Fund Evaluator:

Putnam Strategic Intermediate Muncpl Y Overview

Putnam Strategic Intermediate Muncpl Y (PAMYX) is an actively managed Municipal Bond Muni National Interm fund. Franklin Templeton Investments launched the fund in 2008.

The investment seeks as high a level of current income exempt from federal income tax as is consistent with preservation of capital. The fund invests mainly in bonds that pay interest that is exempt from federal income tax (but that may be subject to federal alternative minimum tax (AMT)). The manager normally maintains an average dollar-weighted maturity between three and ten years. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in tax-exempt investments. Investments paying interest subject to the federal AMT for individuals are considered tax-exempt investments for purposes of this policy.

About Putnam Strategic Intermediate Muncpl Y (PAMYX)

There are 5 members of the management team with an average tenure of 3.30 years: Daniel Workman (2024), Garrett Hamilton (2016), Ben Barber (2024), Francisco Rivera (2024), James Conn (2024). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg Municipal TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg Municipal 3-15Y Blend 2-17Y TR index with a weighting of 100%. Putnam Strategic Intermediate Muncpl Y has 873 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 14.4% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Putnam Strategic Intermediate Muncpl Y is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Municipal Bond fund group. Putnam Strategic Intermediate Muncpl Y has 0.3% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 100.1% (99.7% domestic bond, 0.3% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Putnam Strategic Intermediate Muncpl Y has -0.1% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $2 billion in total assets, which is above the $1 billion average for the Muni National Interm category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

PAMYX Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Putnam Strategic Intermediate Muncpl Y expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Muni National Interm category. Putnam Strategic Intermediate Muncpl Y has an expense ratio of 0.65%, which is 4% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Putnam Strategic Intermediate Muncpl Y has a portfolio turnover rate of 41%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 39% for the Muni National Interm category.

Recently, in the month of June 2026, Putnam Strategic Intermediate Muncpl Y returned 0.8%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Muni National Interm category had an average return of 0.7%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.

Putnam Strategic Intermediate Muncpl Y has a trailing yield of 3.71%, which is above the 3.21% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly and its capital gains annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

Putnam Strategic Intermediate Muncpl Y Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 2.7%, 0.7 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 7.0% over the past year (grade of A), 4.6% over the past three years (grade of A) and 1.9% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 2.7% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).

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