Putnam Research Fund NCSR Certified 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:	(811-07237)


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


	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


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


	Date of fiscal year end:	July 31, 2022


	Date of reporting period:	August 1, 2021 – July 31, 2022


	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:

Message from the Trustees

September 7, 2022

Dear Fellow Shareholder:

Financial markets are reminding us that the journey to long-term returns often involves weathering periods of heightened volatility. This year, both stocks and bonds have experienced declines, and U.S. GDP [gross domestic product] growth rates were negative in the first and second quarters. Consumers and businesses are grappling with multidecade-high inflation. Against this backdrop, the U.S. Federal Reserve has faced the difficult task of raising interest rates to contain price pressures without tipping the economy into a recession. Globally, the Russia-Ukraine War continues to disrupt trade and has weakened the economic outlooks for Europe and China.

While this challenging environment may test investors’ patience, you can be confident that Putnam portfolio managers are actively working for you. They are assessing risks while researching new and attractive investment opportunities for your fund.

We also would like to announce changes to the Board of Trustees. In July 2022, we welcomed Jennifer Williams Murphy and Marie Pillai as new Trustees. Both have a wealth of investment advisory and executive management experience. We also want to thank two Trustees who retired from the Board on June 30, 2022. Paul Joskow served with us since 1997, and Ravi Akhoury joined the Board in 2009. We wish them well.

Thank you for investing with Putnam.

Current performance may be lower or higher than the quoted past performance, which cannot guarantee future results. Share price, principal value, and return will fluctuate, and you may have a gain or a loss when you sell your shares. Performance of class A shares assumes reinvestment of distributions and does not account for taxes. Fund returns in the bar chart do not reflect a sales charge of 5.75%; had they, returns would have been lower. See below and pages 7–9 for additional performance information. For a portion of the periods, the fund had expense limitations, without which returns would have been lower. To obtain the most recent month-end performance, visit putnam.com.

Lipper peer group median is provided by Lipper, a Refinitiv company.

This comparison shows your fund’s performance in the context of broad market indexes for the 12 months ended 7/31/22. See above and pages 7–9 for additional fund performance information. Index descriptions can be found on pages 13–14.

All Bloomberg indices are provided by Bloomberg Index Services Limited.

2 Growth Opportunities Fund

How was the investing environment in the 12-month reporting period?

GREG U.S. large-cap growth stocks had a solid start to the period, even as companies across most industries and sectors faced issues such as supply chain disruptions and higher costs for energy, labor, and materials. Also, in late 2021, a new Covid-19 variant, Omicron, brought a surge in cases and worries about new economic shutdowns. Despite the headwinds, U.S. stocks closed the 2021 calendar year near record highs. However, a more challenging environment emerged in 2022. On February 24, Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, rattling global financial markets. At the same time, stocks continued to be challenged by concerns about slowing economic growth, increasingly aggressive monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve, and the potential for recession. One of the biggest headwinds for the financial markets was skyrocketing inflation, which reached a 40-year high in the United States.

How did the fund perform in this environment?

RICHARD For the 12-month reporting period, the fund’s class A shares posted a return of –14.92%, underperforming the benchmark,

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Allocations are shown as a percentage of the fund’s net assets as of 7/31/22. Cash and net other assets, if any, represent the market value weights of cash, derivatives, short-term securities, and other unclassified assets in the portfolio. Summary information may differ from the portfolio schedule included in the financial statements due to the inclusion of derivative securities, any interest accruals, the exclusion of as-of trades, if any, the use of different classifications of securities for presentation purposes, and rounding. Holdings and allocations may vary over time.

This table shows the fund’s top 10 holdings by percentage of the fund’s net assets as of 7/31/22. Short-term investments and derivatives, if any, are excluded. Holdings may vary over time.

4 Growth Opportunities Fund

the Russell 1000 Growth Index, which returned –11.93%. The fund ranked in the top third of its Lipper peer group, Large Cap Growth Funds, and outperformed the group’s median return of –17.86%.

Could you provide some examples of stocks that helped the fund’s performance relative to the benchmark for the period?

GREG Cadence Design Systems, the second-largest player in the electronic design automation (EDA) market, was a top performer during the period. The company produces hardware, software, and silicon to facilitate and enable the design of semiconductors. We believe we are at the beginning stages of a multiyear — potentially a decade-long — shift in the growth rate for EDA companies. Their growth, in our view, will be aided by secular trends such as the Internet of things, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Cadence was a top performer due to better-than-expected revenue growth and strong demand for its software and chip designs.

RICHARD Live Nation Entertainment was another top contributor to performance for the period. In our view, this company sits in an enviable spot as the global market leader in live event ticketing and advertising. It is part of our “experience economy” theme, which is based on the growing preference for experiences over material possessions. We believe an increasing number of consumers are seeking to spend their money on live entertainment and events.

For Live Nation, we see attractive long-term growth potential. It has over 20 of the top 25 global tours, a secondary ticketing market, double-digit sponsorship and advertising growth, and on-site fan monetization opportunities. This business was in the eye of the pandemic storm, but we expect it to emerge stronger with a higher structural level of profitability and an even greater competitive moat.

What were some holdings that detracted from relative performance?

GREG PayPal Holdings was a meaningful beneficiary of pandemic-related economic shifts and was a strong contributor to portfolio performance in 2020. Unfortunately, the company experienced a deceleration in revenues, driven by fewer new accounts, higher tax rates, supply chain issues, and a faster runoff of revenue from eBay, which transitioned from PayPal to its own payment system. Given several missed markers set by the company and our lack of conviction in current management to execute effectively, we sold the position.

RICHARD Sports betting company DraftKings was also a detractor. We view DraftKings’ market opportunity as substantial, and we believe the company has cemented its leadership position in the online sports betting and gaming market. However, the lack of current profitability proved to be a headwind for the stock during the first half of the reporting period. Given what we believe is a wider range of potential outcomes for the company over the medium term, we sold the fund’s position.

Your theme-based approach is a distinct feature of the fund. Could you tell us about your newest growth theme?

GREG Our thematic approach is a critical part of our investment process. Together with a team of analysts, we examine global trends as well as problems and potential solutions. From this analysis, we identify which themes could drive sustained growth for businesses over a multiyear time horizon.

Our new theme is “A healthier tomorrow.” Across the globe, people are embracing a comprehensive approach to health and wellness. Individuals are prioritizing exercise,

Growth Opportunities Fund 5

diet, and environmental health, and they are seeking greater access to and control over their personal health data. We have identified specific growth companies that should benefit meaningfully from this secular, multidecade trend. We believe these companies should be able to sustain above-market growth across an economic cycle. While the theme is focused on individuals, large-cap growth companies can serve as the enablers of change. As demographic trends drive increased awareness of this theme, we expect public policy to support further growth in these markets.

What is your outlook for the months ahead?

RICHARD In our view, many of the macroeconomic headwinds are priced into growth stocks already, given the year-to-date drawdown, and conditions may stabilize over the second half of calendar 2022. Additionally, we believe growth will become more scarce as not all businesses will be able to adequately cope with the effects of inflation, supply chain disruptions, and other macroeconomic factors. We prioritize businesses with high levels of recurring revenue, long-term customer contracts, the ability to set prices, and a lack of customer concentration.

We seek high-quality companies that operate with limited competition and a narrow range of operational and financial outcomes. These businesses can differentiate themselves in environments like the current one, in our view. We continue to believe that owning a portfolio of these businesses is the best way to deliver value to our investors over the long term. We remain excited by the opportunities we see across the growth investing landscape.

Thank you both for your time and insights today.

The views expressed in this report are exclusively those of Putnam Management and are subject to change. They are not meant as investment advice.

Please note that the holdings discussed in this report may not have been held by the fund for the entire period. Portfolio composition is subject to review in accordance with the fund’s investment strategy and may vary in the future. Current and future portfolio holdings are subject to risk. Statements in the Q&A concerning the fund’s performance or portfolio composition relative to those of the fund’s Lipper peer group may reference information produced by Lipper Inc. or through a third party.

This table shows the fund’s largest allocation shifts, by percentage, over the past six months. Allocations are shown as a percentage of the fund’s net assets. Current period summary information may differ from the portfolio schedule included in the financial statements due to the inclusion of derivative securities, any interest accruals, the exclusion of as-of trades, if any, the use of different classifications of securities for presentation purposes, and rounding. Holdings and allocations may vary over time.

6 Growth Opportunities Fund

Your fund’s performance

This section shows your fund’s performance, price, and distribution information for periods ended July 31, 2022, the end of its most recent fiscal year. In accordance with regulatory requirements for mutual funds, we also include performance information as of the most recent calendar quarter-end and expense information taken from the fund’s current prospectus. Performance should always be considered in light of a fund’s investment strategy. Data represent past performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. More recent returns may be less or more than those shown. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate, and you may have a gain or a loss when you sell your shares. Performance information does not reflect any deduction for taxes a shareholder may owe on fund distributions or on the redemption of fund shares. For the most recent month-end performance, please visit the Individual Investors section at putnam.com or call Putnam at 1-800-225-1581. Class R, R5, R6, and Y shares are not available to all investors. See the Terms and definitions section in this report for definitions of the share classes offered by your fund.

Annualized fund performance Total return for periods ended 7/31/22


	Life of fund	10 years	5 years	3 years	1 year
Class A (10/2/95)
Before sales charge	9.09%	15.91%	15.81%	13.39%	–14.92%
After sales charge	8.85	15.23	14.44	11.17	–19.82
Class B (8/1/97)
Before CDSC	8.83	15.22	14.94	12.54	–15.56
After CDSC	8.83	15.22	14.71	11.75	–19.34
Class C (2/1/99)
Before CDSC	8.86	15.23	14.94	12.53	–15.56
After CDSC	8.86	15.23	14.94	12.53	–16.32
Class R (1/21/03)
Net asset value	8.82	15.63	15.52	13.10	–15.14
Class R5 (7/2/12)
Net asset value	9.36	16.25	16.11	13.66	–14.73
Class R6 (7/2/12)
Net asset value	9.40	16.37	16.22	13.77	–14.65
Class Y (7/1/99)
Net asset value	9.34	16.20	16.09	13.66	–14.72

Current performance may be lower or higher than the quoted past performance, which cannot guarantee future results. After-sales-charge returns for class A shares reflect the deduction of the maximum 5.75% sales charge levied at the time of purchase. Class B share returns after contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) reflect the applicable CDSC, which is 5% in the first year, declining over time to 1% in the sixth year, and is eliminated thereafter. Class C share returns after CDSC reflect a 1% CDSC for the first year that is eliminated thereafter. Class R, R5, R6, and Y shares have no initial sales charge or CDSC. Performance for class B, C, R, and Y shares before their inception is derived from the historical performance of class A shares, adjusted for the applicable sales charge (or CDSC) and the higher operating expenses for such shares, except for class Y shares, for which 12b-1 fees are not applicable. Performance for class R5 and R6 shares prior to their inception is derived from the historical performance of class Y shares and has not been adjusted for the lower investor servicing fees applicable to class R5 and R6 shares; had it, returns would have been higher.

For a portion of the periods, the fund had expense limitations, without which returns would have been lower.

The fund has had performance fee adjustments that may have had a positive or negative impact on returns.

Class B and C share performance reflects conversion to class A shares after eight years.

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Comparative annualized index returns For periods ended 7/31/22


	Life of fund	10 years	5 years	3 years	1 year
Russell 1000 Growth Index	9.77%	15.95%	16.30%	16.05%	–11.93%
Lipper Large-Cap Growth
Funds category median^*	9.35	14.07	13.31	11.80	–17.86

Index and Lipper results should be compared with fund performance before sales charge, before CDSC, or at net asset value.

Lipper peer group median is provided by Lipper, a Refinitiv company.

