Putnam Funds Trust NCSRS Certified semi-annual shareholder report (management investment company)


	UNITED STATES


	SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


	Washington, D.C. 20549


	FORM N-CSR


	CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED


	MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES


	Investment Company Act file number:	(811-07513)


	Exact name of registrant as specified in charter:	Putnam Funds Trust


	Address of principal executive offices:	100 Federal Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110


	Name and address of agent for service:	Stephen Tate, Vice President


		100 Federal Street


		Boston, Massachusetts 02110


	Copy to:	Bryan Chegwidden, Esq.


		Ropes & Gray LLP


		1211 Avenue of the Americas


		New York, New York 10036


		James E. Thomas, Esq.


		Ropes & Gray LLP


		800 Boylston Street


		Boston, Massachusetts 02199


	Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:	(617) 292-1000


	Date of fiscal year end:	April 30, 2025


	Date of reporting period:	May 1, 2024 – October 31, 2024


	Item 1. Report to Stockholders:


	The following is a copy of the report transmitted to stockholders pursuant to Rule 30e-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940:


Putnam Core Equity Fund
Class A [PMYAX]
Semi-Annual Shareholder Report \| October 31, 2024

This semi-annual shareholder report contains important information about Putnam Core Equity Fund for the period May 1, 2024, to October 31, 2024.
You can find additional information about the Fund at https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents. You can also request this information by contacting us at (800) 225-1581.

WHAT WERE THE FUND COSTS FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS? (based on a hypothetical $10,000 investment)


Class Name	Costs of a $10,000 investment	Costs paid as a percentage of a $10,000 investment^*^,^†
Class A	$51	0.94%

*	Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, without which expenses would have been higher.

†	Annualized.

KEY FUND STATISTICS (as of October 31, 2024)


Total Net Assets	$5,092,970,434
Total Number of Portfolio Holdings^*	139
Portfolio Turnover Rate	7%

*	Includes derivatives, if applicable.

WHAT DID THE FUND INVEST IN? (as of October 31, 2024)

Portfolio Composition (% of Total Net Assets)

Cash and Equivalents, if any, represent the market value weights of cash, derivatives, short-term securities, and other unclassified assets in the portfolio. Holdings and allocations may vary over time.


	WHERE CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND?
	Additional information is available on https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents, including its:
	• prospectus • proxy voting information • financial information • holdings • tax information

Putnam Core Equity Fund

PAGE 1

39142-STSA-1224

27.316.010.29.78.66.26.02.92.82.32.15.9


Putnam Core Equity Fund
Class C [PMYCX]
Semi-Annual Shareholder Report \| October 31, 2024

WHAT WERE THE FUND COSTS FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS? (based on a hypothetical $10,000 investment)


Class Name	Costs of a $10,000 investment	Costs paid as a percentage of a $10,000 investment^*^,^†
Class C	$91	1.69%

*	Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, without which expenses would have been higher.

†	Annualized.

KEY FUND STATISTICS (as of October 31, 2024)


Total Net Assets	$5,092,970,434
Total Number of Portfolio Holdings^*	139
Portfolio Turnover Rate	7%

*	Includes derivatives, if applicable.

WHAT DID THE FUND INVEST IN? (as of October 31, 2024)

Portfolio Composition (% of Total Net Assets)


	WHERE CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND?
	Additional information is available on https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents, including its:
	• prospectus • proxy voting information • financial information • holdings • tax information

Putnam Core Equity Fund

PAGE 1

39142-STSC-1224

27.316.010.29.78.66.26.02.92.82.32.15.9


Putnam Core Equity Fund
Class R [PMYZX]
Semi-Annual Shareholder Report \| October 31, 2024

WHAT WERE THE FUND COSTS FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS? (based on a hypothetical $10,000 investment)


Class Name	Costs of a $10,000 investment	Costs paid as a percentage of a $10,000 investment^*^,^†
Class R	$64	1.19%

*	Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, without which expenses would have been higher.

†	Annualized.

KEY FUND STATISTICS (as of October 31, 2024)


Total Net Assets	$5,092,970,434
Total Number of Portfolio Holdings^*	139
Portfolio Turnover Rate	7%

*	Includes derivatives, if applicable.

WHAT DID THE FUND INVEST IN? (as of October 31, 2024)

Portfolio Composition (% of Total Net Assets)


	WHERE CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND?
	Additional information is available on https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents, including its:
	• prospectus • proxy voting information • financial information • holdings • tax information

Putnam Core Equity Fund

PAGE 1

39142-STSR-1224

27.316.010.29.78.66.26.02.92.82.32.15.9


Putnam Core Equity Fund
Class R6 [PMYTX]
Semi-Annual Shareholder Report \| October 31, 2024

WHAT WERE THE FUND COSTS FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS? (based on a hypothetical $10,000 investment)


Class Name	Costs of a $10,000 investment	Costs paid as a percentage of a $10,000 investment^*^,^†
Class R6	$34	0.62%

*	Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, without which expenses would have been higher.

†	Annualized.

KEY FUND STATISTICS (as of October 31, 2024)


Total Net Assets	$5,092,970,434
Total Number of Portfolio Holdings^*	139
Portfolio Turnover Rate	7%

*	Includes derivatives, if applicable.

WHAT DID THE FUND INVEST IN? (as of October 31, 2024)

Portfolio Composition (% of Total Net Assets)


	WHERE CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND?
	Additional information is available on https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents, including its:
	• prospectus • proxy voting information • financial information • holdings • tax information

Putnam Core Equity Fund

PAGE 1

39142-STSR6-1224

27.316.010.29.78.66.26.02.92.82.32.15.9


Putnam Core Equity Fund
Class Y [PMYYX]
Semi-Annual Shareholder Report \| October 31, 2024

WHAT WERE THE FUND COSTS FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS? (based on a hypothetical $10,000 investment)


Class Name	Costs of a $10,000 investment	Costs paid as a percentage of a $10,000 investment^*^,^†
Class Y	$37	0.69%

*	Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, without which expenses would have been higher.

†	Annualized.

KEY FUND STATISTICS (as of October 31, 2024)


Total Net Assets	$5,092,970,434
Total Number of Portfolio Holdings^*	139
Portfolio Turnover Rate	7%

*	Includes derivatives, if applicable.

WHAT DID THE FUND INVEST IN? (as of October 31, 2024)

Portfolio Composition (% of Total Net Assets)


	WHERE CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND?
	Additional information is available on https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents, including its:
	• prospectus • proxy voting information • financial information • holdings • tax information

Putnam Core Equity Fund

PAGE 1

39142-STSY-1224

27.316.010.29.78.66.26.02.92.82.32.15.9


	Item 2. Code of Ethics:


	Not applicable


	Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert:


	Not applicable


	Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services:


	Not applicable


	Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants


	Not applicable


	Item 6. Investments:


	The registrant’s schedule of investments in unaffiliated issuers is included in the Financial Statements and Other Important Information in Item 7 below.


	Item 7. Financial Statements and Financial Highlights for Open-End Management Investment Companies.

Putnam
Core Equity
Fund

Financial Statements and Other Important Information

Semiannual | October 31, 2024

Table of Contents

The fund's portfolio	1
Financial statements	7
Financial highlights	10
Notes to financial statements	12
Changes in and disagreements with accountants	19
Results of any shareholder votes	19
Remuneration paid to directors, officers, and others	19
Board approval of management and subadvisory agreements	20

Financial Statements and Other Important Information—Semiannual

franklintempleton.com

The fund’s portfolio 10/31/24 (Unaudited)

COMMON STOCKS (93.3%)*	Shares	Value
Aerospace and defense (1.0%)
Boeing Co. (The) ^†	94,817	$14,157,126
Northrop Grumman Corp.	37,489	19,082,651
RTX Corp.	150,533	18,212,988
		51,452,765
Air freight and logistics (0.4%)
FedEx Corp.	70,922	19,421,990
		19,421,990
Automobiles (1.1%)
General Motors Co.	305,907	15,527,839
Tesla, Inc. ^†	173,528	43,355,971
		58,883,810
Banks (4.5%)
Bank of America Corp.	1,698,352	71,025,081
Citigroup, Inc.	780,801	50,104,000
Fifth Third Bancorp	290,722	12,698,737
Five Star Bancorp	341,490	10,272,019
JPMorgan Chase & Co.	286,729	63,630,900
UMB Financial Corp.	198,140	21,741,902
		229,472,639
Beverages (1.5%)
Coca-Cola Co. (The)	852,774	55,694,670
Molson Coors Beverage Co. Class B ^S	382,529	20,836,355
		76,531,025
Biotechnology (1.9%)
AbbVie, Inc.	236,703	48,256,641
Amgen, Inc.	63,582	20,356,413
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ^†	32,420	27,174,444
		95,787,498
Broadline retail (3.4%)
Amazon.com, Inc. ^†	858,122	159,953,941
eBay, Inc.	270,527	15,558,008
		175,511,949
Capital markets (5.0%)
Ameriprise Financial, Inc.	134,931	68,855,289
Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (The)	622,018	46,875,276
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)	117,844	61,018,445
Raymond James Financial, Inc.	430,262	63,773,434
TPG, Inc.	236,597	16,012,885
		256,535,329
Chemicals (0.8%)
DuPont de Nemours, Inc.	137,150	11,382,079
Eastman Chemical Co.	258,019	27,115,217
		38,497,296
Commercial services and supplies (0.3%)
Cintas Corp.	70,383	14,485,525
		14,485,525
Communications equipment (0.9%)
Cisco Systems, Inc.	817,469	44,772,777
		44,772,777
Consumer staples distribution and retail (3.1%)
Casey’s General Stores, Inc.	31,699	12,490,040
Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. Class A ^†	449,143	8,044,151
Kroger Co. (The)	531,771	29,656,869
Target Corp.	211,141	31,679,596
Walmart, Inc.	903,027	74,003,063
		155,873,719
Containers and packaging (0.3%)
Berry Global Group, Inc.	218,608	15,400,934
		15,400,934

