Putnam Reduces Expense Ratios on Absolute Return Funds

Putnam Investments has significantly reduced the expense ratios on its four absolute return funds since they now have more than $2.6 billion in assets, Putnam announced Monday.

The reductions, ranging from 18% to 54%, bring the total expense caps between 40 basis points and 1.10%. The Absolute Return 100 Fund now charges 40 BPS. The Absolute Return 300 Fund now has a total expense cap of 60 BPS. The Absolute Return 500 Fund charges 90, and the Absolute Return 700 Fund, the most expensive, costs 1.1%.

In addition, Putnam reduced the fees on its RetirementReady suite of lifecycle funds that invest in the absolute-return funds by 4% to 24%, for new projected expense ratios ranging between 74 BPS to 1.04%.

“Although I am pleased with the $2.6 billion in assets since our launch, we expect the numbers to increase significantly, because of the broad application of our suite of Putnam Absolute Return Funds,” said Robert L. Reynolds, president and CEO of Putnam. “Based on adviser feedback and investor needs around inflation and volatility, we decided to take a fresh look at the pricing of the Absolute Return Funds and have determined that a reduction in expenses better aligns them to compete aggressively across the marketplace and helps to further their use as core investments for many different types of investment portfolios across all time horizons.”

Reynolds went on to say that the “extremely competitively priced funds will create yet another compelling reason for advisers and their clients to consider these solutions that are designed to limit volatility, produce more dependable returns and address inflation risk.”

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