^*Over the 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, 10-year, and life-of-fund periods ended 7/31/22, there were 668, 616, 585, 443, and 75 funds, respectively, in this Lipper category.

Past performance does not indicate future results. At the end of the same time period, a $10,000 investment in the fund’s class B and C shares would have been valued at $41,253 and $41,261, respectively, and no contingent deferred sales charges would apply. A $10,000 investment in the fund’s class R, R5, R6, and Y shares would have been valued at $42,724, $45,091, $45,548, and $44,887, respectively.

8 Growth Opportunities Fund

Fund price and distribution information For the 12-month period ended 7/31/22


Distributions	Class A		Class B	Class C	Class R	Class R5	Class R6	Class Y
Number	1		1	1	1	1	1	1
Income	—		—	—	—	—	—	—
Capital gains
Long-term gains	$4.921		$4.921	$4.921	$4.921	$4.921	$4.921	$4.921
Short-term gains	0.399		0.399	0.399	0.399	0.399	0.399	0.399
Total	$5.320		$5.320	$5.320	$5.320	$5.320	$5.320	$5.320
	Before	After	Net	Net	Net	Net	Net	Net
	sales	sales	asset	asset	asset	asset	asset	asset
Share value	charge	charge	value	value	value	value	value	value
7/31/21	$60.13	$63.80	$48.48	$49.51	$57.28	$64.06	$64.01	$63.48
7/31/22	46.78	49.63	36.58	37.45	44.24	50.24	50.25	49.75

The classification of distributions, if any, is an estimate. Before-sales-charge share value and current dividend rate for class A shares, if applicable, do not take into account any sales charge levied at the time of purchase. After-sales-charge share value, current dividend rate, and current 30-day SEC yield, if applicable, are calculated assuming that the maximum sales charge (5.75% for class A shares) was levied at the time of purchase. Final distribution information will appear on your year-end tax forms.

Annualized fund performance as of most recent calendar quarter
Total return for periods ended 6/30/22


	Life of fund	10 years	5 years	3 years	1 year
Class A (10/2/95)
Before sales charge	8.64%	14.74%	13.68%	9.66%	–22.13%
After sales charge	8.40	14.06	12.34	7.51	–26.60
Class B (8/1/97)
Before CDSC	8.38	14.05	12.83	8.83	–22.70
After CDSC	8.38	14.05	12.58	7.98	–26.16
Class C (2/1/99)
Before CDSC	8.41	14.05	12.82	8.83	–22.71
After CDSC	8.41	14.05	12.82	8.83	–23.40
Class R (1/21/03)
Net asset value	8.37	14.45	13.39	9.37	–22.32
Class R5 (7/2/12)
Net asset value	8.90	15.07	13.98	9.92	–21.93
Class R6 (7/2/12)
Net asset value	8.94	15.19	14.09	10.04	–21.84
Class Y (7/1/99)
Net asset value	8.88	15.02	13.96	9.92	–21.93

See the discussion following the fund performance table on page 7 for information about the calculation of fund performance.

Growth Opportunities Fund 9

Your fund’s expenses

As a mutual fund investor, you pay ongoing expenses, such as management fees, distribution fees (12b-1 fees), and other expenses. Using the following information, you can estimate how these expenses affect your investment and compare them with the expenses of other funds. You may also pay one-time transaction expenses, including sales charges (loads) and redemption fees, which are not shown in this section and would have resulted in higher total expenses. For more information, see your fund’s prospectus or talk to your financial representative.

Expense ratios


	Class A	Class B	Class C	Class R	Class R5	Class R6	Class Y
Total annual operating expenses for the
fiscal year ended 7/31/21	0.99%	1.74%	1.74%	1.24%	0.74%	0.64%	0.74%
Annualized expense ratio for the
six-month period ended 7/31/22^*†‡	0.91%	1.66%	1.66%	1.16%	0.66%	0.56%	0.66%

Fiscal year expense information in this table is taken from the most recent prospectus, is subject to change, and may differ from that shown for the annualized expense ratio and in the financial highlights of this report.

Expenses are shown as a percentage of average net assets.

^*Expense ratios for each class are for the fund’s most recent fiscal half year. As a result of this, ratios may differ from expense ratios based on one-year data in the financial highlights.

^†Includes one-time annualized proxy cost of 0.01%.

^‡Includes a decrease of 0.08% from annualizing the performance fee adjustment for the six months ended 7/31/22.

Expenses per $1,000

The following table shows the expenses you would have paid on a $1,000 investment in each class of the fund from 2/1/22 to 7/31/22. It also shows how much a $1,000 investment would be worth at the close of the period, assuming actual returns and expenses.


	Class A	Class B	Class C	Class R	Class R5	Class R6	Class Y
Expenses paid per $1,000^*†	$4.23	$7.70	$7.70	$5.39	$3.07	$2.61	$3.07
Ending value (after expenses)	$875.00	$871.80	$871.70	$874.00	$876.00	$876.40	$876.00

^*Expenses for each share class are calculated using the fund’s annualized expense ratio for each class, which represents the ongoing expenses as a percentage of average net assets for the six months ended 7/31/22. The expense ratio may differ for each share class.

^†Expenses are calculated by multiplying the expense ratio by the average account value for the period; then multiplying the result by the number of days in the period (181); and then dividing that result by the number of days in the year (365).

10 Growth Opportunities Fund

Estimate the expenses you paid

To estimate the ongoing expenses you paid for the six months ended 7/31/22, use the following calculation method. To find the value of your investment on 2/1/22, call Putnam at 1-800-225-1581.

Compare expenses using the SEC’s method

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has established guidelines to help investors assess fund expenses. Per these guidelines, the following table shows your fund’s expenses based on a $1,000 investment, assuming a hypothetical 5% annualized return. You can use this information to compare the ongoing expenses (but not transaction expenses or total costs) of investing in the fund with those of other funds. All mutual fund shareholder reports will provide this information to help you make this comparison. Please note that you cannot use this information to estimate your actual ending account balance and expenses paid during the period.


	Class A	Class B	Class C	Class R	Class R5	Class R6	Class Y
Expenses paid per $1,000^*†	$4.56	$8.30	$8.30	$5.81	$3.31	$2.81	$3.31
Ending value (after expenses)	$1,020.28	$1,016.56	$1,016.56	$1,019.04	$1,021.52	$1,022.02	$1,021.52

^†Expenses are calculated by multiplying the expense ratio by the average account value for the six-month period; then multiplying the result by the number of days in the six-month period (181); and then dividing that result by the number of days in the year (365).

Growth Opportunities Fund 11

Consider these risks before investing

Growth stocks may be more susceptible to earnings disappointments, and the market may not favor growth-style investing. The value of investments in the fund’s portfolio may fall or fail to rise over extended periods of time for a variety of reasons, including general economic, political, or financial market conditions; investor sentiment and market perceptions; government actions; geopolitical events or changes; and factors related to a specific issuer, geography, industry, or sector. These and other factors may lead to increased volatility and reduced liquidity in the fund’s portfolio holdings. From time to time, the fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related industries or sectors, which would make the fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting those industries or sectors. The fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in the information technology sector. The information technology sector may be significantly affected by technological obsolescence or innovation, short product cycles, falling prices and profits, competitive pressures, and general market conditions.

Our investment techniques, analyses, and judgments may not produce the outcome we intend. The investments we select for the fund may not perform as well as other securities that we do not select for the fund. We, or the fund’s other service providers, may experience disruptions or operating errors that could have a negative effect on the fund.

You can lose money by investing in the fund.

12 Growth Opportunities Fund

Terms and definitions

Important terms

Total return shows how the value of the fund’s shares changed over time, assuming you held the shares through the entire period and reinvested all distributions in the fund.

Before sales charge, or net asset value, is the price, or value, of one share of a mutual fund, without a sales charge. Before-sales-charge figures fluctuate with market conditions. They are calculated by dividing the net assets of each class of shares by the number of outstanding shares in the class.

After sales charge is the price of a mutual fund share plus the maximum sales charge levied at the time of purchase. After-sales-charge performance figures shown here assume the 5.75% maximum sales charge for class A shares.

Contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) is generally a charge applied at the time of the redemption of class B or C shares and assumes redemption at the end of the period. Your fund’s class B CDSC declines over time from a 5% maximum during the first year to 1% during the sixth year. After the sixth year, the CDSC no longer applies. The CDSC for class C shares is 1% for one year after purchase.

Share classes

Class A shares are generally subject to an initial sales charge and no CDSC (except on certain redemptions of shares bought without an initial sales charge).

Class B shares are closed to new investments and are only available by exchange from class B shares of another Putnam fund or through dividend and/or capital gains reinvestment. They are not subject to an initial sales charge and may be subject to a CDSC.

Class C shares are not subject to an initial sales charge and are subject to a CDSC only if the shares are redeemed during the first year.

Class R shares are not subject to an initial sales charge or CDSC and are only available to employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Class R5 shares are not subject to an initial sales charge or CDSC and carry no 12b-1 fee. They are only available to employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Class R6 shares are not subject to an initial sales charge or CDSC and carry no 12b-1 fee. They are generally only available to employer-sponsored retirement plans, corporate and institutional clients, and clients in other approved programs.

Class Y shares are not subject to an initial sales charge or CDSC and carry no 12b-1 fee. They are generally only available to corporate and institutional clients and clients in other approved programs.

Comparative indexes

Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is an unmanaged index of U.S. investment-grade fixed income securities.

ICE BofA (Intercontinental Exchange Bank of America) U.S. 3-Month Treasury Bill Index is an unmanaged index that seeks to measure the performance of U.S. Treasury bills available in the marketplace.

Russell 1000^® Growth Index is an unmanaged index of those companies in the large-cap Russell 1000® Index chosen for their growth orientation.

S&P 500^® Index is an unmanaged index of common stock performance.

Indexes assume reinvestment of all distributions and do not account for fees. Securities and performance of a fund and an index will differ. You cannot invest directly in an index.

BLOOMBERG^® is a trademark and service mark of Bloomberg Finance L.P. and its affiliates (collectively “Bloomberg”). Bloomberg or Bloomberg’s licensors own all proprietary rights in the Bloomberg Indices.

Growth Opportunities Fund 13

Neither Bloomberg nor Bloomberg’s licensors approve or endorse this material, or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information herein, or make any warranty, express or implied, as to the results to be obtained therefrom, and to the maximum extent allowed by law, neither shall have any liability or responsibility for injury or damages arising in connection therewith.

Frank Russell Company is the source and owner of the trademarks, service marks, and copyrights related to the Russell Indexes. Russell^® is a trademark of Frank Russell Company.

ICE Data Indices, LLC (“ICE BofA”), used with permission. ICE BofA permits use of the ICE BofA indices and related data on an “as is” basis; makes no warranties regarding same; does not guarantee the suitability, quality, accuracy, timeliness, and/or completeness of the ICE BofA indices or any data included in, related to, or derived therefrom; assumes no liability in connection with the use of the foregoing; and does not sponsor, endorse, or recommend Putnam Investments, or any of its products or services.

Lipper, a Refinitiv company, is a third-party industry-ranking entity that ranks mutual funds. Its rankings do not reflect sales charges. Lipper rankings are based on total return at net asset value relative to other funds that have similar current investment styles or objectives as determined by Lipper. Lipper may change a fund’s category assignment at its discretion. Lipper category medians reflect performance trends for funds within a category.

14 Growth Opportunities Fund

Other information for shareholders

Proxy voting

Putnam is committed to managing our mutual funds in the best interests of our shareholders. The Putnam funds’ proxy voting guidelines and procedures, as well as information regarding how your fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the 12-month period ended June 30, 2022, are available in the Individual Investors section of putnam.com and on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) website, www.sec.gov. If you have questions about finding forms on the SEC’s website, you may call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. You may also obtain the Putnam funds’ proxy voting guidelines and procedures at no charge by calling Putnam’s Shareholder Services at 1-800-225-1581.

