Putnam Investments Announces Portfolio Manager Changes to Seek to Further Bolster Investment Performance

Putnam Investments today announced two portfolio manager appointments designed to further strengthen the long-term investment performance of the firm’s equity funds. The steps are the latest in a series of actions taken under the leadership of President and Chief Executive Officer Robert L. Reynolds, to help bolster Putnam’s investment division for delivery of strong, sustained results for clients and investors.

Effective immediately, Robert Brookby currently the manager for Putnam Growth Opportunities Fund, will take on the additional responsibility of the Putnam New Opportunities Fund and Putnam Vista Fund.The firm also announced the appointment of Pam Gao to manage Putnam Small Cap Growth Fund.

“While we are pleased with the direction of our investment division and the overall results produced for investors in the last year, we are continuously looking at how to optimize our talent and resources to deliver upon the trust placed in Putnam by clients and investors,” Reynolds said. “These strategic appointments, drawing upon the impressive portfolio management skills of these accomplished professionals, should help to strengthen Putnam’s offerings in the multi- and small-cap product areas for the long haul.”

The Putnam announcement comes at a time when Reynolds’ rebuilding efforts, leading to a dramatic turnaround in Putnam’s investment performance, have been recently acknowledged. Last month, Institutional Investor named Putnam Investments “Mutual Fund Manager of the Year,” and in February, Putnam earned the #1 ranking in the 2010 Lipper/Barron’s Best Mutual-Fund Families Survey based on dramatic gains by individual funds and advancements across the entire fund complex in 2009.

In discussing the latest Putnam moves, Chief Investment Officer Walter C. Donovan said, “Our view is to always utilize the best and brightest resources available to generate optimal investment results. Rob and Pam have exhibited strong investment acumen in their portfolio management work at Putnam and in previous assignments” Donovan continued, “It is through tapping the proven talent of such individuals that we hope to deliver upon the long-term investment expectations of our clients and continue to build an even stronger asset management firm.”

Brookby, a long-term industry veteran with over 10 years of experience, joined Putnam in 2008 from American Century Investments and has been portfolio manager of the Putnam Growth Opportunities Fund (POGAX). At the end of March, the fund had one-year returns of 53.23%, ranking it in the top decile in its Lipper category.

Gao, who joined Putnam in 2000, has been a portfolio manager in the Small-Cap Equity group. She has over 11 years experience in the investment industry.

Putnam Under Reynolds

Since joining Putnam on July 1, 2008, Reynolds has moved aggressively to improve fund performance and strengthen Putnam’s investment unit. He restructured Putnam’s equity investment division to increase individual fund manager accountability and responsibility, and he realigned manager and analyst incentives to reward those who deliver top-quartile results for investors.

Putnam has also recruited a number of distinguished industry veterans in portfolio management, research, and trading during the past 18 months, including Chief Investment Officer Walter Donovan and Portfolio Managers Robert Ewing, David Glancy, and Nick Thakore. The company has also sought to build a first-class, high-talent research team to drive its fundamental investment approach.

Besides turning around the performance of existing funds, Putnam renewed its claim to leadership in mutual fund innovation during 2009, launching 14 new funds during the year. The products introduced or enhanced in 2009 include:

• Putnam Absolute Return Funds,* which are designed to pursue positive, targeted returns above inflation over three years or more, and with less volatility than more traditional funds. The absolute return strategies were also combined among the underlying investments in the Putnam RetirementReady® Funds, Putnam's unique suite of 10 target-date lifecycle retirement funds, the only suite of lifecycle funds in the industry to integrate these strategies;
• The Putnam Spectrum Funds, which invest in the securities of leveraged companies, looking to generate returns through investments across their entire capital structure;
• The actively managed Putnam Global Sector Funds, which target stocks in dynamic sectors across global markets, cover nine sectors across the entire MSCI World Index, and can be combined to create a highly customized portfolio.

About Putnam Investments

Founded in 1937, Putnam Investments is a leading global money management firm with over 70 years of investment experience. As of March 31, 2009, Putnam had $115 billion in assets under management. Putnam has offices in Boston, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Singapore, and Sydney. For more information, go to putnam.com.

Putnam mutual funds are distributed by Putnam Retail Management.

* Putnam's target Absolute Return Funds are not intended to outperform stocks and bonds during strong market rallies.