Core Equity Fund

COMMON STOCKS (93.3%)* cont.	Shares	Value
Distributors (0.2%)
LKQ Corp.	343,901	$12,652,118
		12,652,118
Diversified consumer services (0.2%)
Graham Holdings Co. Class B	10,088	8,507,210
		8,507,210
Diversified REITs (0.3%)
Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc. ^R	1,636,082	17,718,768
		17,718,768
Diversified telecommunication services (0.6%)
AT&T, Inc.	1,444,693	32,563,380
		32,563,380
Electric utilities (2.9%)
Constellation Energy Corp.	104,845	27,570,041
NextEra Energy, Inc.	306,789	24,313,028
NRG Energy, Inc.	386,178	34,910,491
PG&E Corp.	2,980,707	60,269,896
		147,063,456
Entertainment (1.1%)
Electronic Arts, Inc.	120,490	18,175,917
Universal Music Group NV (Netherlands)	725,499	18,258,033
Walt Disney Co. (The)	225,433	21,686,655
		58,120,605
Financial services (5.2%)
Apollo Global Management, Inc.	490,011	70,198,976
Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. Class B ^†	222,937	100,526,752
Mastercard, Inc. Class A	190,314	95,078,971
		265,804,699
Food products (0.2%)
Hershey Co. (The)	43,324	7,693,476
		7,693,476
Ground transportation (1.0%)
Union Pacific Corp.	208,706	48,434,401
		48,434,401
Health care equipment and supplies (0.3%)
Medtronic PLC	167,582	14,956,694
Nyxoah SA (Belgium) ^†	282,458	2,683,351
		17,640,045
Health care providers and services (4.2%)
Ardent Health Partners, Inc. ^† S	738,975	12,858,165
CVS Health Corp.	283,038	15,980,325
Elevance Health, Inc.	33,410	13,556,442
HCA Healthcare, Inc.	64,097	22,994,158
McKesson Corp.	81,667	40,881,684
Tenet Healthcare Corp. ^†	191,753	29,725,550
UnitedHealth Group, Inc.	133,884	75,577,518
		211,573,842
Health care technology (0.1%)
GoodRx Holdings, Inc. Class A ^† S	725,100	4,437,612
		4,437,612
Hotels, restaurants, and leisure (2.0%)
Bloomin’ Brands, Inc.	227,805	3,779,285
Brinker International, Inc. ^†	26,804	2,753,039
First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. ^† S	454,451	7,723,395
Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc.	125,282	29,422,478
McDonald’s Corp.	100,420	29,333,686
Vail Resorts, Inc.	64,832	10,742,014
Viking Holdings, Ltd. (Bermuda) ^† S	507,686	19,926,675
		103,680,572
Household durables (1.0%)
PulteGroup, Inc.	393,066	50,913,839
		50,913,839

Core Equity Fund

COMMON STOCKS (93.3%)* cont.	Shares	Value
Household products (0.9%)
Procter & Gamble Co. (The)	264,725	$43,727,275
		43,727,275
Industrial conglomerates (0.5%)
Honeywell International, Inc.	123,424	25,385,848
		25,385,848
Insurance (0.9%)
Arch Capital Group, Ltd. ^†	279,815	27,578,566
Assured Guaranty, Ltd.	221,940	18,523,112
		46,101,678
Interactive media and services (6.4%)
Alphabet, Inc. Class C	1,020,917	176,302,157
Meta Platforms, Inc. Class A	250,170	141,991,489
Pinterest, Inc. Class A ^†	252,677	8,032,602
		326,326,248
IT Services (1.7%)
Gartner, Inc. ^†	74,418	37,395,045
GoDaddy, Inc. Class A ^†	145,002	24,186,334
IBM Corp. ^S	111,627	23,075,533
		84,656,912
Life sciences tools and services (0.2%)
Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. Class A ^†	31,573	11,309,133
		11,309,133
Machinery (1.7%)
Deere & Co.	36,761	14,876,809
Otis Worldwide Corp.	641,828	63,027,510
Snap-On, Inc.	27,107	8,948,834
		86,853,153
Media (0.4%)
Charter Communications, Inc. Class A ^†	27,286	8,939,166
New York Times Co. (The) Class A	226,196	12,630,785
		21,569,951
Metals and mining (1.1%)
Freeport-McMoRan, Inc.	667,277	30,040,811
Nucor Corp.	177,059	25,114,049
		55,154,860
Mortgage real estate investment trusts (REITs) (0.3%)
Starwood Property Trust, Inc. ^R S	795,046	15,694,208
		15,694,208
Office REITs (0.2%)
Highwoods Properties, Inc. ^R S	305,691	10,252,876
		10,252,876
Oil, gas, and consumable fuels (2.3%)
Antero Resources Corp. ^†	522,310	13,517,383
ConocoPhillips	379,987	41,623,776
Exxon Mobil Corp.	436,689	50,996,541
Permian Resources Corp.	677,008	9,227,619
		115,365,319
Passenger airlines (0.7%)
Southwest Airlines Co.	1,169,102	35,751,139
		35,751,139
Personal care products (0.4%)
Kenvue, Inc.	914,319	20,965,335
		20,965,335
Pharmaceuticals (3.5%)
AstraZeneca PLC ADR (United Kingdom)	193,498	13,767,383
Eli Lilly and Co.	86,330	71,631,454
Johnson & Johnson	283,189	45,270,594
Merck & Co., Inc.	361,829	37,022,343
Royalty Pharma PLC Class A	474,220	12,803,939
		180,495,713

Core Equity Fund

COMMON STOCKS (93.3%)* cont.	Shares	Value
Real estate management and development (1.5%)
CBRE Group, Inc. Class A ^†	510,027	$66,798,236
CoStar Group, Inc. ^†	121,629	8,853,375
		75,651,611
Semiconductors and semiconductor equipment (8.5%)
Broadcom, Inc.	407,111	69,115,234
Intel Corp.	360,274	7,753,096
Lam Research Corp. ^S	540,943	40,219,112
NVIDIA Corp.	2,178,158	289,172,256
Qualcomm, Inc.	174,769	28,447,150
		434,706,848
Software (9.4%)
Adobe, Inc. ^†	54,918	26,255,197
Fair Isaac Corp. ^†	7,476	14,900,490
Jamf Holding Corp. ^†	497,152	8,272,609
Microsoft Corp.	745,555	302,956,274
NCR Voyix Corp. ^†	417,416	5,347,099
Oracle Corp.	463,356	77,769,671
Salesforce, Inc.	146,160	42,586,639
		478,087,979
Specialized REITs (0.8%)
Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. ^R	806,693	40,487,922
		40,487,922
Specialty retail (1.5%)
Best Buy Co., Inc.	238,709	21,586,455
Lowe’s Cos., Inc.	210,763	55,184,076
		76,770,531
Technology hardware, storage, and peripherals (6.0%)
Apple, Inc.	1,353,000	305,656,230
		305,656,230
Textiles, apparel, and luxury goods (0.2%)
Lululemon Athletica, Inc. (Canada) ^†	33,171	9,881,641
		9,881,641
Trading companies and distributors (0.7%)
United Rentals, Inc.	41,456	33,695,437
		33,695,437
Total common stocks (cost $2,419,558,777)		$4,753,979,126

INVESTMENT COMPANIES (0.8%)*	Shares	Value
iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF ^† S	471,178	$42,999,704
Total investment companies (cost $26,221,189)		$42,999,704

U.S. TREASURY OBLIGATIONS (—%)*	Principal amount	Value
U.S. Treasury Notes 1.625%, 5/15/31 ⁱ	$230,000	$197,917
Total U.S. treasury obligations (cost $197,917)		$197,917

*PURCHASED OPTIONS OUTSTANDING (—%) Counterparty**	Expiration date/strike price	Notional amount	Contract amount	Value
Bank of America N.A.
Otis Worldwide Corp. (Put)	Nov-24/$97.50	$7,854,331	$79,983	$133,661
JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.
GoDaddy, Inc. Class A (Put)	Nov-24/157.50	5453359	32,694	8
Total purchased options outstanding (cost $216,498)				$133,669

Core Equity Fund

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (7.6%)*	Principal amount/shares	Value
Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC 5.03% ^d	Shares 78,037,492	$78,037,492
Putnam Government Money Market Fund Class G 4.62% ^L	Shares 14,275,348	14,275,348
Putnam Short Term Investment Fund Class P 4.95% ^L	Shares 273,021,608	273,021,608
U.S. Treasury Bills 4.629%, 1/16/25 ^# Δ	$6,300,000	6,240,788
U.S. Treasury Bills 5.199%, 11/19/24 ^# Δ	4,500,000	4,489,610
U.S. Treasury Bills 4.779%, 12/17/24 ^# Δ	9,319,000	9,264,606
Total short-term investments (cost $385,326,527)		$385,329,452

	TOTAL INVESTMENTS
	Total investments (cost $2,831,520,908)	$5,182,639,868

	Key to holding’s abbreviations
	ADR	American Depository Receipts: Represents ownership of foreign securities on deposit with a custodian bank.
	ETF	Exchange Traded Fund

	Notes to the fund’s portfolio
	Unless noted otherwise, the notes to the fund’s portfolio are for the close of the fund’s reporting period, which ran from May 1, 2024 through October 31, 2024 (the reporting period). Within the following notes to the portfolio, references to “Putnam Management” represent Putnam Investment Management, LLC, the fund’s investment manager, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc., and references to “ASC 820” represent Accounting Standards Codification 820 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures.
^*	Percentages indicated are based on net assets of $5,092,970,434.
^†	This security is non-income-producing.
^#	This security, in part or in entirety, was pledged and segregated with the broker to cover margin requirements for futures contracts at the close of the reporting period. Collateral at period end totaled $13,602,841 and is included in Investments in securities on the Statement of assets and liabilities (Notes 1 and 8).
^Δ	This security, in part or in entirety, was pledged and segregated with the custodian for collateral on certain derivative contracts at the close of the reporting period. Collateral at period end totaled $4,804,853 and is included in Investments in securities on the Statement of assets and liabilities (Notes 1 and 8).
^d	Affiliated company. See Notes 1 and 5 to the financial statements regarding securities lending. The rate quoted in the security description is the annualized 7-day yield of the fund at the close of the reporting period.
ⁱ	This security was pledged, or purchased with cash that was pledged, to the fund for collateral on certain derivative contracts (Note 1).
^L	Affiliated company (Note 5). The rate quoted in the security description is the annualized 7-day yield of the fund at the close of the reporting period.
^R	Real Estate Investment Trust.
^S	Security on loan, in part or in entirety, at the close of the reporting period (Note 1).
	Unless otherwise noted, the rates quoted in Short-term investments security descriptions represent the weighted average yield to maturity.
	The dates shown on debt obligations are the original maturity dates.