Fund portfolio holdings

The fund will file a complete schedule of its portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-PORT within 60 days of the end of such fiscal quarter. Shareholders may obtain the fund’s Form N-PORT on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Prior to its use of Form N-PORT, the fund filed its complete schedule of its portfolio holdings with the SEC on Form N-Q, which is available online at www.sec.gov.

Trustee and employee fund ownership

Putnam employees and members of the Board of Trustees place their faith, confidence, and, most importantly, investment dollars in Putnam mutual funds. As of July 31, 2022, Putnam employees had approximately $480,000,000 and the Trustees had approximately $65,000,000 invested in Putnam mutual funds. These amounts include investments by the Trustees’ and employees’ immediate family members as well as investments through retirement and deferred compensation plans.

Liquidity risk management program

Putnam, as the administrator of the fund’s liquidity risk management program (appointed by the Board of Trustees), presented the most recent annual report on the program to the Trustees in April 2022. The report covered the structure of the program, including the program documents and related policies and procedures adopted to comply with Rule 22e-4 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, and reviewed the operation of the program from January 2021 through December 2021. The report included a description of the annual liquidity assessment of the fund that Putnam performed in November 2021. The report noted that there were no material compliance exceptions identified under Rule 22e-4 during the period. The report included a review of the governance of the program and the methodology for classification of the fund’s investments. The report also included a discussion of liquidity monitoring during the period, including during the market liquidity challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the impact those challenges had on the liquidity of the fund’s investments. Putnam concluded that the program has been operating effectively and adequately to ensure compliance with Rule 22e-4.

Growth Opportunities Fund 15

Important notice regarding Putnam’s privacy policy

In order to conduct business with our shareholders, we must obtain certain personal information such as account holders’ names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth. Using this information, we are able to maintain accurate records of accounts and transactions.

It is our policy to protect the confidentiality of our shareholder information, whether or not a shareholder currently owns shares of our funds. In particular, it is our policy not to sell information about you or your accounts to outside marketing firms. We have safeguards in place designed to prevent unauthorized access to our computer systems and procedures to protect personal information from unauthorized use.

Under certain circumstances, we must share account information with outside vendors who provide services to us, such as mailings and proxy solicitations. In these cases, the service providers enter into confidentiality agreements with us, and we provide only the information necessary to process transactions and perform other services related to your account. Finally, it is our policy to share account information with your financial representative, if you’ve listed one on your Putnam account.

16 Growth Opportunities Fund

Trustee approval of management contract

General conclusions

The Board of Trustees of The Putnam Funds oversees the management of each fund and, as required by law, determines annually whether to approve the continuance of your fund’s management contract with Putnam Investment Management, LLC (“Putnam Management”) and the sub-management contract with respect to your fund between Putnam Management and its affiliate, Putnam Investments Limited (“PIL”). The Board, with the assistance of its Contract Committee, requests and evaluates all information it deems reasonably necessary under the circumstances in connection with its annual contract review. The Contract Committee consists solely of 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 Funds (“Independent Trustees”).

At the outset of the review process, members of the Board’s independent staff and independent legal counsel considered any possible changes to the annual contract review materials furnished to the Contract Committee during the course of the previous year’s review and, as applicable, identified those changes to Putnam Management. Following these discussions and in consultation with the Contract Committee, the Independent Trustees’ independent legal counsel requested that Putnam Management and its affiliates furnish specified information, together with any additional information that Putnam Management considered relevant, to the Contract Committee. Over the course of several months ending in June 2022, the Contract Committee met on a number of occasions with representatives of Putnam Management, and separately in executive session, to consider the information that Putnam Management provided. Throughout this process, the Contract Committee was assisted by the members of the Board’s independent staff and by independent legal counsel for The Putnam Funds and the Independent Trustees.

In May 2022, the Contract Committee met in executive session to discuss and consider its recommendations with respect to the continuance of the contracts. At the Trustees’ June 2022 meeting, the Contract Committee met in executive session with the other Independent Trustees to review a summary of the key financial, performance and other data that the Contract Committee considered in the course of its review. The Contract Committee then presented its written report, which summarized the key factors that the Committee had considered and set forth its recommendations. The Contract Committee recommended, and the Independent Trustees approved, the continuance of your fund’s management contract and the approval of your fund’s amended and restated sub-management contract, effective July 1, 2022. (Because PIL is an affiliate of Putnam Management and Putnam Management remains fully responsible for all services provided by PIL, the Trustees have not attempted to evaluate PIL as a separate entity, and all subsequent references to Putnam Management below should be deemed to include reference to PIL as necessary or appropriate in the context.)

The Independent Trustees’ approval was based on the following conclusions:

• That the fee schedule in effect for your fund represented reasonable compensation in light of the nature and quality of the services being provided to the fund, the fees paid by competitive funds, the costs incurred by Putnam Management in providing services to the fund and the application of certain reductions and waivers noted below; and

• That the fee schedule in effect for your fund represented an appropriate sharing between fund shareholders and Putnam Management of any economies of scale as may exist in the management of the fund at current asset levels.

These conclusions were based on a comprehensive consideration of all information provided to the Trustees and were not the result of any single factor. Some of the factors that figured particularly in the Trustees’ deliberations and how the Trustees considered these factors are described below, although individual Trustees may have evaluated the information presented differently, giving different weights to various factors. It is also important to recognize that the management arrangements for your fund and the other Putnam funds are the result of many years of review and discussion between the Independent Trustees and Putnam Management, that some aspects of the arrangements may receive greater scrutiny in some years than others and that the Trustees’ conclusions may be based, in part, on their consideration of fee arrangements in previous years. For example,

Growth Opportunities Fund 17

with certain exceptions primarily involving newer or repositioned funds, the current fee arrangements under the vast majority of the funds’ management contracts were first implemented at the beginning of 2010 following extensive review by the Contract Committee and discussions with representatives of Putnam Management, as well as approval by shareholders.

Management fee schedules and total expenses

The Trustees reviewed the management fee schedules in effect for all Putnam funds, including fee levels and breakpoints. Under its management contract, your fund has the benefit of breakpoints in its management fee schedule that provide shareholders with reduced fee levels as assets under management in the Putnam family of funds increase. The Trustees also reviewed the total expenses of each Putnam fund, recognizing that in most cases management fees represented the major, but not the sole, determinant of total costs to fund shareholders. (Two funds have implemented so-called “all-in” management fees covering substantially all routine fund operating costs.) The Trustees considered that the proposed amended and restated sub-management contract would lower the sub-management fees paid by Putnam Management to PIL.

In reviewing fees and expenses, the Trustees generally focus their attention on material changes in circumstances — for example, changes in assets under management, changes in a fund’s investment strategy, changes in Putnam Management’s operating costs or profitability, or changes in competitive practices in the mutual fund industry — that suggest that consideration of fee changes might be warranted. The Trustees concluded that the circumstances did not indicate that changes to the management fee schedule for your fund would be appropriate at this time.

In addition, your fund’s management contract provides that its management fees will be adjusted up or down depending upon whether your fund’s performance is better or worse than the performance of an appropriate index of securities prices specified in the management contract. In the course of reviewing investment performance, the Trustees examined the operation of your fund’s performance fees and concluded that these fees were operating effectively to align further Putnam Management’s economic interests with those of the fund’s shareholders.

As in the past, the Trustees also focused on the competitiveness of each fund’s total expense ratio. The Trustees and Putnam Management and the funds’ investor servicing agent, Putnam Investor Services, Inc. (“PSERV”), have implemented expense limitations that were in effect during your fund’s fiscal year ending in 2021. These expense limitations were: (i) a contractual expense limitation applicable to specified open-end funds, including your fund, of 25 basis points on investor servicing fees and expenses and (ii) a contractual expense limitation applicable to specified open-end funds, including your fund, of 20 basis points on so-called “other expenses” (i.e., all expenses exclusive of management fees, distribution fees, investor servicing fees, investment-related expenses, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses). These expense limitations attempt to maintain competitive expense levels for the funds. Most funds, including your fund, had sufficiently low expenses that these expense limitations were not operative during their fiscal years ending in 2021. Putnam Management and PSERV have agreed to maintain these expense limitations until at least November 30, 2023. Putnam Management and PSERV’s commitment to these expense limitation arrangements, which were intended to support an effort to have fund expenses meet competitive standards, was an important factor in the Trustees’ decision to approve the continuance of your fund’s management contract and to approve your fund’s amended and restated sub-management contract.

The Trustees reviewed comparative fee and expense information for a custom group of competitive funds selected by Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (“Broadridge”). This comparative information included your fund’s percentile ranking for effective management fees and total expenses (excluding any applicable 12b-1 fees), which provides a general indication of your fund’s relative standing. In the custom peer group, your fund ranked in the first quintile in effective management fees (determined for your fund and the other funds in the custom peer group based on fund asset size and the applicable contractual management fee schedule) and in the third quintile in total expenses (excluding any applicable 12b-1 fees) as of December 31, 2021. The first quintile represents the least expensive funds and the fifth quintile the most expensive

18 Growth Opportunities Fund

funds. The fee and expense data reported by Broadridge as of December 31, 2021 reflected the most recent fiscal year-end data available in Broadridge’s database at that time.

In connection with their review of fund management fees and total expenses, the Trustees also reviewed the costs of the services provided and the profits realized by Putnam Management and its affiliates from their contractual relationships with the funds. This information included trends in revenues, expenses and profitability of Putnam Management and its affiliates relating to the investment management, investor servicing and distribution services provided to the funds. In this regard, the Trustees also reviewed an analysis of the revenues, expenses and profitability of Putnam Management and its affiliates, allocated on a fund-by-fund basis, with respect to the funds’ management, distribution and investor servicing contracts. For each fund, the analysis presented information about revenues, expenses and profitability for each of the agreements separately and for the agreements taken together on a combined basis. The Trustees concluded that, at current asset levels, the fee schedules in place for the Putnam funds, including the fee schedule for your fund, represented reasonable compensation for the services being provided and represented an appropriate sharing between fund shareholders and Putnam Management of any economies of scale as may exist in the management of the Putnam funds at that time.

The information examined by the Trustees in connection with their annual contract review for the Putnam funds included information regarding services provided and fees charged by Putnam Management and its affiliates to other clients, including collective investment trusts offered in the defined contribution and defined benefit retirement plan markets, sub-advised mutual funds, private funds sponsored by affiliates of Putnam Management, model-only separately managed accounts and Putnam Management’s exchange-traded funds. This information included, in cases where a product’s investment strategy corresponds with a fund’s strategy, comparisons of those fees with fees charged to the Putnam funds, as well as an assessment of the differences in the services provided to these clients as compared to the services provided to the Putnam funds. The Trustees observed that the differences in fee rates between these clients and the Putnam funds are by no means uniform when examined by individual asset sectors, suggesting that differences in the pricing of investment management services to these types of clients may reflect, among other things, historical competitive forces operating in separate marketplaces. The Trustees considered the fact that in many cases fee rates across different asset classes are higher on average for mutual funds than for other clients, and the Trustees also considered the differences between the services that Putnam Management provides to the Putnam funds and those that it provides to its other clients. The Trustees did not rely on these comparisons to any significant extent in concluding that the management fees paid by your fund are reasonable.

