Top Putnam Mutual Funds Announced by Zacks Investment Research

CHICAGO, March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Founded in 1937, Putnam Investments offers investors 79 mutual funds across a range of asset classes and investment styles. The fund has over $125 billion in assets under management and serves 109 institutional clients including the pension funds of several states and many large corporations. Putnam Investments considers its team of 145 seasoned portfolio managers to be its biggest assets and relies primarily on original, fundamental research on a global scale.

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Below we will share with you 5 top rated Putnam mutual funds. Each has earned a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) as we expect the mutual fund to outperform its peers in the future.

Putnam Multi-Cap Growth A (PNOPX) seeks capital growth over the long term. The fund invests primarily in growth oriented domestic companies whose earnings are projected to increase in the future. It focuses on acquiring common stocks and invests in companies regardless of their size. The fund returned 29% in the last one year period.

Robert Brookby is the fund manager and has managed this Putnam mutual fund since 2008.

Putnam Global Utilities A (PUGIX) invests in both domestic and foreign companies from the utilities sector with favorable prospects. The majority of its assets are utilized to purchase equity securities of large and mid-cap companies, though it may purchase stocks of smaller companies. The fund has a five year annualized return of 2.71%.

The Putnam mutual fund has a minimum initial investment of $500 and an expense ratio of 1.36% compared to a category average of 1.413%.

Putnam Small Cap Growth A (PNSAX) seeks capital appreciation. The fund invests heavily in domestic securities with an emphasis on growth oriented companies. It focuses on acquiring common stocks of small companies which are identical to those included in the Russell 2000 Growth Index. The fund returned 35.32% over the last one year period.

Pam Gao is the fund manager and has managed this Putnam mutual fund since 2010.

Putnam Asset Allocation: Conservative A (PACAX) invests between 55% to 85% of its assets in fixed-income securities and 15% to 45% in equity securities. It also rebalances its portfolios on occasion in order to improve performance and meet its investment objectives. The fund has a three year annualized return of 3.57%.

As of December 2010, this Putnam mutual fund held 1960 issues, with 21.60% of its total assets invested in Putnam Fds Tr.

Putnam Income A (PINCX) seeks high current income at reasonable levels of risk. The majority of the mutual funds assets are invested in securitized debt instruments and dollar denominated obligations issued by governments and companies worldwide. It invests in securities rated investment grade as well as junk bonds with maturity periods of three years or longer. The mutual fund returned 6.97% in the last one year period.

The Putnam mutual fund has a minimum initial investment of $500 and an expense ratio of 0.88% compared to a category average of 0.94%.

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SOURCE Zacks Investment Research, Inc.