FUTURES CONTRACTS OUTSTANDING at 10/31/24(Unaudited)
	Number of contracts	Notional amount	Value	Expiration date	Unrealized (depreciation)
Russell 2000 Index E-Mini (Long)	1,376	$151,129,658	$151,951,680	Dec-24	$(2,884,982)
S&P 500 Index E-Mini (Long)	177	50,493,233	50,785,725	Dec-24	(140,161)
Unrealized appreciation					—
Unrealized (depreciation)					(3,025,143)
Total					$(3,025,143)

WRITTEN OPTIONS OUTSTANDING at 10/31/24 (premiums $3,222,467)(Unaudited)
Counterparty	Expiration date/strike price	Notional amount	Contract amount	Value
Bank of America N.A.
Otis Worldwide Corp. (Call)	Nov-24/$105.00	$7,854,331	$79,983	$13,029
Goldman Sachs International
Constellation Energy (Call)	Feb-25/300.00	4,831,627	18,374	310,899
Constellation Energy (Call)	Jan-25/320.00	8,888,837	33,803	269,952
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (Call)	Nov-24/135.00	6,943,036	44,788	945,462
JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.
Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. Class B (Call)	Dec-24/475.00	22,180,755	49,190	257,878

Core Equity Fund

WRITTEN OPTIONS OUTSTANDING at 10/31/24 (premiums $3,222,467)(Unaudited) cont.
Counterparty	Expiration date/strike price	Notional amount	Contract amount	Value
Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC
Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (Call)	Nov-24/$540.00	$9,845,218	$19,293	$34,158
Walmart Inc. (Call)	Dec-24/75.00	14,248,401	173,867	1,486,762
UBS AG
Raymond James Financial, Inc. (Call)	Nov-24/135.00	12,298,258	82,973	1,147,630
Total				$4,465,770

	ASC 820 establishes a three-level hierarchy for disclosure of fair value measurements. The valuation hierarchy is based upon the transparency of inputs to the valuation of the fund’s investments. The three levels are defined as follows:
	Level 1: Valuations based on quoted prices for identical securities in active markets.
	Level 2: Valuations based on quoted prices in markets that are not active or for which all significant inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly.
	Level 3: Valuations based on inputs that are unobservable and significant to the fair value measurement.
	The following is a summary of the inputs used to value the fund’s net assets as of the close of the reporting period:

	Valuation inputs
Investments in securities:	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3
Common stocks*:
Communication services	$420,322,151	$18,258,033	$—
Consumer discretionary	496,801,670	—	—
Consumer staples	304,790,830	—	—
Energy	115,365,319	—	—
Financials	813,608,553	—	—
Health care	521,243,843	—	—
Industrials	315,480,258	—	—
Information technology	1,347,880,746	—	—
Materials	109,053,090	—	—
Real Estate	144,111,177	—	—
Utilities	147,063,456	—	—
Total common stocks	4,735,721,093	18,258,033	—
Investment companies	42,999,704	—	—
Purchased options outstanding	—	133,669	—
U.S. treasury obligations	—	197,917	—
Short-term investments	14,275,348	371,054,104	—
Totals by level	$4,792,996,145	$389,643,723	$—

		Valuation inputs
	Other financial instruments:	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3
	Futures contracts	$(3,025,143)	$—	$—
	Written options outstanding	—	(4,465,770)	—
	Totals by level	$(3,025,143)	$(4,465,770)	$—
*	Common stock classifications are presented at the sector level, which may differ from the fund’s portfolio presentation.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

Core Equity Fund

Financial Statements

Statement of assets and liabilities

10/31/24 (Unaudited)

ASSETS
Investment in securities, at value, including $74,897,107 of securities on loan (Notes 1 and 8):
Unaffiliated issuers (identified cost $2,466,186,460)	$4,817,305,420
Affiliated issuers (identified cost $365,334,448) (Note 5)	365,334,448
Cash	525,962
Foreign currency (cost $40) (Note 1)	40
Dividends, interest and other receivables	3,501,485
Receivable for shares of the fund sold	4,124,905
Receivable for investments sold	107,814
Prepaid assets	98,693
Total assets	5,190,998,767

LIABILITIES
Payable for investments purchased	2,180,360
Payable for shares of the fund repurchased	4,100,724
Payable for compensation of Manager (Note 2)	2,353,323
Payable for custodian fees (Note 2)	26,280
Payable for investor servicing fees (Note 2)	1,502,482
Payable for Trustee compensation and expenses (Note 2)	204,097
Payable for administrative services (Note 2)	15,439
Payable for distribution fees (Note 2)	746,313
Payable for variation margin on futures contracts (Note 1)	3,774,573
Written options outstanding, at value (premiums $3,222,467) (Note 1)	4,465,770
Collateral on securities loaned, at value (Note 1)	78,037,492
Collateral on certain derivative contracts, at value (Notes 1 and 8)	197,917
Other accrued expenses	423,563
Total liabilities	98,028,333
Net assets	$5,092,970,434

Represented by
Paid-in capital (Unlimited shares authorized) (Notes 1 and 4)	$2,463,697,448
Total distributable earnings (Note 1)	2,629,272,986
Total — Representing net assets applicable to capital shares outstanding	$5,092,970,434

COMPUTATION OF NET ASSET VALUE AND OFFERING PRICE
Net asset value and redemption price per class A share ($2,892,443,624 divided by 66,770,753 shares)	$43.32
Offering price per class A share (100/94.25 of $43.32)*	$45.96
Net asset value and offering price per class C share ($143,753,175 divided by 3,510,255 shares)**	$40.95
Net asset value, offering price and redemption price per class R share ($14,014,501 divided by 327,699 shares)	$42.77
Net asset value, offering price and redemption price per class R6 share ($123,252,872 divided by 2,812,745 shares)	$43.82
Net asset value, offering price and redemption price per class Y share ($1,919,506,262 divided by 43,873,969 shares)	$43.75

^*	On single retail sales of less than $50,000. On sales of $50,000 or more the offering price is reduced.
^**	Redemption price per share is equal to net asset value less any applicable contingent deferred sales charge.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

Core Equity Fund

Statement of operations

Six months ended 10/31/24 (Unaudited)

Investment income
Dividends (net of foreign tax of $50,055)	$28,778,490
Interest (including interest income of $6,561,024 from investments in affiliated issuers) (Note 5)	7,136,178
Securities lending (net of expenses) (Notes 1 and 5)	182,839
Total investment income	36,097,507

EXPENSES
Compensation of Manager (Note 2)	12,817,436
Investor servicing fees (Note 2)	2,983,789
Custodian fees (Note 2)	25,825
Trustee compensation and expenses (Note 2)	89,802
Distribution fees (Note 2)	4,251,604
Administrative services (Note 2)	29,558
Other	557,329
Fees waived and reimbursed by Manager (Note 2)	(31,573)
Total expenses	20,723,770
Expense reduction (Note 2)	(24,926)
Net expenses	20,698,844
Net investment income	15,398,663

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS)
Net realized gain (loss) on:
Securities from unaffiliated issuers (Notes 1 and 3)	136,913,842
Foreign currency transactions (Note 1)	(2,127)
Futures contracts (Note 1)	13,503,438
Written options (Note 1)	611,260
Total net realized gain	151,026,413
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:
Securities from unaffiliated issuers	462,335,672
Futures contracts	3,498,958
Written options	(1,189,903)
Total change in net unrealized appreciation	464,644,727
Net gain on investments	615,671,140
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations	$631,069,803

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

8	Core Equity Fund

Statement of changes in net assets

	Six months ended 10/31/24*	Year ended 4/30/24
Increase in net assets
Operations
Net investment income	$15,398,663	$30,051,458
Net realized gain on investments	151,026,413	98,125,147
Change in net unrealized appreciation of investments	464,644,727	709,894,431
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations	631,069,803	838,071,036
Distributions to shareholders (Note 1):
From ordinary income
Net investment income
Class A	—	(17,468,642)
Class C	—	(77,907)
Class R	—	(70,807)
Class R6	—	(846,834)
Class Y	—	(10,985,172)
From capital gain on investments
Net realized long-term gain on investments
Class A	—	(40,876,142)
Class B	—	(111,304)
Class C	—	(2,005,059)
Class R	—	(182,251)
Class R6	—	(1,377,268)
Class Y	—	(19,127,123)
Increase from capital share transactions (Note 4)	209,847,475	312,455,269
Total increase in net assets	840,917,278	1,057,397,796
Net assets
Beginning of period	4,252,053,156	3,194,655,360
End of period	$5,092,970,434	$4,252,053,156
*Unaudited.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

Core Equity Fund

Financial highlights

(For a common share outstanding throughout the period)

