Fund Evaluator:

Putnam International Small Cap C Overview

Putnam International Small Cap C (PUVCX) is an actively managed International Equity Foreign Small/Mid Blend fund. Franklin Templeton Investments launched the fund in 1999.

The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation. The fund invests mainly in common stocks (growth or value stocks or both) of small and midsize companies outside the United States that the advisor believes have favorable investment potential. It invests mainly in developed countries, but may invest in emerging markets. The fund may also use derivatives, such as futures, options, certain foreign currency transactions, warrants and swap contracts, for both hedging and non-hedging purposes.

About Putnam International Small Cap C (PUVCX)

There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 9.34 years: Spencer Morgan (2017), Karan Sodhi (2017). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: MSCI ACWI Ex USA NR USD index with a weighting of 100% and S&P Developed Ex US Small TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Putnam International Small Cap C has 70 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 26.5% 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 International Small Cap C is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity fund group. Putnam International Small Cap C has 92.4% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 4.8%. There is 92.4% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.2% (0.2% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Putnam International Small Cap C has 0.5% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $878 million in total assets, which is below the $540 million average for the Foreign Small/Mid Blend 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.

PUVCX 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 International Small Cap C expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Foreign Small/Mid Blend category. Putnam International Small Cap C has an expense ratio of 2.23%, which is 96% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a F. 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 International Small Cap C has a portfolio turnover rate of 30%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 63% for the Foreign Small/Mid Blend category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Putnam International Small Cap C returned 2.8%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Foreign Small/Mid Blend category had an average return of -1.3%. 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 International Small Cap C has a trailing yield of 4.94%, which is above the 2.74% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually 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 International Small Cap C Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 3.9%, 5.7 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 10.4% over the past year (grade of F), 12.6% over the past three years (grade of C) and 4.9% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 7.8% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).

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