Putnam Investments Launches FundVisualizerTM to Help Advisors Evaluate Universe of Mutual Funds

In an effort to provide financial advisors with a modern experience to comprehensively research and more clearly visualize mutual fund comparison data, Putnam Investments today officially announced the launch of FundVisualizerTM, an open-architecture analytical tool — created for iPad and desktop usage — enabling in-depth evaluations of over 10,000 investment choices in real time, using more than 60 different selection criteria.

FundVisualizer* is part of an ongoing series of Putnam initiatives designed to provide advisors with rich, highly transparent content, delivered through leading technology. The new, dynamic tool provides visually compelling, side-by-side comparisons of multiple products, including Putnam funds, as well as choices from funds across all categories — both load and no-load — arming advisors even further in making informed investment decisions.

“We believe that advisors and their clients benefit when they have access to greater information, clarity and transparency around investments. FundVisualizer provides the real-time comparative information that advisors need to guide their clients in making the right decisions as they build portfolios to meet their personal financial goals,” said Bill Connolly, Head of Global Distribution. “Advisors who have tested the FundVisualizer have found it to be a fast, easy way of performing the comparisons and analyses they need to more quickly and thoroughly decide what is best for their clients.”

“By giving this powerful analytical tool an open architecture, we enable advisors to choose which funds — and data points — they want to compare. If advisors choose to evaluate Putnam funds, we are confident that our solutions will stand up well in comparison with those of any other fund family,” Connolly continued.

FundVisualizer Designed for iPad and Desktop Application

The tool, which will be regularly updated to reflect the latest user interface improvements, is currently being introduced to advisors by Putnam wholesalers. After registering with Putnam, advisors can have direct access to FundVisualizer by logging into Putnam’s advisor website (www.putnam.com/advisor), where they can perform comparisons of funds across all categories using data points related to performance, risk and other crucial factors and obtain prospectuses for any fund. Putnam, which was one of the first financial services firms to make iPads available to its sales teams, has specifically created a version of FundVisualizer for iPad usage — expected to be rolled out more broadly to advisors in the future.

Putnam and Financial Advisors

Since Robert L. Reynolds became Putnam’s president and chief executive officer in 2008, the company has even further bolstered its commitment to the advisor channel through launching a series of innovations and initiatives designed to help advisors meet the needs of their clients, especially through the use of thought leadership content, leading technology, and advanced analytics, and greater levels of transparency, including:

• The Wealth Management Center www.putnam.com/wmc, accessible through Putnam’s advisor website, features ongoing commentary on a variety of financial planning subjects, including the latest developments around taxes, planning for retirement and other wealth-related strategies, and a wide range of investment and wealth management information, planning ideas, and tools.
• A thoughtful Roth IRA Conversion Resource Center provides a full range of information about traditional IRA conversions and calculators to help determine whether a conversion makes sense and what investors should consider before converting.
• An online Global Sector Portfolio Modeling Tool allows advisors and investors to build model portfolios of the Putnam Global Sector Funds and compare the characteristics of such portfolios with the MSCI World Index. By adjusting the sector weightings to see how they affect portfolio characteristics and achieve various investor goals, advisors can more effectively customize global portfolios for investors.
• Putnam’s proprietary Lifetime IncomeSM Analysis Tool helps advisors and their clients model how much monthly income their current savings might generate in retirement and help them determine what investors can do to maintain their current lifestyle once they stop working. Early results from a study of participants in Putnam-managed 401(k) plans show that after using the tool a significant number of employees changed their savings deferral, with the overwhelming majority choosing to increase their savings rate.

About Putnam Investments

Founded in 1937, Putnam Investments is a leading global money management firm with over 70 years of investment experience. The firm was recently named one of the top 15 mutual fund families by Barron’s/Lipper for the second consecutive year. At the end of March 2011, Putnam had $127 billion in assets under management, including mutual fund assets of $69 billion and institutional assets of $58 billion. Putnam has offices in Boston, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Singapore and Sydney. For more information, visit putnam.com.

Putnam mutual funds are distributed by Putnam Retail Management.

* FundVisualizer uses data licensed from Morningstar, a leading provider of independent investment research.