INVESTMENT OPERATIONS					LESS DISTRIBUTIONS					RATIOS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA
Period ended	Net asset value, beginning of period	Net investment income (loss)^a	Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments	Total from investment operations	From net investment income	From net realized gain on investments	Total distributions	Net asset value, end of period	Total return at net asset value (%)^b	Net assets, end of period (in thousands)	Ratio of expenses to average net assets (%)^c	Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets (%)	Portfolio turnover (%)
Class A
October 31, 2024^**	$37.74	.12	5.46	5.58	—	—	—	$43.32	14.79^*	$2,892,444	.48^*d	.29^*d	7^*
April 30, 2024	30.84	.26	7.48	7.74	(.25)	(.59)	(.84)	37.74	25.44	2,600,258	.97^d	.76^d	17
April 30, 2023	31.57	.25	.44	.69	(.01)	(1.41)	(1.42)	30.84	2.46	2,176,484	.98	.84	13
April 30, 2022	34.95	.14	(.31)	(.17)	(.26)	(2.95)	(3.21)	31.57	(1.21)	2,221,203	.96	.41	23
April 30, 2021	22.64	.19	12.78	12.97	(.26)	(.40)	(.66)	34.95	57.85	2,338,484	.98	.68	46
April 30, 2020	24.11	.25	(.54)	(.29)	(.21)	(.97)	(1.18)	22.64	(1.62)	1,583,575	1.00	1.04	26
Class C
October 31, 2024^**	$35.81	(.04)	5.18	5.14	—	—	—	$40.95	14.35^*	$143,753	.85^*d	(.09)^*d	7^*
April 30, 2024	29.31	—^e	7.11	7.11	(.02)	(.59)	(.61)	35.81	24.52	117,991	1.72^d	.01^d	17
April 30, 2023	30.29	.03	.40	.43	—	(1.41)	(1.41)	29.31	1.69	104,751	1.73	.09	13
April 30, 2022	33.65	(.12)	(.29)	(.41)	—	(2.95)	(2.95)	30.29	(1.94)	131,616	1.71	(.34)	23
April 30, 2021	21.83	(.01)	12.28	12.27	(.05)	(.40)	(.45)	33.65	56.59	163,875	1.73	(.05)	46
April 30, 2020	23.27	.07	(.52)	(.45)	(.02)	(.97)	(.99)	21.83	(2.30)	136,476	1.75	.30	26
Class R
October 31, 2024^**	$37.31	.07	5.39	5.46	—	—	—	$42.77	14.63^*	$14,015	.60^*d	.16^*d	7^*
April 30, 2024	30.54	.17	7.42	7.59	(.23)	(.59)	(.82)	37.31	25.17	14,022	1.22^d	.48^d	17
April 30, 2023	31.35	.18	.42	.60	—	(1.41)	(1.41)	30.54	2.19	6,651	1.23	.60	13
April 30, 2022	34.77	.06	(.31)	(.25)	(.22)	(2.95)	(3.17)	31.35	(1.46)	5,193	1.21	.16	23
April 30, 2021	22.50	.13	12.69	12.82	(.15)	(.40)	(.55)	34.77	57.45	3,796	1.23	.45	46
April 30, 2020	23.96	.19	(.55)	(.36)	(.13)	(.97)	(1.10)	22.50	(1.89)	3,043	1.25	.80	26
Class R6
October 31, 2024^**	$38.11	.19	5.52	5.71	—	—	—	$43.82	14.98^*	$123,253	.31^*d	.45^*d	7^*
April 30, 2024	31.13	.38	7.55	7.93	(.36)	(.59)	(.95)	38.11	25.86	94,065	.63^d	1.09^d	17
April 30, 2023	31.86	.36	.44	.80	(.12)	(1.41)	(1.53)	31.13	2.81	69,099	.64	1.19	13
April 30, 2022	35.24	.27	(.32)	(.05)	(.38)	(2.95)	(3.33)	31.86	(.87)	66,451	.62	.75	23
April 30, 2021	22.82	.29	12.88	13.17	(.35)	(.40)	(.75)	35.24	58.37	51,886	.63	1.03	46
April 30, 2020	24.28	.34	(.53)	(.19)	(.30)	(.97)	(1.27)	22.82	(1.23)	35,151	.63	1.40	26
Class Y
October 31, 2024^**	$38.07	.17	5.51	5.68	—	—	—	$43.75	14.92^*	$1,919,506	.35^*d	.41^*d	7^*
April 30, 2024	31.10	.35	7.55	7.90	(.34)	(.59)	(.93)	38.07	25.77	1,421,116	.72^d	.99^d	17
April 30, 2023	31.83	.33	.44	.77	(.09)	(1.41)	(1.50)	31.10	2.72	827,215	.73	1.10	13
April 30, 2022	35.22	.23	(.32)	(.09)	(.35)	(2.95)	(3.30)	31.83	(.98)	778,384	.71	.66	23
April 30, 2021	22.80	.26	12.88	13.14	(.32)	(.40)	(.72)	35.22	58.26	625,574	.73	.93	46
April 30, 2020	24.26	.32	(.54)	(.22)	(.27)	(.97)	(1.24)	22.80	(1.35)	420,613	.75	1.30	26

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

Core Equity Fund

Financial highlightscont.

^*	Not annualized.

^**	Unaudited.

^a	Per share net investment income has been determined on the basis of the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period.

^b	Total return assumes dividend reinvestment and does not reflect the effect of sales charges.

^c	Includes amounts paid through expense offset and brokerage/service arrangements, if any (Note 2). Also excludes acquired fund fees and expenses, if any.

^d	Reflects a waiver of certain fund expenses in connection with investments in Putnam Government Money Market Fund during the period. As a result of such waiver, the expenses of the fund reflect a reduction of the following amounts (Notes 2 and 5):

	Percentage of average net assets
October 31, 2024	<0.01%
April 30, 2024	<0.01

^e	Amount represents less than $0.01 per share.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

Core Equity Fund

Notes to financial statements 10/31/24 (Unaudited)

Unless otherwise noted, the “reporting period” represents the period from May 1, 2024, through October 31, 2024. The following table defines commonly used references within the Notes to financial statements:

References to	Represent
1940 Act	Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended
Franklin Advisers	Franklin Advisers, Inc., a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeton
Franklin Distributors	Franklin Distributors, LLC, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeton, and the fund’s distributor and principal underwriter for periods on or after August 2, 2024
Franklin Templeton	Franklin Resources, Inc.
JPMorgan	JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
OTC	Over-the-counter
PIL	Putnam Investments Limited, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeton
PSERV	Putnam Investor Services, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeton
Putnam Management	Putnam Investment Management, LLC, the fund’s investment manager, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeton
Putnam Retail Management	Putnam Retail Management Limited Partnership, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeton, and the fund’s distributor and principal underwriter for periods prior to August 2, 2024
SEC	Securities and Exchange Commission
State Street	State Street Bank and Trust Company

Putnam Core Equity Fund (the fund) is a diversified series of Putnam Funds Trust (the Trust), a Massachusetts business trust registered under the 1940 Act as an open-end management investment company. The goal of the fund is to seek capital appreciation. The fund invests mainly in common stocks (growth or value stocks or both) of U.S. companies of any size that Putnam Management believes have favorable investment potential. For example, the fund may purchase stocks of companies with stock prices that reflect a value lower than that which Putnam Management places on the company. Putnam Management may also consider other factors that it believes will cause the stock price to rise. Putnam Management may consider, among other factors, a company’s valuation, financial strength, growth potential, competitive position in its industry, projected future earnings, cash flows and dividends when deciding whether to buy or sell investments. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of the fund’s net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity investments, including common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, warrants, American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs). This policy may be changed only after 60 days’ notice to shareholders.

The fund offers the following share classes. The expenses for each class of shares may differ based on the distribution and investor servicing fees of each class, which are identified in Note 2.

Share class	Sales charge	Contingent deferred sales charge	Conversion feature
Class A	Up to 5.75%	1.00% on certain redemptions of shares bought with no initial sales charge	None
Class C	None	1.00% eliminated after one year	Converts to class A shares after 8 years
Class R ^†	None	None	None
Class R6 ^†	None	None	None
Class Y ^†	None	None	None
^†Not available to all investors.

Effective September 5, 2024, the fund converted all of its class B shares into class A shares, and subsequently terminated its class B shares as a fund offering.

In the normal course of business, the fund enters into contracts that may include agreements to indemnify another party under given circumstances. The fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown as this would involve future claims that may be, but have not yet been, made against the fund. However, the fund’s management team expects the risk of material loss to be remote.

The fund has entered into contractual arrangements with an investment adviser, administrator, distributor, shareholder servicing agent and custodian, who each provide services to the fund. Unless expressly stated otherwise, shareholders are not parties to, or intended beneficiaries of these contractual arrangements, and these contractual arrangements are not intended to create any shareholder right to enforce them against the service providers or to seek any remedy under them against the service providers, either directly or on behalf of the fund.

Under the Trust’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust, any claims asserted by a shareholder against or on behalf of the Trust (or its series), including claims against Trustees and Officers, must be brought in courts located within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Note 1: Significant accounting policies

The fund follows the accounting and reporting guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946, Financial Services – Investment Companies (ASC 946) and applies the specialized accounting and reporting guidance in U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP), including, but not limited to, ASC 946. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies consistently followed by the fund in the preparation of its financial statements. The preparation of financial statements is in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements and the reported amounts of increases and decreases in net assets from operations. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Subsequent events after the Statement of assets and liabilities date through the date that the financial statements were issued have been evaluated in the preparation of the financial statements.

Investment income, realized and unrealized gains and losses and expenses of the fund are borne pro-rata based on the relative net assets of each class to the total net assets of the fund, except that each class bears expenses unique to that class (including the distribution fees applicable to such classes). Each class votes as a class only with respect to its own distribution plan or other matters on which a class vote is required by law or determined by the Trustees. If the fund were liquidated, shares of each class would receive their pro-rata share of the net assets of the fund. In addition, the Trustees declare separate dividends on each class of shares.

Security valuation Portfolio securities and other investments are valued using policies and procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees (Trustees). The Trustees have formed a Pricing Committee to oversee the implementation of these procedures. Under compliance policies and procedures approved by the Trustees, the Trustees have designated the fund’s investment manager as the valuation designee and has responsibility for oversight of valuation. The investment manager is assisted by the fund’s administrator in performing this responsibility, including leading the cross-functional Valuation Committee (VC). The VC is responsible for making fair value determinations, evaluating the effectiveness of the pricing policies of the fund and reporting to the Trustees.

Investments for which market quotations are readily available are valued at the last reported sales price on their principal exchange, or official closing price for certain markets, and are classified as Level 1 securities under Accounting Standards Codification 820 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (ASC 820). If no sales are reported, as in the case of some securities that are traded OTC, a security is valued at the average of the last reported bid and ask prices, the “mid price” (prior to July 22, 2024, the most recent bid price was used), and is generally categorized as a Level 2 security.

Investments in open-end investment companies (excluding exchange-traded funds), if any, which can be classified as Level 1 or Level 2 securities, are valued based on their net asset value. The net asset value of such investment companies equals the total value of their assets less their liabilities and divided by the number of their outstanding shares.

Market quotations are not considered to be readily available for certain debt obligations (including short-term investments with remaining maturities of 60 days or less) and other investments; such investments are valued on the basis of valuations furnished by an independent pricing service approved by the Trustees

Core Equity Fund

or dealers selected by the fund’s investment manager. Such services or dealers determine valuations for normal institutional-size trading units of such securities using methods based on market transactions for comparable securities and various relationships, generally recognized by institutional traders, between securities (which consider such factors as security prices, yields, maturities and ratings). These securities will generally be categorized as Level 2.

Many securities markets and exchanges outside the U.S. close prior to the scheduled close of the New York Stock Exchange and therefore the closing prices for securities in such markets or on such exchanges may not fully reflect events that occur after such close but before the scheduled close of the New York Stock Exchange. Reliable prices are not readily available for equity securities, in these circumstances, where the value of a security has been affected by events after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, but before the fund calculates its net asset value. To address this, the fund will fair value these securities as determined in accordance with procedures approved by the Trustees. This includes using an independent third-party pricing service to adjust the value of such securities to the latest indications of fair value at 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time). These securities, which would generally be classified as Level 1 securities, will be transferred to Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy when they are valued at fair value. At the close of the reporting period, fair value pricing was used for certain foreign securities in the portfolio. Securities quoted in foreign currencies, if any, are translated into U.S. dollars at the current exchange rate.