Investment performance

The quality of the investment process provided by Putnam Management represented a major factor in the Trustees’ evaluation of the quality of services provided by Putnam Management under your fund’s management contract. The Trustees were assisted in their review of Putnam Management’s investment process and performance by the work of the investment oversight committees of the Trustees and the full Board of Trustees, which meet on a regular basis with individual portfolio managers and with senior management of Putnam Management’s Investment Division throughout the year. The Trustees concluded that Putnam Management generally provides a high-quality investment process — based on the experience and skills of the individuals assigned to the management of fund portfolios, the resources made available to them and in general Putnam Management’s ability to attract and retain high-quality personnel — but also recognized that this does not guarantee favorable investment results for every fund in every time period.

The Trustees considered that, in the aggregate, the Putnam funds’ performance was generally solid in 2021 against a backdrop of strong U.S. economic and financial market growth. The Trustees considered Putnam Management’s observation that, despite an environment of generally strong growth, there had been various headwinds experienced in 2021. For the one-year period ended December 31, 2021, the Trustees noted that the Putnam funds, on an asset-weighted basis, ranked in the 52nd percentile of their peers as determined by Lipper Inc. (“Lipper”) and, on an asset-weighted-basis, delivered a gross return that trailed their benchmarks by 0.1%. Over the longer-term, the Committee noted that, on an

Growth Opportunities Fund 19

asset-weighted basis, the Putnam funds delivered strong aggregate performance relative to their Lipper peers over the three-, five- and ten-year periods ended December 31, 2021, ranking in the 31st, 29th and 21st percentiles, respectively, and that the funds, in the aggregate, outperformed their benchmarks on a gross basis for each of those periods.

In addition to the performance of the individual Putnam funds, the Trustees considered, as they had in prior years, the performance of The Putnam Fund complex versus competitor fund complexes. In particular, the Trustees considered The Putnam Fund complex’s performance as reported in the Barron’s/Lipper Fund Families survey (the “Survey”), which ranks mutual fund companies based on their performance across a variety of asset types. The Trustees noted that The Putnam Fund complex continued to rank highly in the Survey, especially over the longer-term, with The Putnam Funds ranking as the 6th best performing mutual fund complex out of 45 complexes for the ten-year period and 13th out of 49 complexes for the five-year period. The Trustees noted that 2021 marked the fifth consecutive year that The Putnam Funds have ranked in the top ten fund complexes for the ten-year period. The Trustees also considered that The Putnam Fund complex’s Survey performance over the one-year period was solid, with The Putnam Funds ranking 27th out of 51 complexes. In addition to the Survey, the Trustees also considered the Putnam funds’ ratings assigned by Morningstar Inc., noting that 25 of the funds were four- or five-star rated at the end of 2021 (representing a decrease of one fund year-over-year) and that this included nine funds that had achieved a five-star rating (representing an increase of two funds year-over-year). They also noted, however, the disappointing investment performance of some Putnam funds for periods ended December 31, 2021 and considered information provided by Putnam Management regarding the factors contributing to the underperformance and actions being taken to improve the performance of these particular funds. The Trustees indicated their intention to continue to monitor closely the performance of those funds and evaluate whether additional actions to address areas of underperformance may be warranted.

For purposes of the Trustees’ evaluation of the Putnam funds’ investment performance, the Trustees generally focus on a competitive industry ranking of each fund’s total net return over a one-year, three-year and five-year period. For a number of Putnam funds with relatively unique investment mandates for which Putnam Management informed the Trustees that meaningful competitive performance rankings are not considered to be available, the Trustees evaluated performance based on their total gross and net returns and comparisons of those returns to the returns of selected investment benchmarks. In the case of your fund, the Trustees considered information about your fund’s total return and its performance relative to its benchmark over the one-year, three-year and five-year periods ended December 31, 2021. Your fund’s class A shares’ return, net of fees and expenses, was positive but trailed the return of its benchmark over the one-year and three-year periods ended December 31, 2021, and was positive and in line with the return of its benchmark over the five-year period ended December 31, 2021. (When considering performance information, shareholders should be mindful that past performance is not a guarantee of future results.)

The Trustees expressed concern about your fund’s significant underperformance relative to its benchmark over the one-year period ended December 31, 2021 and considered the circumstances that may have contributed to this disappointing performance. The Trustees noted Putnam Management’s observation that stock selection detracted from the fund’s performance during the period. The Trustees considered Putnam Management’s view that small underweight exposures to growth and profitability factors also negatively impacted the fund’s performance. In addition, the Trustees noted Putnam Management’s observation that sector allocation, including an underweight to the information technology sector, detracted from the fund’s performance.

The Trustees also considered the fund’s strong performance over longer time periods, including the fund’s outperformance relative to its benchmark over the five-year period ended December 31, 2021 and its strong absolute performance over the three-year and five-year periods then-ended. The Trustees noted that Putnam Management remained confident in the fund’s portfolio managers. The Trustees also considered Putnam Management’s continued efforts to support fund performance through certain initiatives, including structuring compensation for portfolio managers to enhance accountability for fund performance, emphasizing accountability

20 Growth Opportunities Fund

in the portfolio management process and affirming its commitment to a fundamental-driven approach to investing. The Trustees noted further that Putnam Management had made selective hires and internal promotions in 2021 to strengthen its investment team.

As a general matter, the Trustees believe that cooperative efforts between the Trustees and Putnam Management represent the most effective way to address investment performance concerns that may arise from time to time. The Trustees noted that investors in the Putnam funds have, in effect, placed their trust in the Putnam organization, under the oversight of the funds’ Trustees, to make appropriate decisions regarding the management of the funds. The Trustees also considered that Putnam Management has made changes in light of subpar investment performance when warranted. Based on Putnam Management’s willingness to take appropriate measures to address fund performance issues, the Trustees concluded that it continued to be advisable to seek change within Putnam Management to address performance shortcomings. In the Trustees’ view, the alternative of engaging a new investment adviser for an underperforming fund, with all the attendant risks and disruptions, would not likely provide any greater assurance of improved investment performance.

Brokerage and soft-dollar allocations; investor servicing

The Trustees considered various potential benefits that Putnam Management may receive in connection with the services it provides under the management contract with your fund. These include benefits related to brokerage allocation and the use of soft dollars, whereby a portion of the commissions paid by a fund for brokerage may be used to acquire research services that are expected to be useful to Putnam Management in managing the assets of the fund and of other clients. Subject to policies established by the Trustees, soft dollars generated by these means are used predominantly to acquire brokerage and research services (including third-party research and market data) that enhance Putnam Management’s investment capabilities and supplement Putnam Management’s internal research efforts. The Trustees indicated their continued intent to monitor regulatory and industry developments in this area with the assistance of their Brokerage Committee. In addition, with the assistance of their Brokerage Committee, the Trustees indicated their continued intent to monitor the allocation of the Putnam funds’ brokerage in order to ensure that the principle of seeking best price and execution remains paramount in the portfolio trading process.

Putnam Management may also receive benefits from payments that the funds make to Putnam Management’s affiliates for investor or distribution services. In conjunction with the annual review of your fund’s management and sub-management contracts, the Trustees reviewed your fund’s investor servicing agreement with PSERV and its distributor’s contract and distribution plans with Putnam Retail Management Limited Partnership (“PRM”), both of which are affiliates of Putnam Management. The Trustees concluded that the fees payable by the funds to PSERV and PRM, as applicable, for such services are fair and reasonable in relation to the nature and quality of such services, the fees paid by competitive funds and the costs incurred by PSERV and PRM, as applicable, in providing such services. Furthermore, the Trustees were of the view that the investor services provided by PSERV were required for the operation of the funds, and that they were of a quality at least equal to those provided by other providers.

Growth Opportunities Fund 21

Audited financial statements

These sections of the report, as well as the accompanying Notes, preceded by the Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, constitute the fund’s audited financial statements.

The fund’s portfolio lists all the fund’s investments and their values as of the last day of the reporting period. Holdings are organized by asset type and industry sector, country, or state to show areas of concentration and diversification.

Statement of assets and liabilities shows how the fund’s net assets and share price are determined. All investment and non-investment assets are added together. Any unpaid expenses and other liabilities are subtracted from this total. The result is divided by the number of shares to determine the net asset value per share, which is calculated separately for each class of shares. (For funds with preferred shares, the amount subtracted from total assets includes the liquidation preference of preferred shares.)

Statement of operations shows the fund’s net investment gain or loss. This is done by first adding up all the fund’s earnings — from dividends and interest income — and subtracting its operating expenses to determine net investment income (or loss). Then, any net gain or loss the fund realized on the sales of its holdings — as well as any unrealized gains or losses over the period — is added to or subtracted from the net investment result to determine the fund’s net gain or loss for the fiscal period.

Statement of changes in net assets shows how the fund’s net assets were affected by the fund’s net investment gain or loss, by distributions to shareholders, and by changes in the number of the fund’s shares. It lists distributions and their sources (net investment income or realized capital gains) over the current reporting period and the most recent fiscal year-end. The distributions listed here may not match the sources listed in the Statement of operations because the distributions are determined on a tax basis and may be paid in a different period from the one in which they were earned.

Financial highlights provide an overview of the fund’s investment results, per-share distributions, expense ratios, net investment income ratios, and portfolio turnover in one summary table, reflecting the five most recent reporting periods. In a semiannual report, the highlights table also includes the current reporting period.

22 Growth Opportunities Fund

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Board of Trustees of Putnam Investment Funds and Shareholders of
Putnam Growth Opportunities Fund:

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities, including the fund’s portfolio, of Putnam Growth Opportunities Fund (one of the funds constituting Putnam Investment Funds, referred to hereafter as the “Fund”) as of July 31, 2022, the related statement of operations for the year ended July 31, 2022, the statement of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period ended July 31, 2022, including the related notes, and the financial highlights for each of the three years in the period ended July 31, 2022 (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Fund as of July 31, 2022, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the two years in the period ended July 31, 2022 and the financial highlights for each of the three years in the period ended July 31, 2022 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

The financial statements of the Fund as of and for the year ended July 31, 2019 and the financial highlights for each of the periods ended on or prior to July 31, 2019 (not presented herein, other than the financial highlights) were audited by other auditors whose report dated September 6, 2019 expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements and financial highlights.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Fund’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Fund in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits of these financial statements in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of July 31, 2022 by correspondence with the custodian, transfer agent and brokers; when replies were not received from brokers, we performed other auditing procedures. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Boston, Massachusetts
September 7, 2022

We have served as the auditor of one or more investment companies in the Putnam Investments family of funds since at least 1957. We have not been able to determine the specific year we began serving as auditor.

