurer | |
| Legal Counsel | Chief Legal Officer | |
| Ropes & Gray LLP | Janet C. Smith | |
| James F. Clark | Vice President, | |
| Independent Registered | Vice President, Chief Compliance | Principal Financial Officer, |
| Public Accounting Firm | Officer, and Chief Risk Officer | Principal Accounting Officer, |
| KPMG LLP | and Assistant Treasurer | |
| Nancy E. Florek | ||
| Vice President, Director of | Mark C. Trenchard | |
| Proxy Voting and Corporate | Vice President | |
| Governance, Assistant Clerk, | ||
| and Assistant Treasurer |
This report is for the information of shareholders of Putnam Sustainable Future 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 | |
| April 30, 2020 | $42,705 | $ — | $4,910 | $ — | |
| April 30, 2019 | $51,461 | $ — | $4,813 | $ — | |
| For the fiscal years ended April 30, 2020 and April 30, 2019, the fund's independent auditor billed aggregate non-audit fees in the amounts of $4,910 and $4,813 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 | |
| April 30, 2020 | $ — | $ — | $ — | $ — | |
| April 30, 2019 | $ — | $ — | $ — | $ — | |
| 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. |
| (a)(4) Change in registrant's independent public accountant. |
| (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. |
| Putnam Investment Funds |
| By (Signature and Title): |
| /s/ Janet C. Smith Janet C. Smith Principal Accounting Officer |
| Date: June 24, 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: June 24, 2020 |
| By (Signature and Title): |
| /s/ Janet C. Smith Janet C. Smith Principal Financial Officer |
| Date: June 24, 2020 |