To the extent a pricing service or dealer is unable to value a security or provides a valuation that the fund’s investment manager does not believe accurately reflects the security’s fair value, the security will be valued at fair value by the fund’s investment manager, which has been designated as valuation designee pursuant to Rule 2a–5 under the 1940 Act, in accordance with policies and procedures approved by the Trustees. Certain investments, including certain restricted and illiquid securities and derivatives, are also valued at fair value following procedures approved by the Trustees. These valuations consider such factors as significant market or specific security events such as interest rate or credit quality changes, various relationships with other securities, discount rates, U.S. Treasury, U.S. swap and credit yields, index levels, convexity exposures, recovery rates, sales and other multiples and resale restrictions. These securities are classified as Level 2 or as Level 3 depending on the priority of the significant inputs.

To assess the continuing appropriateness of fair valuations, the Valuation Committee reviews and affirms the reasonableness of such valuations on a regular basis after considering all relevant information that is reasonably available. Such valuations and procedures are reviewed periodically by the Trustees. The fair value of securities is generally determined as the amount that the fund could reasonably expect to realize from an orderly disposition of such securities over a reasonable period of time. By its nature, a fair value price is a good faith estimate of the value of a security in a current sale and does not reflect an actual market price, which may be different by a material amount.

Joint trading account Pursuant to an exemptive order from the SEC, the fund may transfer uninvested cash balances into a joint trading account along with the cash of other registered investment companies and certain other accounts managed by Putnam Management. These balances may be invested in issues of short-term investments having maturities of up to 90 days.

Repurchase agreements The fund, or any joint trading account, through its custodian, receives delivery of the underlying securities, the fair value of which at the time of purchase is required to be in an amount at least equal to the resale price, including accrued interest. Collateral for certain tri-party repurchase agreements, is held at the counterparty’s custodian in a segregated account for the benefit of the fund and the counterparty. Putnam Management is responsible for determining that the value of these underlying securities is at all times at least equal to the resale price, including accrued interest. In the event of default or bankruptcy by the other party to the agreement, retention of the collateral may be subject to legal proceedings.

Security transactions and related investment income Security transactions are recorded on the trade date (the date the order to buy or sell is executed). Gains or losses on securities sold are determined on the identified cost basis.

Interest income, net of any applicable withholding taxes, if any, is recorded on the accrual basis. Amortization and accretion of premiums and discounts on debt securities, if any, is recorded on the accrual basis.

Dividend income, net of any applicable withholding taxes, is recognized on the ex-dividend date except that certain dividends from foreign securities, if any, are recognized as soon as the fund is informed of the ex-dividend date. Non-cash dividends, if any, are recorded at the fair value of the securities received. Dividends representing a return of capital or capital gains, if any, are reflected as a reduction of cost and/or as a realized gain.

Foreign currency translation The accounting records of the fund are maintained in U.S. dollars. The fair value of foreign securities, currency holdings, and other assets and liabilities is recorded in the books and records of the fund after translation to U.S. dollars based on the exchange rates on that day. The cost of each security is determined using historical exchange rates. Income and withholding taxes are translated at prevailing exchange rates when earned or incurred. The fund does not isolate that portion of realized or unrealized gains or losses resulting from changes in the foreign exchange rate on investments from fluctuations arising from changes in the market prices of the securities. Such gains and losses are included with the net realized and unrealized gain or loss on investments. Net realized gains and losses on foreign currency transactions represent net realized exchange gains or losses on disposition of foreign currencies, currency gains and losses realized between the trade and settlement dates on securities transactions and the difference between the amount of investment income and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the fund’s books and the U.S. dollar equivalent amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized appreciation and depreciation of assets and liabilities in foreign currencies arise from changes in the value of assets and liabilities other than investments at the period end, resulting from changes in the exchange rate.

Options contracts The fund uses options contracts for hedging against changes in values of securities it owns, owned or expects to own.

The potential risk to the fund is that the change in value of options contracts may not correspond to the change in value of the hedged instruments. In addition, losses may arise from changes in the value of the underlying instruments if there is an illiquid secondary market for the contracts, if interest or exchange rates move unexpectedly or if the counterparty to the contract is unable to perform. Realized gains and losses on purchased options are included in realized gains and losses on investment securities. If a written call option is exercised, the premium originally received is recorded as an addition to sales proceeds. If a written put option is exercised, the premium originally received is recorded as a reduction to the cost of investments.

Exchange-traded options are valued at the last sale price. OTC traded options are valued using quotations from an independent pricing service.

Options on swaps are similar to options on securities except that the premium paid or received is to buy or grant the right to enter into a previously agreed upon interest rate or credit default contract. Forward premium swap option contracts include premiums that have extended settlement dates. The delayed settlement of the premiums is factored into the daily valuation of the option contracts. In the case of interest rate cap and floor contracts, in return for a premium, ongoing payments between two parties are based on interest rates exceeding a specified rate, in the case of a cap contract, or falling below a specified rate in the case of a floor contract.

Written option contracts outstanding at period end, if any, are listed after the fund’s portfolio .

Futures contracts The fund uses futures contracts for equitizing cash.

The potential risk to the fund is that the change in value of futures contracts may not correspond to the change in value of the hedged instruments. In addition, losses may arise from changes in the value of the underlying instruments, if there is an illiquid secondary market for the contracts, if interest or exchange rates move unexpectedly or if the counterparty to the contract is unable to perform. With futures, there is minimal counterparty credit risk to the fund since futures are exchange traded and the exchange’s clearinghouse, as counterparty to all exchange traded futures, guarantees the futures against default. Risks may exceed amounts recognized on the Statement of assets and liabilities. When the contract is closed, the fund records a realized gain or loss equal to the difference between the value of the contract at the time it was opened and the value at the time it was closed.

Futures contracts are valued at the quoted daily settlement prices established by the exchange on which they trade. The fund and the broker agree to exchange an amount of cash equal to the daily fluctuation in the value of the futures contract. Such receipts or payments are known as “variation margin.”

Futures contracts outstanding at period end, if any, are listed after the fund’s portfolio.

Master agreements The fund is a party to ISDA (International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc.) Master Agreements (Master Agreements) with certain counterparties that govern OTC derivative and foreign exchange contracts entered into from time to time. The Master Agreements may contain provisions regarding, among other things, the parties’ general obligations, representations, agreements, collateral requirements, events of default and early termination. With respect to certain counterparties, in accordance with the terms of the Master

Core Equity Fund

Agreements, collateral pledged to the fund is held in a segregated account by the fund’s custodian and, with respect to those amounts which can be sold or repledged, is presented in the fund’s portfolio.

Collateral pledged by the fund is segregated by the fund’s custodian and identified in the fund’s portfolio. Collateral can be in the form of cash or debt securities issued by the U.S. Government or related agencies or other securities as agreed to by the fund and the applicable counterparty. Collateral requirements are determined based on the fund’s net position with each counterparty.

Termination events applicable to the fund may occur upon a decline in the fund’s net assets below a specified threshold over a certain period of time. Termination events applicable to counterparties may occur upon a decline in the counterparty’s long-term and short-term credit ratings below a specified level. In each case, upon occurrence, the other party may elect to terminate early and cause settlement of all derivative and foreign exchange contracts outstanding, including the payment of any losses and costs resulting from such early termination, as reasonably determined by the terminating party. Any decision by one or more of the fund’s counterparties to elect early termination could impact the fund’s future derivative activity.

At the close of the reporting period, the fund had a net liability position of $4,452,733 on open derivative contracts subject to the Master Agreements . Collateral pledged by the fund at period end for these agreements totaled $4,804,853 and may include amounts related to unsettled agreements.

Securities lending The fund may lend securities, through its agent, to qualified borrowers in order to earn additional income. The loans are collateralized by cash in an amount at least equal to the fair value of the securities loaned. The fair value of securities loaned is determined daily and any additional required collateral is allocated to the fund on the next business day. The remaining maturities of the securities lending transactions are considered overnight and continuous. The risk of borrower default will be borne by the fund’s agent; the fund will bear the risk of loss with respect to the investment of the cash collateral. Income from securities lending, if any, is net of expenses and is included in investment income on the Statement of operations. Cash collateral is invested in Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC, a limited liability company that is managed by an affiliate of Putnam Management. Investments in Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC are valued at its closing net asset value each business day. There are no management fees charged to Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC. At the close of the reporting period, the fund received cash collateral of $78,037,492 and the value of securities loaned amounted to $74,897,104.

Interfund lending The fund, along with other Putnam funds, may participate in an interfund lending program pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the SEC. This program allows the fund to borrow from or lend to other Putnam funds that permit such transactions. Interfund lending transactions are subject to each fund’s investment policies and borrowing and lending limits. Interest earned or paid on the interfund lending transaction will be based on the average of certain current market rates. During the reporting period, the fund did not utilize the program.

Lines of credit The fund participates, along with other Putnam funds, in a $320 million syndicated unsecured committed line of credit, provided by State Street ($160 million) and JPMorgan ($160 million), and a $235.5 million unsecured uncommitted line of credit, provided by State Street. Borrowings may be made for temporary or emergency purposes, including the funding of shareholder redemption requests and trade settlements. Interest is charged to the fund based on the fund’s borrowing at a rate equal to 1.25% plus the higher of (1) the Federal Funds rate and (2) the Overnight Bank Funding Rate for the committed line of credit and 1.30% plus the higher of (1) the Federal Funds rate and (2) the Overnight Bank Funding Rate for the uncommitted line of credit. A closing fee equal to 0.04% of the committed line of credit and 0.04% of the uncommitted line of credit has been paid by the participating funds and a $75,000 fee has been paid by the participating funds to State Street as agent of the syndicated committed line of credit. In addition, a commitment fee of 0.21% per annum on any unutilized portion of the committed line of credit is allocated to the participating funds based on their relative net assets and paid quarterly. During the reporting period, the fund had no borrowings against these arrangements.

Federal taxes It is the policy of the fund to distribute all of its taxable income within the prescribed time period and otherwise comply with the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), applicable to regulated investment companies. It is also the intention of the fund to distribute an amount sufficient to avoid imposition of any excise tax under Section 4982 of the Code.

The fund is subject to the provisions of Accounting Standards Codification 740 Income Taxes (ASC 740). ASC 740 sets forth a minimum threshold for financial statement recognition of the benefit of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. The fund did not have a liability to record for any unrecognized tax benefits in the accompanying financial statements. No provision has been made for federal taxes on income, capital gains or unrealized appreciation on securities held nor for excise tax on income and capital gains. Each of the fund’s federal tax returns for the prior three fiscal years remains subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service.

Tax cost of investments includes adjustments to net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) which may not necessarily be final tax cost basis adjustments, but closely approximate the tax basis unrealized gains and losses that may be realized and distributed to shareholders. The aggregate identified cost on a tax basis is $2,832,283,049, resulting in gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation of $2,375,027,289 and $32,161,383, respectively, or net unrealized appreciation of $2,342,865,906.