Growth Opportunities Fund 23


The fund’s portfolio 7/31/22


COMMON STOCKS (97.3%)*	Shares	Value
Aerospace and defense (0.8%)
TransDigm Group, Inc. ^†	94,915	$59,069,401
		59,069,401
Automobiles (3.7%)
Tesla, Inc. ^†	320,051	285,309,464
		285,309,464
Building products (0.8%)
Johnson Controls International PLC	1,119,745	60,365,453
		60,365,453
Capital markets (2.2%)
Charles Schwab Corp. (The)	1,276,364	88,132,934
MSCI, Inc.	166,206	80,001,596
		168,134,530
Chemicals (1.1%)
Sherwin-Williams Co. (The)	358,409	86,713,473
		86,713,473
Commercial services and supplies (0.8%)
Waste Connections, Inc.	473,912	63,205,643
		63,205,643
Entertainment (2.2%)
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. ^†	886,360	83,308,976
Universal Music Group NV (Netherlands)	3,818,861	86,743,310
		170,052,286
Equity real estate investment trusts (REITs) (1.9%)
American Tower Corp.	556,438	150,700,104
		150,700,104
Food and staples retailing (3.5%)
Costco Wholesale Corp.	370,643	200,629,056
Walmart, Inc.	502,695	66,380,875
		267,009,931
Food products (1.0%)
Hershey Co. (The)	355,017	80,929,675
		80,929,675
Health-care equipment and supplies (2.2%)
DexCom, Inc. ^†	827,898	67,953,868
IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. ^†	151,070	60,304,123
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. ^†	202,191	46,538,302
		174,796,293
Health-care providers and services (5.2%)
HCA Healthcare, Inc.	283,031	60,121,445
Humana, Inc.	150,340	72,463,880
UnitedHealth Group, Inc.	501,079	271,755,185
		404,340,510
Hotels, restaurants, and leisure (2.5%)
Airbnb, Inc. Class A ^†	142,665	15,832,962
Booking Holdings, Inc. ^†	52,114	100,876,549
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. ^{† S}	47,450	74,222,239
		190,931,750


24 Growth Opportunities Fund


COMMON STOCKS (97.3%)* cont.	Shares	Value
Interactive media and services (6.0%)
Alphabet, Inc. Class C ^†	3,957,080	$461,553,811
		461,553,811
Internet and direct marketing retail (6.4%)
Amazon.com, Inc. ^†	3,673,897	495,792,400
		495,792,400
IT Services (7.4%)
Accenture PLC Class A	431,806	132,244,906
Mastercard, Inc. Class A	631,451	223,401,049
Visa, Inc. Class A ^S	1,011,359	214,519,357
		570,165,312
Life sciences tools and services (4.5%)
Danaher Corp.	551,716	160,808,663
IQVIA Holdings, Inc. ^†	533,995	128,302,979
Lonza Group AG (Switzerland)	91,250	55,611,532
		344,723,174
Machinery (1.1%)
Deere & Co.	248,221	85,184,483
		85,184,483
Personal products (1.2%)
Estee Lauder Cos., Inc. (The) Class A	345,896	94,464,198
		94,464,198
Pharmaceuticals (1.8%)
AstraZeneca PLC (United Kingdom)	595,914	78,332,869
Eli Lilly and Co.	189,563	62,497,025
		140,829,894
Road and rail (2.4%)
Uber Technologies, Inc. ^{† S}	2,689,568	63,070,370
Union Pacific Corp.	552,844	125,661,441
		188,731,811
Semiconductors and semiconductor equipment (3.3%)
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. ^†	404,460	38,209,336
Marvell Technology, Inc.	947,363	52,749,172
NVIDIA Corp.	890,358	161,715,724
		252,674,232
Software (20.1%)
Adobe, Inc. ^†	221,521	90,850,193
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. ^†	816,653	151,962,790
Crowdstrike Holdings, Inc. Class A ^†	300,198	55,116,353
Intuit, Inc.	199,065	90,807,481
Microsoft Corp.	3,174,413	891,184,706
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. ^{† S}	318,975	159,200,423
salesforce.com, Inc. ^†	244,034	44,907,137
ServiceNow, Inc. ^†	154,713	69,104,109
		1,553,133,192
Specialty retail (1.6%)
Home Depot, Inc. (The)	234,317	70,515,358
O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. ^†	77,609	54,604,916
		125,120,274


Growth Opportunities Fund 25


COMMON STOCKS (97.3%)* cont.	Shares	Value
Technology hardware, storage, and peripherals (10.8%)
Apple, Inc.	5,134,741	$834,446,760
		834,446,760
Textiles, apparel, and luxury goods (2.8%)
Lululemon Athletica, Inc. (Canada) ^†	300,062	93,172,252
Nike, Inc. Class B	1,089,706	125,229,010
		218,401,262
Total common stocks (cost $4,269,537,870)		$7,526,779,316


SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (4.8%)*	Shares	Value
Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC 2.01% ^d	174,680,400	$174,680,400
Putnam Short Term Investment Fund Class P 1.93% ^L	198,744,806	198,744,806
Total short-term investments (cost $373,425,206)		$373,425,206


TOTAL INVESTMENTS
Total investments (cost $4,642,963,076)	$7,900,204,522


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 August 1, 2021 through July 31, 2022 (the reporting period). Within the following notes to the portfolio, references to “Putnam Management” represent Putnam Investment Management, LLC, the fund’s manager, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Putnam Investments, LLC and references to “ASC 820” represent Accounting Standards Codification 820 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures.
^*	Percentages indicated are based on net assets of $7,735,334,853.
^†	This security is non-income-producing.
^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.
^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.
^S	Security on loan, in part or in entirety, at the close of the reporting period (Note 1).


26 Growth Opportunities Fund

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	$544,862,787	$86,743,310	$—
Consumer discretionary	1,315,555,150	—	—
Consumer staples	442,403,804	—	—
Financials	168,134,530	—	—
Health care	930,745,470	133,944,401	—
Industrials	456,556,791	—	—
Information technology	3,210,419,496	—	—
Materials	86,713,473	—	—
Real estate	150,700,104	—	—
Total common stocks	7,306,091,605	220,687,711	—
Short-term investments	—	373,425,206	—
Totals by level	$7,306,091,605	$594,112,917	$—
* Common stock classifications are presented at the sector level, which may differ from the fund’s portfolio presentation.
At the start and close of the reporting period, Level 3 investments in securities represented less than 1% of the fund’s net assets and were not considered a significant portion of the fund’s portfolio.

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


Growth Opportunities Fund 27

Statement of assets and liabilities 7/31/22


ASSETS
Investment in securities, at value, including $171,802,131 of securities on loan (Note 1):
Unaffiliated issuers (identified cost $4,269,537,870)	$7,526,779,316
Affiliated issuers (identified cost $373,425,206) (Notes 1 and 5)	373,425,206
Cash	10
Foreign currency (cost $2,673) (Note 1)	2,687
Dividends, interest and other receivables	2,636,476
Receivable for shares of the fund sold	17,758,208
Receivable for investments sold	29,427,287
Foreign tax reclaim	229,552
Prepaid assets	73,287
Total assets	7,950,332,029

LIABILITIES
Payable for investments purchased	27,011,617
Payable for shares of the fund repurchased	5,238,527
Payable for compensation of Manager (Note 2)	2,849,105
Payable for custodian fees (Note 2)	39,755
Payable for investor servicing fees (Note 2)	1,781,928
Payable for Trustee compensation and expenses (Note 2)	1,465,557
Payable for administrative services (Note 2)	28,499
Payable for distribution fees (Note 2)	1,218,043
Collateral on securities loaned, at value (Note 1)	174,680,400
Other accrued expenses	683,745
Total liabilities	214,997,176

Net assets	$7,735,334,853

REPRESENTED BY
Paid-in capital (Unlimited shares authorized) (Notes 1 and 4)	$4,053,486,167
Total distributable earnings (Note 1)	3,681,848,686
Total — Representing net assets applicable to capital shares outstanding	$7,735,334,853

(Continued on next page)

28 Growth Opportunities Fund

Statement of assets and liabilities cont.


COMPUTATION OF NET ASSET VALUE AND OFFERING PRICE
Net asset value and redemption price per class A share
($5,527,590,258 divided by 118,169,056 shares)	$46.78
Offering price per class A share (100/94.25 of $46.78)^*	$49.63
Net asset value and offering price per class B share ($25,939,823 divided by 709,139 shares)^**	$36.58
Net asset value and offering price per class C share ($119,507,110 divided by 3,191,401 shares)^**	$37.45
Net asset value, offering price and redemption price per class R share
($12,523,702 divided by 283,100 shares)	$44.24
Net asset value, offering price and redemption price per class R5 share
($2,416,354 divided by 48,092 shares)	$50.24
Net asset value, offering price and redemption price per class R6 share
($539,847,407 divided by 10,742,180 shares)	$50.25
Net asset value, offering price and redemption price per class Y share
($1,507,510,199 divided by 30,302,165 shares)	$49.75

^*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.

Growth Opportunities Fund 29

Statement of operations Year ended 7/31/22


INVESTMENT INCOME
Dividends (net of foreign tax of $219,647)	$43,589,803
Interest (including interest income of $642,689 from investments in affiliated issuers) (Note 5)	662,952
Securities lending (net of expenses) (Notes 1 and 5)	91,729
Total investment income	44,344,484

EXPENSES
Compensation of Manager (Note 2)	44,218,429
Investor servicing fees (Note 2)	12,443,482
Custodian fees (Note 2)	108,493
Trustee compensation and expenses (Note 2)	345,126
Distribution fees (Note 2)	17,783,703
Administrative services (Note 2)	248,323
Other	2,005,585
Total expenses	77,153,141
Expense reduction (Note 2)	(6,423)
Net expenses	77,146,718

Net investment loss	(32,802,234)

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS)
Net realized gain (loss) on:
Securities from unaffiliated issuers (Notes 1 and 3)	468,898,621
Foreign currency transactions (Note 1)	15,527
Written options (Note 1)	(2,515,708)
Total net realized gain	466,398,440
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:
Securities from unaffiliated issuers	(1,805,437,655)
Assets and liabilities in foreign currencies	(9,456)
Written options	4,033,573
Total change in net unrealized depreciation	(1,801,413,538)

Net loss on investments	(1,335,015,098)

Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations	$(1,367,817,332)

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

30 Growth Opportunities Fund

Statement of changes in net assets


INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS	Year ended 7/31/22	Year ended 7/31/21
Operations
Net investment loss	$(32,802,234)	$(38,547,621)
Net realized gain on investments
and foreign currency transactions	466,398,440	888,865,251
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)
of investments and assets and liabilities
in foreign currencies	(1,801,413,538)	1,382,257,580
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting
from operations	(1,367,817,332)	2,232,575,210
Distributions to shareholders (Note 1):
From ordinary income
Net realized short-term gain on investments
Class A	(45,260,838)	—
Class B	(365,464)	—
Class C	(1,292,689)	—
Class R	(110,632)	—
Class R5	(19,323)	—
Class R6	(3,841,036)	—
Class Y	(12,095,349)	—
From net realized long-term gain on investments
Class A	(558,217,008)	(198,354,084)
Class B	(4,507,394)	(2,229,797)
Class C	(15,943,164)	(7,424,248)
Class R	(1,364,463)	(570,202)
Class R5	(238,321)	(81,061)
Class R6	(47,372,774)	(16,966,822)
Class Y	(149,175,975)	(40,501,041)
Increase from capital share transactions (Note 4)	171,540,981	191,233,006
Total increase (decrease) in net assets	(2,036,080,781)	2,157,680,961

NET ASSETS
Beginning of year	9,771,415,634	7,613,734,673
End of year	$7,735,334,853	$9,771,415,634

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

Growth Opportunities Fund 31

Financial highlights
(For a common share outstanding throughout the period)


