Putnam Investments Named "Mutual Fund Manager of the Year" by Institutional Investor

BOSTON--(Business Wire)--
Institutional Investor magazine has named Putnam Investments its "Mutual Fund
Manager of the Year" as part of its 2010 U.S. Investment Management Awards,
which recognize overall market leadership and excellence among asset managers.

Winners were determined through a survey of over 1000 investors who were asked
to rank their top managers on a scale of 1 to 10 for the following attributes:
Client Service, Innovation, Performance, Reputation and Risk Management. Winners
were identified based on the weighted analysis of the survey data. The survey
was conducted by II Research.

It is the second award bestowed on Putnam this year for its dramatic turnaround
in investment performance. 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.

"This honor underscores Putnam`s commitment to producing consistently superior
investment returns for our investors and clients, backed by innovative product
and outstanding customer service," said Putnam President and Chief Executive
Officer Robert L. Reynolds. "Our entire organization can be proud of what we`ve
achieved on behalf of our investors since we began rebuilding Putnam in 2008. We
are far from finished; in fact, we are just getting started."

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 also has recruited a number of distinguished industry veterans in
trading, portfolio management, and research during the past 18 months, building
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.

Institutional Investor award winners were chosen by the editorial staff of
Institutional Investor magazine based on their market intelligence, performance
data and additional information received from the industry following a public
call for nominations. Manager winners were also selected by the editors of the
magazine based on the results of a survey conducted of U.S. institutional
investors.

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 ranked #1 out
of 61 fund families based on its funds` performance during 2009 in a
Lipper/Barron`s Fund Families Survey. At the end of February 2010, Putnam had
$114 billion in assets under management. 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.

Putnam Investments
Jon Goldstein
617-760-1127 (office)
516-946-5598 (cell)
jon_goldstein@putnam.com
or
Putnam Investments
Laura McNamara
617-760-1108 (office)
617-850-2727 (cell)
laura_mcnamara@putnam.com

Copyright Business Wire 2010