Distributions to shareholders Distributions to shareholders from net investment income, if any, are recorded by the fund on the ex-dividend date. Distributions from capital gains, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date and paid at least annually. The amount and character of income and gains to be distributed are determined in accordance with income tax regulations, which may differ from generally accepted accounting principles. Dividend sources are estimated at the time of declaration. Actual results may vary. Any non-taxable return of capital cannot be determined until final tax calculations are completed after the end of the fund’s fiscal year. Reclassifications are made to the fund’s capital accounts to reflect income and gains available for distribution (or available capital loss carryovers) under income tax regulations.

Expenses of the Trust Expenses directly charged or attributable to any fund will be paid from the assets of that fund. Generally, expenses of the Trust will be allocated among and charged to the assets of each fund on a basis that the Trustees deem fair and equitable, which may be based on the relative assets of each fund or the nature of the services performed and relative applicability to each fund.

Note 2: Management fee, administrative services and other transactions

The fund pays Putnam Management a management fee (based on the fund’s average net assets and computed and paid monthly) at annual rates that may vary based on the average of the aggregate net assets of all open-end mutual funds sponsored by Putnam Management (including open-end funds managed by affiliates of Putnam Management that have been deemed to be sponsored by Putnam Management for this purpose) (excluding net assets of funds that are invested in, or that are invested in by, other Putnam funds to the extent necessary to avoid “double counting” of those assets). Such annual rates may vary as follows:

0.710%	of the first $5 billion,
0.660%	of the next $5 billion,
0.610%	of the next $10 billion,
0.560%	of the next $10 billion,
0.510%	of the next $50 billion,
0.490%	of the next $50 billion,
0.480%	of the next $100 billion and
0.475%	of any excess thereafter.

For the reporting period, the management fee represented an effective rate (excluding the impact from any expense waivers in effect) of 0.271% of the fund’s average net assets.

Putnam Management has contractually agreed, through August 30, 2025, to waive fees and/or reimburse the fund’s expenses to the extent necessary to limit the cumulative expenses of the fund, exclusive of brokerage, interest, taxes, investment-related expenses, extraordinary expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses and payments under the fund’s investor servicing contract, investment management contract and distribution plans, on a fiscal year-to-date basis to an annual rate of 0.20% of the fund’s average net assets over such fiscal year-to-date period. During the reporting period, the fund’s expenses were not reduced as a result of this limit.

The fund invests in Putnam Government Money Market Fund, an open-end management investment company managed by Franklin Advisers. Management fees paid by the fund are reduced by an amount equal to the management fees paid by Putnam Government Money Market Fund with respect to assets invested by the fund in Putnam Government Money Market Fund. For the reporting period, management fees paid were reduced by $31,573 relating to the fund’s investment in Putnam Government Money Market Fund.

Core Equity Fund

Effective July 15, 2024, Franklin Advisers was retained by Putnam Management as a sub-adviser for the fund pursuant to a new sub-advisory agreement between Putnam Management and Franklin Advisers. Pursuant to the agreement, Franklin Advisers provides certain advisory and related services. Putnam Management pays a monthly fee to Franklin Advisers based on the costs of Franklin Advisers in providing these services to the fund, which may include a mark-up not to exceed 15% over such costs.

During the reporting period, PIL was authorized by the Trustees to manage a separate portion of the assets of the fund as determined by Putnam Management from time to time. PIL did not manage any portion of the assets of the fund during the reporting period. Effective November 1, 2024, PIL, and its investment professionals, merged into Franklin Templeton Investment Management Limited (FTIML), an affiliate of the investment manager, and FTIML became a sub-advisor to the fund. If Putnam Management were to engage the services of FTIML or PIL, Putnam Management would pay a monthly sub-management fee to FTIML or PIL for its services at an annual rate of 0.25% of the average net assets of the portion of the fund managed by FTIML or PIL.

Effective June 1, 2024, Franklin Templeton Services provides certain administrative services to the fund. The fee for those services is paid by the fund’s investment manager based on the fund’s average daily net assets and is not an additional expense of the fund.

The fund reimburses Putnam Management an allocated amount for the compensation and related expenses of certain officers of the fund and their staff who provide administrative services to the fund. The aggregate amount of all such reimbursements is determined annually by the Trustees.

Custodial functions for the fund’s assets are provided by State Street. Custody fees are based on the fund’s asset level, the number of its security holdings and transaction volumes.

PSERV, an affiliate of Putnam Management, provides investor servicing agent functions to the fund. PSERV received fees for investor servicing for class A, class B, class C, class R and class Y shares that included (1) a per account fee for each direct and underlying non-defined contribution account (retail account) of the fund; (2) a specified rate of the fund’s assets attributable to defined contribution plan accounts; and (3) a specified rate based on the average net assets in retail accounts. PSERV has agreed that the aggregate investor servicing fees for each fund’s retail and defined contribution accounts for these share classes will not exceed an annual rate of 0.25% of the fund’s average assets attributable to such accounts.

Class R6 shares paid a monthly fee based on the average net assets of class R6 shares at an annual rate of 0.05%.

During the reporting period, the expenses for each class of shares related to investor servicing fees were as follows:

Class A	$1,802,804
Class B	1,795
Class C	84,552
Class R	9,163
Class R6	28,192
Class Y	1,057,283
Total	$2,983,789

Effective September 5, 2024, the fund terminated its class B shares.

The fund has entered into expense offset arrangements with PSERV and State Street whereby PSERV’s and State Street’s fees are reduced by credits allowed on cash balances. For the reporting period, the fund’s expenses were reduced by $24,926 under the expense offset arrangements.

Each Independent Trustee of the fund receives an annual Trustee fee, of which $3,325, as a quarterly retainer, has been allocated to the fund, and an additional fee for each Trustees meeting attended. Trustees also are reimbursed for expenses they incur relating to their services as Trustees.

The fund has adopted a Trustee Fee Deferral Plan (the Deferral Plan) which allows the Trustees to defer the receipt of all or a portion of Trustees fees payable from July 1, 1995 through December 31, 2023. The deferred fees remain invested in certain Putnam funds until distribution in accordance with the Deferral Plan.

The fund has adopted an unfunded noncontributory defined benefit pension plan (the Pension Plan) covering all Trustees of the fund who have served as a Trustee for at least five years and were first elected prior to 2004. Benefits under the Pension Plan are equal to 50% of the Trustee’s average annual attendance and retainer fees for the three years ended December 31, 2005. The retirement benefit is payable during a Trustee’s lifetime, beginning the year following retirement, for the number of years of service through December 31, 2006. Pension expense for the fund is included in Trustee compensation and expenses in the Statement of operations. Accrued pension liability is included in Payable for Trustee compensation and expenses in the Statement of assets and liabilities. The Trustees have terminated the Pension Plan with respect to any Trustee first elected after 2003.

The fund has adopted distribution plans (the Plans) with respect to the following share classes pursuant to Rule 12b–1 under the 1940 Act. The purpose of the Plans is to compensate Franklin Distributors, or for periods prior to August 2, 2024, Putnam Retail Management, for services provided and expenses incurred in distributing shares of the fund. The Plans provide payments by the fund to Franklin Distributors and to Putnam Retail Management at an annual rate of up to the following amounts (Maximum %) of the average net assets attributable to each class. The Trustees have approved payment by the fund at the following annual rate (Approved %) of the average net assets attributable to each class. During the reporting period, the class-specific expenses related to distribution fees were as follows:

	Maximum %	Approved %	Franklin Distributors Amount	Putnam Retail Management Amount	Totals
Class A	0.35%	0.25%	$1,796,351	$1,741,265	$3,537,616
Class B	1.00%	1.00%	3,436	10,456	13,892
Class C	1.00%	1.00%	337,997	326,153	664,150
Class R	1.00%	0.50%	17,477	18,469	35,946
Total			$2,155,261	$2,096,343	$4,251,604

For the period from August 2, 2024 through October 31, 2024, Franklin Distributors, acting as underwriter, received net commissions of $54,142 from the sale of class A shares and received no monies and $3,634 in contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of class B and class C shares, respectively. For the period May 1, 2024 through August 1, 2024, Putnam Retail Management, acting as underwriter, received net commissions of $49,113 from the sale of class A shares and received no monies and $2,279 in contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of class B and class C shares, respectively.

A deferred sales charge of up to 1.00% is accessed on certain redemptions of class A shares. For the period from August 2, 2024 through October 31, 2024, Franklin Distributors, acting as underwriter, received $82 on class A redemptions. For the period from May 1, 2024 through August 1, 2024, Putnam Retail Management, acting as underwriter, received $1,292 on class A redemptions.

Core Equity Fund

Note 3: Purchases and sales of securities

During the reporting period, the cost of purchases and the proceeds from sales, excluding short-term investments, were as follows:

	Cost of purchases	Proceeds from sales
Investments in securities (Long-term)	$477,775,766	$313,881,737
U.S. government securities (Long-term)	—	—
Total	$477,775,766	$313,881,737

The fund may purchase or sell investments from or to other Putnam funds in the ordinary course of business, which can reduce the fund’s transaction costs, at prices determined in accordance with SEC requirements and policies approved by the Trustees. During the reporting period, purchases or sales of long-term securities from or to other Putnam funds, if any, did not represent more than 5% of the fund’s total cost of purchases and/or total proceeds from sales.