	INVESTMENT OPERATIONS				LESS DISTRIBUTIONS					RATIOS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA
												Ratio of net
	Net asset		Net realized								Ratio	investment
	value,		and unrealized	Total from	From net	From net		Net asset	Total return	Net assets,	of expenses	income (loss)	Portfolio
	beginning	Net investment	gain (loss)	investment	investment	realized gain	Total	value, end	at net asset	end of period	to average	to average	turnover
Period ended	of period	income (loss)^a	on investments	operations	income	on investments	distributions	of period	value (%)^b	(in thousands)	net assets (%)^c	net assets (%)	(%)
Class A
July 31, 2022	$60.13	(.23)	(7.80)	(8.03)	—	(5.32)	(5.32)	$46.78	(14.92)	$5,527,590	.92	(.43)	44
July 31, 2021	48.00	(.26)	14.11	13.85	—	(1.72)	(1.72)	60.13	29.50	6,953,705	.99	(.50)	49
July 31, 2020	37.72	(.06)	11.84	11.78	—	(1.50)	(1.50)	48.00	32.32	5,756,280	1.05	(.15)	45
July 31, 2019	35.44	(.05)	4.71	4.66	—^d	(2.38)	(2.38)	37.72	14.39	4,586,742	1.03	(.15)	40
July 31, 2018	28.92	(.01)	7.12	7.11	(.08)	(.51)	(.59)	35.44	24.91	4,146,380	.91	(.02)	73
Class B
July 31, 2022	$48.48	(.51)	(6.07)	(6.58)	—	(5.32)	(5.32)	$36.58	(15.56)	$25,940	1.67	(1.18)	44
July 31, 2021	39.29	(.53)	11.44	10.91	—	(1.72)	(1.72)	48.48	28.53	51,057	1.74	(1.24)	49
July 31, 2020	31.36	(.29)	9.72	9.43	—	(1.50)	(1.50)	39.29	31.36	56,457	1.80	(.88)	45
July 31, 2019	30.09	(.26)	3.91	3.65	—	(2.38)	(2.38)	31.36	13.54	60,486	1.78	(.89)	40
July 31, 2018	24.75	(.21)	6.06	5.85	—	(.51)	(.51)	30.09	23.95	74,078	1.66	(.76)	73
Class C
July 31, 2022	$49.51	(.51)	(6.23)	(6.74)	—	(5.32)	(5.32)	$37.45	(15.56)	$119,507	1.67	(1.18)	44
July 31, 2021	40.09	(.54)	11.68	11.14	—	(1.72)	(1.72)	49.51	28.53	170,111	1.74	(1.24)	49
July 31, 2020	31.98	(.30)	9.91	9.61	—	(1.50)	(1.50)	40.09	31.31	177,417	1.80	(.90)	45
July 31, 2019	30.63	(.27)	4.00	3.73	—	(2.38)	(2.38)	31.98	13.56	153,943	1.78	(.90)	40
July 31, 2018	25.18	(.21)	6.17	5.96	—	(.51)	(.51)	30.63	23.98	137,534	1.66	(.76)	73
Class R
July 31, 2022	$57.28	(.34)	(7.38)	(7.72)	—	(5.32)	(5.32)	$44.24	(15.14)	$12,524	1.17	(.68)	44
July 31, 2021	45.91	(.37)	13.46	13.09	—	(1.72)	(1.72)	57.28	29.18	14,731	1.24	(.74)	49
July 31, 2020	36.23	(.15)	11.33	11.18	—	(1.50)	(1.50)	45.91	31.99	15,852	1.30	(.40)	45
July 31, 2019	34.22	(.13)	4.52	4.39	—	(2.38)	(2.38)	36.23	14.10	11,933	1.28	(.39)	40
July 31, 2018	27.95	(.08)	6.88	6.80	(.02)	(.51)	(.53)	34.22	24.60	13,833	1.16	(.27)	73
Class R5
July 31, 2022	$64.06	(.11)	(8.39)	(8.50)	—	(5.32)	(5.32)	$50.24	(14.73)	$2,416	.68	(.18)	44
July 31, 2021	50.91	(.14)	15.01	14.87	—	(1.72)	(1.72)	64.06	29.82	3,130	.74	(.25)	49
July 31, 2020	39.82	.04	12.55	12.59	—	(1.50)	(1.50)	50.91	32.66	2,299	.78	.10	45
July 31, 2019	37.22	.06	4.96	5.02	(.04)	(2.38)	(2.42)	39.82	14.71	1,588	.76	.15	40
July 31, 2018	30.27	.09	7.46	7.55	(.09)	(.51)	(.60)	37.22	25.27	2,712	.63	.27	73
Class R6
July 31, 2022	$64.01	(.04)	(8.40)	(8.44)	—	(5.32)	(5.32)	$50.25	(14.65)	$539,847	.58	(.08)	44
July 31, 2021	50.83	(.09)	14.99	14.90	—	(1.72)	(1.72)	64.01	29.93	630,666	.64	(.16)	49
July 31, 2020	39.72	.08	12.53	12.61	—	(1.50)	(1.50)	50.83	32.80	456,204	.68	.19	45
July 31, 2019	37.19	.08	4.96	5.04	(.13)	(2.38)	(2.51)	39.72	14.83	279,329	.66	.21	40
July 31, 2018	30.31	.12	7.47	7.59	(.20)	(.51)	(.71)	37.19	25.40	150,112	.53	.35	73

See notes to financial highlights at the end of this section.

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


32 Growth Opportunities Fund	Growth Opportunities Fund 33

Financial highlights cont.

INVESTMENT OPERATIONS

LESS DISTRIBUTIONS

RATIOS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA

Ratio of net

Net asset

Net realized

Ratio

investment

value,

and unrealized

Total from

From net

Net asset

Total return

Net assets,

of expenses

income (loss)

Portfolio

beginning

Net investment

gain (loss)

investment

investment

realized gain

Total

value, end

at net asset

end of period

to average

turnover

Period ended

of period

income (loss)^a

on investments

operations

income

on investments

distributions

of period

value (%)^b

(in thousands)

net assets (%)^c

net assets (%)

(%)

Class Y

July 31, 2022

$63.48

(.10)

(8.31)

(8.41)

—

(5.32)

(5.32)

$49.75

(14.72)

$1,507,510

.67

(.18)

July 31, 2021

50.46

(.14)

14.88

14.74

—

(1.72)

(1.72)

63.48

29.83

1,948,015

.74

(.26)

July 31, 2020

39.49

.03

12.44

12.47

—

(1.50)

(1.50)

50.46

32.63

1,149,225

.80

.08

July 31, 2019

36.98

.03

4.95

4.98

(.09)

(2.38)

(2.47)

39.49

14.71

716,621

.78

.09

July 31, 2018

30.16

.08

7.41

7.49

(.16)

(.51)

(.67)

36.98

25.18

561,997

.66

.22

^aPer share net investment income (loss) has been determined on the basis of the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period.

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

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

^dAmount represents less than $0.01 per share.

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


34 Growth Opportunities Fund	Growth Opportunities Fund 35

Notes to financial statements 7/31/22

Within the following Notes to financial statements, references to “State Street” represent State Street Bank and Trust Company, references to “the SEC” represent the Securities and Exchange Commission, references to “Putnam Management” represent Putnam Investment Management, LLC, the fund’s manager, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Putnam Investments, LLC and references to “OTC”, if any, represent over-the-counter. Unless otherwise noted, the “reporting period” represents the period from August 1, 2021 through July 31, 2022.

Putnam Growth Opportunities Fund (the fund) is a diversified series of Putnam Investment Funds (the Trust), a Massachusetts business trust registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, as an open-end management investment company. The goal of the fund is to seek capital appreciation. The fund invests mainly in common stocks of large U.S. companies, with a focus on growth stocks. Growth stocks are stocks of companies whose earnings are expected to grow faster than those of similar firms, and whose business growth and other characteristics may lead to an increase in stock price. 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.

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 charge	Conversion feature
		1.00% on certain redemptions of shares
Class A	Up to 5.75%	bought with no initial sales charge	None
			Converts to class A shares
Class B^*	None	5.00% phased out over six years	after 8 years
			Converts to class A shares
Class C	None	1.00% eliminated after one year	after 8 years
Class R^**	None	None	None
Class R5^**	None	None	None
Class R6^**	None	None	None
Class Y^**	None	None	None

^*Purchases of class B shares are closed to new and existing investors except by exchange from class B shares of another Putnam fund or through dividend and/or capital gains reinvestment.

^**Not available to all investors.

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 fund’s Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust, any claims asserted against or on behalf of the Putnam Funds, including claims against Trustees and Officers, must be brought in state and federal courts located within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Note 1: Significant accounting policies

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.

36 Growth Opportunities Fund

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. The Trustees have formed a Pricing Committee to oversee the implementation of these procedures and have delegated responsibility for valuing the fund’s assets in accordance with these procedures to Putnam Management. Putnam Management has established an internal Valuation Committee that is responsible for making fair value determinations, evaluating the effectiveness of the pricing policies of the fund and reporting to the Pricing Committee.

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 its last reported bid price 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.

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. Accordingly, on certain days, the fund will fair value certain foreign equity securities taking into account multiple factors including movements in the U.S. securities markets, currency valuations and comparisons to the valuation of American Depository Receipts, exchange-traded funds and futures contracts. The foreign equity 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. The number of days on which fair value prices will be used will depend on market activity and it is possible that fair value prices will be used by the fund to a significant extent. 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. Short-term securities with remaining maturities of 60 days or less are valued using an independent pricing service approved by the Trustees, and are classified as Level 2 securities.

To the extent a pricing service or dealer is unable to value a security or provides a valuation that Putnam Management does not believe accurately reflects the security’s fair value, the security will be valued at fair value by Putnam Management 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.

Growth Opportunities Fund 37

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. 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 to gain exposure to securities.

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 or, if no sales are reported, the last bid price for purchased options and the last ask price for written options. OTC traded options are valued using prices supplied by dealers.

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.

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 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.

38 Growth Opportunities Fund

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 did not have a net liability position on open derivative contracts subject to the Master 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, net of expenses, is included in investment income on the Statement of operations. Cash collateral is invested in Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC, a limited liability company 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 $174,680,400 and the value of securities loaned amounted to $171,802,131.

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 $317.5 million unsecured committed line of credit and a $235.5 million unsecured uncommitted line of credit, both 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. 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.

The fund may also be subject to taxes imposed by governments of countries in which it invests. Such taxes are generally based on either income or gains earned or repatriated. The fund accrues and applies such taxes to net investment income, net realized gains and net unrealized gains as income and/or capital gains are earned. In

Growth Opportunities Fund 39

some cases, the fund may be entitled to reclaim all or a portion of such taxes, and such reclaim amounts, if any, are reflected as an asset on the fund’s books. In many cases, however, the fund may not receive such amounts for an extended period of time, depending on the country of investment.

Pursuant to federal income tax regulations applicable to regulated investment companies, the fund has elected to defer $15,768,125 to its fiscal year ending July 31, 2023 of late year ordinary losses ((i) ordinary losses recognized between January 1, 2022 and July 31, 2022, and (ii) specified ordinary and currency losses recognized between November 1, 2021 and July 31, 2022).

Distributions to shareholders Distributions to shareholders from net investment income 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. These differences include temporary and/or permanent differences from losses on wash sale transactions, from late year loss deferrals and from net operating loss. 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. At the close of the reporting period, the fund reclassified $17,034,109 to decrease accumulated net investment loss, $17,007,044 to decrease paid-in capital and $27,065 to decrease accumulated net realized gain.

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 tax basis components of distributable earnings and the federal tax cost as of the close of the reporting period were as follows:


Unrealized appreciation	$3,464,834,624
Unrealized depreciation	(242,240,938)
Net unrealized appreciation	3,222,593,686
Undistributed long-term gains	475,028,600
Undistributed short-term gains	—
Late year ordinary loss deferral	(15,768,125)
Cost for federal income tax purposes	$4,677,610,836

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

In addition, the monthly management fee consists of the monthly base fee plus or minus a performance adjustment for the month. The performance adjustment is determined based on performance over the thirty-six month period then ended. Each month, the performance adjustment is calculated by multiplying the performance adjustment rate and the fund’s average net assets over the performance period and dividing the result by twelve. The resulting dollar amount is added to, or subtracted from the base fee for that month. The performance adjustment rate is equal to 0.03 multiplied by the difference between the fund’s annualized performance (measured by the fund’s class A shares) and the annualized performance of the Russell 1000 Growth Index each measured over

40 Growth Opportunities Fund

the performance period. The maximum annualized performance adjustment rate is +/– 0.12%. The monthly base fee is determined based on the fund’s average net assets for the month, while the performance adjustment is determined based on the fund’s average net assets over the thirty-six month performance period. This means it is possible that, if the fund underperforms significantly over the performance period, and the fund’s assets have declined significantly over that period, the negative performance adjustment may exceed the base fee. In this event, Putnam Management would make a payment to the fund.