Note 4: Capital shares

At the close of the reporting period, there were an unlimited number of shares of beneficial interest authorized. Transactions, including, if applicable, direct exchanges pursuant to share conversions, in capital shares were as follows:

	SIX MONTHS ENDED 10/31/24		YEAR ENDED 4/30/24
Class A	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	1,654,435	$68,936,021	3,878,490	$133,453,609
Shares issued in connection with reinvestment of distributions	—	—	1,626,298	54,887,542
	1,654,435	68,936,021	5,504,788	188,341,151
Shares repurchased	(3,780,344)	(156,827,188)	(7,192,459)	(248,737,075)
Net decrease	(2,125,909)	$(87,891,167)	(1,687,671)	$(60,395,924)

	SIX MONTHS ENDED 10/31/24 ^*		YEAR ENDED 4/30/24
Class B	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	64	$2,511	2,800	$96,667
Shares issued in connection with reinvestment of distributions	—	—	3,441	110,879
	64	2,511	6,241	207,546
Shares repurchased	(128,125)	(4,997,195)	(234,024)	(7,572,005)
Net decrease	(128,061)	$(4,994,684)	(227,783)	$(7,364,459)

	SIX MONTHS ENDED 10/31/24		YEAR ENDED 4/30/24
Class C	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	665,981	$26,496,807	1,290,283	$41,800,667
Shares issued in connection with reinvestment of distributions	—	—	61,826	1,985,853
	665,981	26,496,807	1,352,109	43,786,520
Shares repurchased	(450,829)	(17,640,130)	(1,631,307)	(52,924,513)
Net increase (decrease)	215,152	$8,856,677	(279,198)	$(9,137,993)

	SIX MONTHS ENDED 10/31/24		YEAR ENDED 4/30/24
Class R	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	42,943	$1,771,499	190,881	$6,650,152
Shares issued in connection with reinvestment of distributions	—	—	7,577	253,058
	42,943	1,771,499	198,458	6,903,210
Shares repurchased	(91,115)	(3,686,796)	(40,350)	(1,416,610)
Net increase (decrease)	(48,172)	$(1,915,297)	158,108	$5,486,600

	SIX MONTHS ENDED 10/31/24		YEAR ENDED 4/30/24
Class R6	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	608,673	$25,391,850	1,026,688	$37,499,993
Shares issued in connection with reinvestment of distributions	—	—	63,949	2,176,811
	608,673	25,391,850	1,090,637	39,676,804
Shares repurchased	(263,904)	(11,084,912)	(842,603)	(30,699,082)
Net increase	344,769	$14,306,938	248,034	$8,977,722

Core Equity Fund

	SIX MONTHS ENDED 10/31/24		YEAR ENDED 4/30/24
Class Y	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	9,963,109	$425,000,700	16,974,199	$596,852,549
Shares issued in connection with reinvestment of distributions	—	—	839,498	28,551,312
	9,963,109	425,000,700	17,813,697	625,403,861
Shares repurchased	(3,418,863)	(143,515,692)	(7,085,258)	(250,514,538)
Net increase	6,544,246	$281,485,008	10,728,439	$374,889,323

^* Effective September 5, 2024 the fund has terminated its class B shares.

Note 5: Affiliated transactions

Transactions during the reporting period with any company which is under common ownership or control were as follows:

Name of affiliate	Fair value as of 4/30/24	Purchase cost	Sale proceeds	Investment income	Shares outstanding and fair value as of 10/31/24
Short-term investments
Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC ^*	$92,100,400	$532,554,502	$546,617,410	$2,155,887	$78,037,492
Putnam Government Money Market Fund Class G ^†	—	164,904,586	150,629,238	537,526	14,275,348
Putnam Short Term Investment Fund Class P ^‡	182,256,342	237,587,348	146,822,082	6,023,498	273,021,608
Total Short-term investments	$274,356,742	$935,046,436	$844,068,730	$8,716,911	$365,334,448
^* No management fees are charged to Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC (Note 1). Investment income shown is included in securities lending income on the Statement of operations. There were no realized or unrealized gains or losses during the period.
^†Management fees paid by the fund are reduced by an amount equal to the management fees paid by Putnam Government Money Market Fund with respect to assets invested by the fund in Putnam Government Money Market Fund (Note 2). There were no realized or unrealized gains or losses during the period.
^‡Management fees charged to Putnam Short Term Investment Fund have been waived by Putnam Management. There were no realized or unrealized gains or losses during the period.

Note 6: Market, credit and other risks

In the normal course of business, the fund trades financial instruments and enters into financial transactions where risk of potential loss exists due to changes in the market (market risk) or failure of the contracting party to the transaction to perform (credit risk). The fund may be exposed to additional credit risk that an institution or other entity with which the fund has unsettled or open transactions will default. Investments in foreign securities involve certain risks, including those related to economic instability, unfavorable political developments, and currency fluctuations.

Note 7: Summary of derivative activity

The volume of activity for the reporting period for any derivative type that was held during the period is listed below and was based on an average of the holdings at the end of each fiscal quarter:

Purchased equity option contracts (contract amount)	$140,000
Written equity option contracts (contract amount)	$340,000
Futures contracts (number of contracts)	2,000

Fair value of derivative instruments as of the close of the reporting period

The following is a summary of the fair value of derivative instruments as of the close of the reporting period:

	Asset derivatives		Liability derivatives
Derivatives not accounted for as hedging instruments under ASC 815	Statement of assets and liabilities location	Fair value	Statement of assets and liabilities location	Fair value
Equity contracts	Investments	$133,669	Payables, Net assets — Unrealized depreciation	$7,490,913^*
Total		$133,669		$7,490,913
^* Includes cumulative appreciation/depreciation of futures contracts as reported in the fund’s portfolio. Only current day’s variation margin is reported within the Statement of assets and liabilities.

Core Equity Fund

The following is a summary of realized and change in unrealized gains or losses of derivative instruments in the Statement of operations for the reporting period (Note 1):

Amount of realized gain or (loss) on derivatives recognized in net gain or (loss) on investments
Derivatives not accounted for as hedging instruments under ASC 815	Options	Futures	Total
Equity contracts	$128,278	$13,503,438	$13,631,716
Total	$128,278	$13,503,438	$13,631,716

Change in unrealized appreciation or (depreciation) on derivatives recognized in net gain or (loss) on investments
Derivatives not accounted for as hedging instruments under ASC 815	Options	Futures	Total
Equity contracts	$(378,891)	$3,498,958	$3,120,067
Total	$(378,891)	$3,498,958	$3,120,067

Note 8: Offsetting of financial and derivative assets and liabilities

The following table summarizes any derivatives, repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements, at the end of the reporting period, that are subject to an enforceable master netting agreement or similar agreement. For securities lending transactions or borrowing transactions associated with securities sold short, if any, see Note 1. For financial reporting purposes, the fund does not offset financial assets and financial liabilities that are subject to the master netting agreements in the Statement of assets and liabilities.


	Bank of America N.A.	BofA Securities, Inc.	Goldman Sachs International	JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.	Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC	UBS AG	Total
Assets:
Futures contracts ^§	$—	$—	$—	$—	$—	$—	$—
Purchased options up> **#	133,661	—	—	8	—	—	133,669
Total Assets	$133,661	$—	$—	$8	$—	$—	$133,669
Liabilities:
Futures contracts ^§	—	3,774,573	—	—	—	—	3,774,573
Written options ^#	13,029	—	1,526,313	257,878	1,520,920	1,147,630	4,465,770
Total Liabilities	$13,029	$3,774,573	$1,526,313	$257,878	$1,520,920	$1,147,630	$8,240,343
Total Financial and Derivative Net Assets	$120,632	$(3,774,573)	$(1,526,313)	$(257,870)	$(1,520,920)	$(1,147,630)	$(8,106,674)
Total collateral received (pledged) ^†##	$120,632	$—	$(1,526,313)	$(257,870)	$(1,418,970)	$(1,147,630)
Net amount	$—	$(3,774,573)	$—	$—	$(101,950)	$—
Controlled collateral received (including TBA commitments) ^**	$197,917	$—	$—	$—	$—	$—	$197,917
Uncontrolled collateral received	$—	$—	$—	$—	$—	$—	$—
Collateral (pledged) (including TBA commitments) ^**	$—	$—	$(1,869,881)	$(353,206)	$(1,418,970)	$(1,162,796)	$(4,804,853)

^**	Included with Investments in securities on the Statement of assets and liabilities.
^†	Additional collateral may be required from certain brokers based on individual agreements.
^#	Covered by master netting agreement (Note 1).
^##	Any over-collateralization of total financial and derivative net assets is not shown. Collateral may include amounts related to unsettled agreements.
^§	Includes current day’s variation margin only as reported on the Statement of assets and liabilities, which is not collateralized. Cumulative appreciation/(depreciation) for futures contracts is represented in the tables listed after the fund’s portfolio. Collateral pledged for initial margin on futures contracts, which is not included in the table above, amounted to $13,602,841.

Core Equity Fund

Changes in and disagreements with accountants

Not applicable

Results of any shareholder votes

Not applicable

Remuneration paid to directors, officers, and others

Remuneration paid to directors, officers, and others is included in the Notes to financial statements above.

Core Equity Fund

Board approval of management and subadvisory agreements (Unaudited)

At its meeting on September 27, 2024, the Board of Trustees of your fund, including all of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” (as this term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”)) of the Putnam mutual funds, closed-end funds and exchange-traded funds (collectively, the “funds”) (the “Independent Trustees”), approved a new Sub-Advisory Agreement (the “New FTIML Sub-Advisory Agreement”) between Putnam Investment Management, LLC (“Putnam Management”) and its affiliate, Franklin Templeton Investment Management Limited (“FTIML”). Putnam Management and FTIML are each direct or indirect, wholly-owned subsidiaries of Franklin Resources, Inc. (“Franklin Templeton”). (Because FTIML is an affiliate of Franklin Advisers and Franklin Advisers remains fully responsible for all services provided by FTIML, the Trustees did not attempt to evaluate FTIML as a separate entity.)

The Board of Trustees, with the assistance of its Contract Committee (which consists solely of Independent Trustees) and its independent legal counsel (as that term is defined in Rule 0-1(a)(6)(i) under the 1940 Act), requested and evaluated all information it deemed reasonably necessary under the circumstances in connection with its review of the New FTIML Sub-Advisory Agreement. At its September 2024 meeting, the Contract Committee met with representatives of Putnam Management and Franklin Templeton, and separately in executive session, to consider the information provided. At the September Trustees’ meetings, the Contract Committee also met in executive session with the other Independent Trustees to discuss its observations and recommendations. Throughout this process, the Contract Committee was assisted by the members of the Board of Trustees’ independent staff and by independent legal counsel for the Independent Trustees.

Considerations in connection with the Trustees’ approval of the New FTIML Sub-Advisory Agreement

The Trustees considered the proposed New FTIML Sub-Advisory Agreement in connection with the planned November 1, 2024 merger (the “Merger”) of Putnam Investments Limited (“PIL”), an affiliate of Putnam Management and a sub-adviser to your fund prior to the Merger, with and into FTIML. In connection with the Merger, PIL investment professionals would become employees of FTIML, and, upon consummation of the Merger, PIL would cease to exist as a separate legal entity. The Trustees noted that Franklin Templeton viewed the Merger as a further step in the integration of the legacy Putnam and Franklin Templeton organizations, offering potential operational efficiencies and enhanced investment resources for the funds. The Trustees also considered, among other factors, that:

• The Merger and the New FTIML Sub-Advisory Agreement would not result in any reduction or material change in the nature or the level of the sub-advisory services provided to the funds;

• The PIL portfolio managers who are responsible for the day-to-day management of the applicable funds would be the same immediately prior to, and immediately after, the Merger, and these investment personnel would have access to the same research and other resources to support their respective investment advisory functions and operate under the same conditions both immediately before and after the Merger;

• Despite a change in the sub-advisory fee structure for certain funds, the New FTIML Sub-Advisory Agreement would not result in an increase in the advisory fee rates payable by each fund, as Putnam Management would be responsible for overseeing the investment advisory services provided to the applicable funds by FTIML under the New FTIML Sub-Advisory Agreement and would compensate FTIML for such services out of the fees it receives under each fund’s Management Contract with Putnam Management (each, a “Current Management Contract”); and

• The terms of the New FTIML Sub-Advisory Agreement were substantially similar to those under the previous Sub-Management Contract between Putnam Management and PIL (the “PIL Sub-Management Contract”).