Because the performance adjustment is based on the fund’s performance relative to its applicable benchmark index, and not its absolute performance, the performance adjustment could increase Putnam Management’s fee even if the fund’s shares lose value during the performance period provided that the fund outperformed its benchmark index, and could decrease Putnam Management’s fee even if the fund’s shares increase in value during the performance period provided that the fund underperformed its benchmark index.

For the reporting period, the management fee represented an effective rate (excluding the impact of any expense waiver in effect) of 0.498% of the fund’s average net assets, which included an effective base fee of 0.542% and a decrease of 0.044% ($3,969,339) based on performance.

Putnam Management has contractually agreed, through November 30, 2023, 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.

Putnam Investments Limited (PIL), an affiliate of Putnam Management, is 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. If Putnam Management were to engage the services of PIL, Putnam Management would pay a quarterly sub-management fee to PIL for its services at an annual rate of 0.25% (prior to July 1, 2022, the annual rate was 0.35%) of the average net assets of the portion of the fund managed by PIL.

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.

Putnam Investor Services, Inc., an affiliate of Putnam Management, provides investor servicing agent functions to the fund. Putnam Investor Services, Inc. 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. Putnam Investor Services, Inc. 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 R5 shares paid a monthly fee based on the average net assets of class R5 shares at an annual rate of 0.15%.

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	$9,314,995	Class R5	4,250
Class B	56,411	Class R6	289,919
Class C	213,153	Class Y	2,543,951
Class R	20,803	Total	$12,443,482

The fund has entered into expense offset arrangements with Putnam Investor Services, Inc. and State Street whereby Putnam Investor Services, Inc.’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 $6,423 under the expense offset arrangements.

Growth Opportunities Fund 41

Each Independent Trustee of the fund receives an annual Trustee fee, of which $5,819, 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 on or after July 1, 1995. 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 Investment Company Act of 1940. The purpose of the Plans is to compensate Putnam Retail Management Limited Partnership, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Putnam Investments, LLC, for services provided and expenses incurred in distributing shares of the fund. The Plans provide payments by the fund to Putnam Retail Management Limited Partnership 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 %	Amount
Class A	0.35%	0.25%	$15,871,103
Class B	1.00%	1.00%	386,271
Class C	1.00%	1.00%	1,455,443
Class R	1.00%	0.50%	70,886
Total			$17,783,703

For the reporting period, Putnam Retail Management Limited Partnership, acting as underwriter, received net commissions of $502,782 from the sale of class A shares and received $1,004 and $1,644 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 assessed on certain redemptions of class A shares. For the reporting period, Putnam Retail Management Limited Partnership, acting as underwriter, received $702 on class A redemptions.

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)	$3,864,139,218	$4,661,469,907
U.S. government securities (Long-term)	—	—
Total	$3,864,139,218	$4,661,469,907

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.

42 Growth Opportunities Fund

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:


	YEAR ENDED 7/31/22		YEAR ENDED 7/31/21
Class A	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	4,079,700	$221,015,129	7,023,625	$369,128,532
Shares issued in connection with
reinvestment of distributions	9,944,184	565,525,763	3,639,822	185,558,161
	14,023,884	786,540,892	10,663,447	554,686,693
Shares repurchased	(11,493,828)	(613,557,885)	(14,936,211)	(781,306,657)
Net increase (decrease)	2,530,056	$172,983,007	(4,272,764)	$(226,619,964)

	YEAR ENDED 7/31/22		YEAR ENDED 7/31/21
Class B	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	13,136	$607,630	42,781	$1,796,401
Shares issued in connection with
reinvestment of distributions	102,041	4,560,232	50,533	2,087,530
	115,177	5,167,862	93,314	3,883,931
Shares repurchased	(459,147)	(19,554,612)	(477,046)	(20,445,075)
Net decrease	(343,970)	$(14,386,750)	(383,732)	$(16,561,144)

	YEAR ENDED 7/31/22		YEAR ENDED 7/31/21
Class C	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	474,025	$20,531,371	866,935	$37,432,879
Shares issued in connection with
reinvestment of distributions	358,770	16,413,746	169,897	7,166,277
	832,795	36,945,117	1,036,832	44,599,156
Shares repurchased	(1,077,354)	(47,077,176)	(2,026,102)	(87,439,885)
Net decrease	(244,559)	$(10,132,059)	(989,270)	$(42,840,729)

	YEAR ENDED 7/31/22		YEAR ENDED 7/31/21
Class R	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	57,141	$3,117,376	71,447	$3,578,639
Shares issued in connection with
reinvestment of distributions	27,307	1,471,032	11,352	552,257
	84,448	4,588,408	82,799	4,130,896
Shares repurchased	(58,516)	(2,985,463)	(170,892)	(8,680,937)
Net increase (decrease)	25,932	$1,602,945	(88,093)	$(4,550,041)

Growth Opportunities Fund 43


	YEAR ENDED 7/31/22		YEAR ENDED 7/31/21
Class R5	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	3,509	$195,550	6,489	$355,854
Shares issued in connection with
reinvestment of distributions	4,225	257,644	1,495	81,061
	7,734	453,194	7,984	436,915
Shares repurchased	(8,509)	(471,282)	(4,270)	(234,814)
Net increase (decrease)	(775)	$(18,088)	3,714	$202,101

	YEAR ENDED 7/31/22		YEAR ENDED 7/31/21
Class R6	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	3,455,244	$190,654,172	4,895,223	$273,504,149
Shares issued in connection with
reinvestment of distributions	799,902	48,762,039	297,777	16,124,602
	4,255,146	239,416,211	5,193,000	289,628,751
Shares repurchased	(3,365,596)	(190,459,407)	(4,316,171)	(247,044,822)
Net increase	889,550	$48,956,804	876,829	$42,583,929

	YEAR ENDED 7/31/22		YEAR ENDED 7/31/21
Class Y	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	7,319,136	$407,722,560	16,873,715	$936,484,756
Shares issued in connection with
reinvestment of distributions	2,505,757	151,297,604	676,634	36,355,572
	9,824,893	559,020,164	17,550,349	972,840,328
Shares repurchased	(10,211,586)	(586,485,042)	(9,635,205)	(533,821,474)
Net increase (decrease)	(386,693)	$(27,464,878)	7,915,144	$439,018,854

Note 5: Affiliated transactions

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


					Shares
					outstanding
					and fair
	Fair value as	Purchase	Sale	Investment	value as
Name of affiliate	of 7/31/21	cost	proceeds	income	of 7/31/22
Short-term investments
Putnam Cash Collateral
Pool, LLC^*	$206,723,000	$1,267,596,441	$1,299,639,041	$255,094	$174,680,400
Putnam Short Term
Investment Fund^**	83,480,559	1,698,039,870	1,582,775,623	642,689	198,744,806
Total Short-term
investments	$290,203,559	$2,965,636,311	$2,882,414,664	$897,783	$373,425,206

^*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 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.

44 Growth Opportunities Fund

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.

Beginning in January 2020, global financial markets have experienced, and may continue to experience, significant volatility resulting from the spread of a virus known as Covid–19. The outbreak of Covid–19 has resulted in travel and border restrictions, quarantines, supply chain disruptions, lower consumer demand, and general market uncertainty. The effects of Covid–19 have adversely affected, and may continue to adversely affect, the global economy, the economies of certain nations, and individual issuers, all of which may negatively impact the fund’s performance.

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)	$11,000
Written equity option contracts (contract amount)	$11,000
Warrants (number of warrants)	2,000

As of the close of the reporting period, the fund did not hold any derivative instruments.

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	Total
Equity contracts	$11,992,017	$11,992,017
Total	$11,992,017	$11,992,017


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	Total
Equity contracts	$(15,824,913)	$(15,824,913)
Total	$(15,824,913)	$(15,824,913)

Growth Opportunities Fund 45

Federal tax information (Unaudited)

Pursuant to §852 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, the fund hereby designates $531,232,132 as a capital gain dividend with respect to the taxable year ended July 31, 2022, or, if subsequently determined to be different, the net capital gain of such year.

For the reporting period, pursuant to §871(k) of the Internal Revenue Code, the fund hereby designates no monies of distributions paid as qualifying to be taxed as interest-related dividends, and $62,985,331 to be taxed as short-term capital gain dividends for nonresident alien shareholders.

The Form 1099 that will be mailed to you in January 2023 will show the tax status of all distributions paid to your account in calendar 2022.

46 Growth Opportunities Fund

Shareholder meeting results (Unaudited)

June 29, 2022 special meeting

At the meeting, each of the nominees for Trustees was elected, with all funds of the Trust voting together as a single class, as follows:


	Votes for	Votes withheld
Liaquat Ahamed	275,864,949	11,885,697
Barbara M. Baumann	276,817,419	10,933,227
Katinka Domotorffy	276,491,274	11,259,372
Catharine Bond Hill	277,377,580	10,373,066
Kenneth R. Leibler	277,519,588	10,231,058
Jennifer Williams Murphy	276,865,779	10,884,867
Marie Pillai	276,342,951	11,407,695
George Putnam, III	282,562,747	5,187,899
Robert L. Reynolds	283,034,080	4,716,566
Manoj P. Singh	276,110,551	11,640,095
Mona K. Sutphen	276,477,167	11,273,479

All tabulations are rounded to the nearest whole number.

A proposal to approve a change to the fund’s sub-classification under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, from “diversified” to “non-diversified” was adjourned to a meeting date of September 29, 2022.

Growth Opportunities Fund 47

48 Growth Opportunities Fund

^*Mr. Reynolds is an “interested person” (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940) of the fund and Putnam Investments. He is President and Chief Executive Officer of Putnam Investments, as well as the President of your fund and each of the other Putnam funds.

The address of each Trustee is 100 Federal Street, Boston, MA 02110.

As of July 31, 2022, there were 100 funds in the Putnam fund complex, including 96 Putnam Funds and four funds in Putnam ETF Trust. Each Trustee serves as Trustee of all Putnam Funds. In addition to serving as Trustees of the Putnam Funds, Dr. Hill, Mses. Domotorffy and Sutphen, and Mr. Ahamed serve as Trustees of Putnam ETF Trust.

Each Trustee serves for an indefinite term, until his or her resignation, retirement at age 75, removal, or death.

Growth Opportunities Fund 49

Officers

In addition to Robert L. Reynolds, the other officers of the fund are shown below:


James F. Clark (Born 1974)	Alan G. McCormack (Born 1964)
Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer	Vice President and Derivatives Risk Manager
Since 2016	Since 2022
Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Risk Officer,	Head of Quantitative Equities and Risk,
Putnam Investments, and Chief Compliance Officer,	Putnam Investments
Putnam Management
	Denere P. Poulack (Born 1968)
Nancy E. Florek (Born 1957)	Assistant Vice President, Assistant Clerk,
Vice President, Director of Proxy Voting and Corporate	and Assistant Treasurer
Governance, Assistant Clerk, and Assistant Treasurer	Since 2004
Since 2000
	Janet C. Smith (Born 1965)
Michael J. Higgins (Born 1976)	Vice President, Principal Financial Officer, Principal
Vice President, Treasurer, and Clerk	Accounting Officer, and Assistant Treasurer
Since 2010	Since 2007
	Head of Fund Administration Services,
Jonathan S. Horwitz (Born 1955)	Putnam Investments and Putnam Management
Executive Vice President, Principal Executive Officer,
and Compliance Liaison	Stephen J. Tate (Born 1974)
Since 2004	Vice President and Chief Legal Officer
	Since 2021
Richard T. Kircher (Born 1962)	General Counsel, Putnam Investments,
Vice President and BSA Compliance Officer	Putnam Management, and Putnam Retail Management
Since 2019
Assistant Director, Operational Compliance, Putnam	Mark C. Trenchard (Born 1962)
Investments and Putnam Retail Management	Vice President
	Since 2002
Martin Lemaire (Born 1984)	Director of Operational Compliance, Putnam
Vice President and Derivatives Risk Manager	Investments and Putnam Retail Management
Since 2022
Risk Manager and Risk Analyst, Putnam Investments

Susan G. Malloy (Born 1957)
Vice President and Assistant Treasurer
Since 2007
Head of Accounting and Middle Office Services,
Putnam Investments and Putnam Management

The principal occupations of the officers for the past five years have been with the employers as shown above, although in some cases they have held different positions with such employers. The address of each officer is 100 Federal Street, Boston, MA 02110.