The Trustees also considered that, prior to the Merger, counsel to Putnam Management and FTIML had provided a legal opinion that the Merger and the appointment of FTIML as sub-adviser to the funds would not result in an “assignment” under the 1940 Act of the PIL Sub-Management Contract and that the New FTIML Sub-Advisory Agreement did not require shareholder approval.

In addition, the Trustees considered that, in connection with their review of your fund’s Current Management Contract and the PIL Sub-Management Contract over the course of several months ending in June 2023, they had considered information regarding the nature, extent and quality of the services provided to the fund, the fund’s performance, the fund’s management fees and expense ratios, the profitability of Putnam Management and its affiliates in providing services to the fund, whether there had been economies of scale with respect to the management of the fund and other benefits received by Putnam Management and its affiliates as a result of their relationships with the fund. Because, other than the parties to the contract, the revised sub-advisory fee structure for certain funds, and certain other non-substantive changes to contractual terms, the New FTIML Sub-Advisory Agreement was substantially similar to the PIL Sub-Management Contract, the Trustees relied to a considerable extent on their approval of the PIL Sub-Management Contract in connection with their consideration of the New FTIML Sub-Advisory Agreement.

The Trustees also considered information received as part of the review process ending in June 2024 in connection with their consideration of a new Sub-Advisory Agreement for your fund (the “Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement”) between Putnam Management and Franklin Advisers, Inc., an affiliate of Putnam Management and FTIML, including updated information regarding the profitability of Putnam Management and its affiliates, potential economies of scale, other benefits received by Putnam Management and its affiliates as a result of their relationships with the funds, and the performance and expenses of the funds. The Trustees also considered other information received in connection with their review of the Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement, including certain performance information for Franklin Templeton’s fixed income and investment solutions investment strategies and information regarding the revenues, expenses and profitability of Franklin Templeton’s global investment management business and its U.S. registered investment company business, which included the financial results of FTIML.

Board of Trustees’ Conclusions

After considering the factors described above and those described below under the heading “Considerations and conclusions in connection with the Trustees’ June 2024 Subadvisory Agreement approval,” as well as other factors, the Board of Trustees, including all of the Independent Trustees, concluded that the fees payable under the New FTIML Sub-Advisory Agreement represented reasonable compensation in light of the nature and quality of the services that would be provided to the funds, and determined to approve the New FTIML Sub-Advisory Agreement for your fund. These conclusions were based on a

Core Equity Fund

comprehensive consideration of all information provided to the Trustees and were not the result of any single factor.

Considerations and conclusions in connection with the Trustees’ June 2024 Subadvisory Agreement approval

At its meeting on June 28, 2024, the Board of Trustees of your fund, including all of the Independent Trustees, approved the Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement. Franklin Advisers and Putnam Management are each direct or indirect, wholly-owned subsidiaries of Franklin Templeton.

The Trustees considered the proposed Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement in connection with an internal reorganization (the “Reorganization”) whereby the fixed income and Investment Solutions investment operations of Putnam Management were combined with those of Franklin Advisers. Pursuant to the Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement, Putnam Management retained Franklin Advisers as sub-adviser for each Putnam equity fund so that, following the Reorganization, the Putnam Management fixed income investment personnel that moved to Franklin Advisers pursuant to the Reorganization (the “Fixed Income Personnel”) could continue to provide certain services that they had historically provided to the Putnam equity funds, including, as applicable, cash management services, currency trading services and portfolio management services (the “Services”). After the Reorganization and the effectiveness of the Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement, Putnam Management remains the investment adviser to your fund and the other equity funds pursuant to the Current Management Contracts, and PIL continues to serve as a sub-adviser to your fund and other Putnam funds pursuant to the PIL Sub-Management Contract. The Current Management Contracts and PIL Sub-Management Contract remain in effect until June 30, 2025, unless the contracts are sooner terminated or continued pursuant to their terms.

In connection with the review process, the Independent Trustees’ independent legal counsel (as that term is defined in Rule 0-1(a)(6)(i) under the 1940 Act) met with representatives of Putnam Management and Franklin Templeton to discuss the contract review materials that would be furnished to the Contract Committee. The Board of Trustees, with the assistance of its Contract Committee (which consists solely of Independent Trustees) and its independent legal counsel, requested and evaluated all information it deemed reasonably necessary under the circumstances in connection with its review of the Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement. Over the course of several months ending in June 2024, the Contract Committee met on a number of occasions with representatives of Putnam Management and Franklin Templeton, and separately in executive session, to consider the information provided. Throughout this process, the Contract Committee was assisted by the members of the Board of Trustees’ independent staff and by independent legal counsel for the Independent Trustees.

At the Board of Trustees’ June 2024 meeting, the Contract Committee met in executive session to discuss and consider its recommendations with respect to the approval of the Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement. At that meeting, the Contract Committee also met in executive session with the other Independent Trustees to discuss its observations and recommendation.

The Trustees considered that, under the Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement, the Fixed Income Personnel would provide any necessary Services to the applicable equity funds in their capacity as employees of Franklin Advisers under generally the same terms and conditions related to the equity funds as such services were previously provided by the Fixed Income Personnel in their capacity as employees of Putnam Management under the Current Management Contracts. The Trustees also considered that Putnam Management would be responsible for overseeing the Services provided to the equity funds by Franklin Advisers under the Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement and would compensate Franklin Advisers for such services out of the fees it receives under the Current Management Contracts. The Trustees further noted Putnam Management’s and Franklin Templeton’s representations that Franklin Advisers’ appointment as sub-adviser to the equity funds would not result in any material change in the nature or level of investment advisory services provided to the equity funds and that the management fee rates paid by the equity funds would not increase as a result of the Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement. In addition, the Trustees considered that counsel to Franklin Advisers and Putnam Management had provided a legal opinion that shareholder approval of the Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement was not required under the 1940 Act.

The Trustees considered that, in connection with their review of your fund’s Current Management Contract and PIL Sub-Management Contract over the course of several months ending in June 2023, they had considered information regarding the nature, extent and quality of the services provided to the fund, the fund’s performance, the fund’s management fees and expense ratios, the profitability of Putnam Management and its affiliates in providing services to the fund, whether there had been economies of scale with respect to the management of the fund and other benefits received by Putnam Management and its affiliates as a result of their relationships with the fund. As part of the review process in connection with the consideration of the Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement, the Trustees received and reviewed updated information regarding the profitability of Putnam Management and its affiliates, potential economies of scale, other benefits received by Putnam Management and its affiliates as a result of their relationships with the funds, and the performance and expenses of the funds. The Trustees also received, in connection with their review of the Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement, certain performance information for Franklin Advisers’ fixed income and Investment Solutions investment strategies and information regarding the revenues, expenses and profitability of Franklin Templeton’s global investment management business and its U.S. registered investment company business, which includes the financial results of Franklin Advisers. Given the scope of the Services to be provided pursuant to the Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement, the fact that the Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement would maintain the current level of services received by your fund, and the fact that the Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement would not impact the fees payable by the fund, since Putnam Management would be responsible for the payment of fees under the Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement, the Trustees considered, but did not rely to a significant extent on the information provided to them described in this paragraph in connection with their consideration of the Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement.

Board of Trustees’ Conclusion

After considering the factors described above, as well as other factors, the Board of Trustees, including all of the Independent Trustees, concluded that the fees payable under the Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement represented reasonable compensation in light of the nature and quality of the services that would continue to be provided to the equity funds, and determined to approve the Franklin Advisers Sub-Advisory Agreement for your fund. This conclusion was based on a comprehensive consideration of all information provided to the Trustees and was not the result of any single factor.

Core Equity Fund



© 2024 Franklin Templeton. All rights reserved.		39142-SFSOI 12/24


	Item 8. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants for Open-End Management Investment Companies.


	Included in Item 7 above.


	Item 9. Proxy Disclosure for Open-End Management Investment Companies.


	Included in Item 7 above.


	Item 10. Remuneration Paid to Directors, Officers, and Others of Open-End Management Investment Companies.


	Included in Item 7 above.


	Item 11. Statement Regarding Basis for Approval of Investment Advisory Contract.


	Included in Item 7 above.


	Item 12. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures For Closed-End Management Investment Companies:


	Not applicable


	Item 13. Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Investment Companies


	Not Applicable


	Item 14. Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Companies and Affiliated Purchasers:


	Not applicable


	Item 15. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders:


	Not applicable


	Item 16. Controls and Procedures:

(a) The registrant’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded, based on their evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report, that the design and operation of such procedures are generally effective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by the registrant in this report is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms.


	(b) Changes in internal control over financial reporting: Not applicable


	Item 17. Disclosures of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Investment Companies:


	Not Applicable


	Item 18. Recovery of Erroneously Awarded Compensation.


	Not Applicable


	Item 19. Exhibits:


	(a)(1) Not applicable


	(a)(2) Not applicable


	(a)(3) A separate certification for each principal executive and principal financial officer of the registrant as required by Rule 30a-2(a) under the Act (17 CFR 270.30a-2(a)), are filed herewith.


	(b) The certifications required by Rule 30a-2(b) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, are filed herewith.


	SIGNATURES


	Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.


	Putnam Funds Trust


	By (Signature and Title):


	/s/ Jeffrey White


	Jeffrey White Principal Accounting Officer


	Date: December 27, 2024


	Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.


	By (Signature and Title):


	/s/ Jonathan S. Horwitz


	Jonathan S. Horwitz Principal Executive Officer


	Date: December 27, 2024


	By (Signature and Title):


	/s/ Jeffrey White


	Jeffrey White Principal Financial Officer


	Date: December 27, 2024

Putnam Funds Trust N-CSRSCertified semi-annual shareholder report (management investment company)