50 Growth Opportunities Fund

Putnam family of funds

The following is a list of Putnam’s open-end mutual funds offered to the public. Investors should carefully consider the investment objective, risks, charges, and expenses of a fund before investing. For a prospectus, or a summary prospectus if available, containing this and other information for any Putnam fund or product, contact your financial advisor or call Putnam Investor Services at 1-800-225-1581. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.


Blend	Income
Emerging Markets Equity Fund	Convertible Securities Fund
Focused Equity Fund	Diversified Income Trust
Focused International Equity Fund	Floating Rate Income Fund
International Capital Opportunities Fund	Global Income Trust
International Equity Fund	Government Money Market Fund^*
Multi-Cap Core Fund	High Yield Fund
Research Fund	Income Fund
	Money Market Fund^†
Global Sector	Mortgage Opportunities Fund
Global Health Care Fund	Mortgage Securities Fund
Global Technology Fund	Short Duration Bond Fund
	Ultra Short Duration Income Fund
Growth
Growth Opportunities Fund	Tax-free Income
Small Cap Growth Fund	Intermediate-Term Municipal Income Fund
Sustainable Future Fund	Short-Term Municipal Income Fund
Sustainable Leaders Fund	Strategic Intermediate Municipal Fund
	Tax Exempt Income Fund
Value	Tax-Free High Yield Fund
International Value Fund
Large Cap Value Fund	State tax-free income funds:^‡
Small Cap Value Fund	California, Massachusetts, Minnesota,
	New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania

Growth Opportunities Fund 51


Absolute Return	Asset Allocation (cont.)
Fixed Income Absolute Return Fund	Putnam Retirement Advantage Maturity Fund
Multi-Asset Absolute Return Fund	Putnam Retirement Advantage 2065 Fund
	Putnam Retirement Advantage 2060 Fund
Putnam PanAgora^§	Putnam Retirement Advantage 2055 Fund
Putnam PanAgora Risk Parity Fund	Putnam Retirement Advantage 2050 Fund
	Putnam Retirement Advantage 2045 Fund
Asset Allocation	Putnam Retirement Advantage 2040 Fund
Dynamic Risk Allocation Fund	Putnam Retirement Advantage 2035 Fund
George Putnam Balanced Fund	Putnam Retirement Advantage 2030 Fund
	Putnam Retirement Advantage 2025 Fund
Dynamic Asset Allocation Balanced Fund
Dynamic Asset Allocation Conservative Fund	RetirementReady^® Maturity Fund
Dynamic Asset Allocation Growth Fund	RetirementReady^® 2065 Fund
	RetirementReady^® 2060 Fund
	RetirementReady^® 2055 Fund
	RetirementReady^® 2050 Fund
	RetirementReady^® 2045 Fund
	RetirementReady^® 2040 Fund
	RetirementReady^® 2035 Fund
	RetirementReady^® 2030 Fund
	RetirementReady^® 2025 Fund

^*You could lose money by investing in the fund. Although the fund seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it cannot guarantee it will do so. An investment in the fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The fund’s sponsor has no legal obligation to provide financial support to the fund, and you should not expect that the sponsor will provide financial support to the fund at any time.

^†You could lose money by investing in the fund. Although the fund seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it cannot guarantee it will do so. The fund may impose a fee upon sale of your shares or may temporarily suspend your ability to sell shares if the fund’s liquidity falls below required minimums because of market conditions or other factors. An investment in the fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The fund’s sponsor has no legal obligation to provide financial support to the fund, and you should not expect that the sponsor will provide financial support to the fund at any time.

^‡Not available in all states.

^§Sub-advised by PanAgora Asset Management.

Check your account balances and the most recent month-end performance in the Individual Investors section at putnam.com.

52 Growth Opportunities Fund

Fund information

Founded over 80 years ago, Putnam Investments was built around the concept that a balance between risk and reward is the hallmark of a well-rounded financial program. We manage funds across income, value, blend, growth, sustainable, asset allocation, absolute return, and global sector categories.


Investment Manager	Trustees	Richard T. Kircher
Putnam Investment	Kenneth R. Leibler, Chair	Vice President and
Management, LLC	Barbara M. Baumann, Vice Chair	BSA Compliance Officer
100 Federal Street	Liaquat Ahamed
Boston, MA 02110	Katinka Domotorffy	Martin Lemaire
	Catharine Bond Hill	Vice President and
Investment Sub-Advisor	Jennifer Williams Murphy	Derivatives Risk Manager
Putnam Investments Limited	Marie Pillai
16 St James’s Street	George Putnam, III	Susan G. Malloy
London, England SW1A 1ER	Robert L. Reynolds	Vice President and
	Manoj P. Singh	Assistant Treasurer
Marketing Services	Mona K. Sutphen
Putnam Retail Management		Alan G. McCormack
Limited Partnership	Officers	Vice President and
100 Federal Street	Robert L. Reynolds	Derivatives Risk Manager
Boston, MA 02110	President
		Denere P. Poulack
Custodian	James F. Clark	Assistant Vice President,
State Street Bank	Vice President, Chief Compliance	Assistant Clerk, and
and Trust Company	Officer, and Chief Risk Officer	Assistant Treasurer

Legal Counsel	Nancy E. Florek	Janet C. Smith
Ropes & Gray LLP	Vice President, Director of	Vice President,
	Proxy Voting and Corporate	Principal Financial Officer,
Independent Registered	Governance, Assistant Clerk,	Principal Accounting Officer,
Public Accounting Firm	and Assistant Treasurer	and Assistant Treasurer
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
	Michael J. Higgins	Stephen J. Tate
	Vice President, Treasurer,	Vice President and
	and Clerk	Chief Legal Officer

	Jonathan S. Horwitz	Mark C. Trenchard
	Executive Vice President,	Vice President
	Principal Executive Officer, and
	Compliance Liaison

This report is for the information of shareholders of Putnam Growth Opportunities Fund. It may also be used as sales literature when preceded or accompanied by the current prospectus, the most recent copy of Putnam’s Quarterly Performance Summary, and Putnam’s Quarterly Ranking Summary. For more recent performance, please visit putnam.com. Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of a fund, which are described in its prospectus. For this and other information or to request a prospectus or summary prospectus, call 1-800-225-1581 toll free. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. The fund’s Statement of Additional Information contains additional information about the fund’s Trustees and is available without charge upon request by calling 1-800-225-1581.


	Item 2. Code of Ethics:

(a) The fund’s principal executive, financial and accounting officers are employees of Putnam Investment Management, LLC, the Fund’s investment manager. As such they are subject to a comprehensive Code of Ethics adopted and administered by Putnam Investments which is designed to protect the interests of the firm and its clients. The Fund has adopted a Code of Ethics which incorporates the Code of Ethics of Putnam Investments with respect to all of its officers and Trustees who are employees of Putnam Investment Management, LLC. For this reason, the Fund has not adopted a separate code of ethics governing its principal executive, financial and accounting officers.


	Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert:

The Funds’ Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee is comprised solely of Trustees who are “independent” (as such term has been defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in regulations implementing Section 407 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (the “Regulations”)). The Trustees believe that each member of the Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee also possesses a combination of knowledge and experience with respect to financial accounting matters, as well as other attributes, that qualifies him or her for service on the Committee. In addition, the Trustees have determined that each of Dr. Hill and Mr. Singh qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” (as such term has been defined by the Regulations) based on their review of his or her pertinent experience and education.The SEC has stated, and the funds’ amended and restated agreement and Declaration of Trust provides, that the designation or identification of a person as an audit committee financial expert pursuant to this Item 3 of Form N-CSR does not impose on such person any duties, obligations or liability that are greater than the duties, obligations and liability imposed on such person as a member of the Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee and the Board of Trustees in the absence of such designation or identification.


	Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services:


	The following table presents fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for services rendered to the fund by the fund’s independent auditor:


Fiscal year ended	Audit Fees	Audit-Related Fees	Tax Fees	All Other Fees


July 31, 2022	$93,325	$ —	$5,894	$ —
July 31, 2021	$98,384	$ —	$6,125	$ —


	For the fiscal years ended July 31, 2022 and July 31, 2021, the fund’s independent auditor billed aggregate non-audit fees in the amounts of $334,845 and $315,425 respectively, to the fund, Putnam Management and any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with Putnam Management that provides ongoing services to the fund.


	Audit Fees represent fees billed for the fund’s last two fiscal years relating to the audit and review of the financial statements included in annual reports and registration statements, and other services that are normally provided in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements.


	Audit-Related Fees represent fees billed in the fund’s last two fiscal years for services traditionally performed by the fund’s auditor, including accounting consultation for proposed transactions or concerning financial accounting and reporting standards and other audit or attest services not required by statute or regulation.


	Tax Fees represent fees billed in the fund’s last two fiscal years for tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice services. Tax planning and tax advice services include assistance with tax audits, employee benefit plans and requests for rulings or technical advice from taxing authorities.


	Pre-Approval Policies of the Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee. The Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee of the Putnam funds has determined that, as a matter of policy, all work performed for the funds by the funds’ independent auditors will be pre-approved by the Committee itself and thus will generally not be subject to pre-approval procedures.

The Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee also has adopted a policy to pre-approve the engagement by Putnam Management and certain of its affiliates of the funds’ independent auditors, even in circumstances where pre-approval is not required by applicable law. Any such requests by Putnam Management or certain of its affiliates are typically submitted in writing to the Committee and explain, among other things, the nature of the proposed engagement, the estimated fees, and why this work should be performed by that particular audit firm as opposed to another one. In reviewing such requests, the Committee considers, among other things, whether the provision of such services by the audit firm are compatible with the independence of the audit firm.


	The following table presents fees billed by the fund’s independent auditor for services required to be approved pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2–01 of Regulation S-X.


Fiscal year ended	Audit-Related Fees	Tax Fees	All Other Fees	Total Non-Audit Fees

July 31, 2022	$ —	$328,951	$ —	$ —
July 31, 2021	$ —	$309,300	$ —	$ —


	Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants


	Not applicable


	Item 6. Schedule of Investments:


	The registrant’s schedule of investments in unaffiliated issuers is included in the report to shareholders in Item 1 above.


	Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures For Closed-End Management Investment Companies:


	Not applicable


	Item 8. Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Investment Companies


	Not Applicable


	Item 9. Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Companies and Affiliated Purchasers:


	Not applicable


	Item 10. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders:


	Not applicable


	Item 11. 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 12. Disclosures of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Management Investment Companies:


	Not Applicable


	Item 13. Exhibits:


	(a)(1) The Code of Ethics of The Putnam Funds, which incorporates the Code of Ethics of Putnam Investments, is filed herewith.


	(a)(2) Separate certifications for the principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the registrant as required by Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, 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 Investment Funds


	By (Signature and Title):


	/s/ Janet C. Smith Janet C. Smith Principal Accounting Officer


	Date: September 29, 2022


	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: September 29, 2022


	By (Signature and Title):


	/s/ Janet C. Smith Janet C. Smith Principal Financial Officer


	Date: September 29, 2022

Putnam Research Fund (PNRAX) N-CSRCertified annual shareholder report (management investment company)