Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") Supplement
dated July 21, 1997 to:
PUTNAM AMERICAN GOVERNMENT INCOME FUND
SAI dated January 30, 1997
PUTNAM ASIA PACIFIC GROWTH FUND
SAI dated January 30, 1997
PUTNAM ASSET ALLOCATION FUNDS
SAI dated January 30, 1997
PUTNAM BALANCED RETIREMENT FUND
SAI dated February 28, 1997
PUTNAM CAPITAL APPRECIATION FUND
SAI dated September 30, 1996
PUTNAM CONVERTIBLE INCOME-GROWTH TRUST
SAI dated February 28, 1997
PUTNAM DIVERSIFIED INCOME TRUST
SAI dated January 30, 1997
PUTNAM DIVERSIFIED INCOME TRUST II
SAI dated May 17, 1996
PUTNAM EMERGING MARKETS FUND
SAI dated October 30, 1996
PUTNAM EQUITY INCOME FUND
SAI dated March 30, 1997
PUTNAM EUROPE GROWTH FUND
SAI dated October 30, 1996
PUTNAM FEDERAL INCOME TRUST
SAI dated February 28, 1997
THE GEORGE PUTNAM FUND OF BOSTON
SAI dated November 30, 1996
THE PUTNAM FUND FOR GROWTH AND INCOME
SAI dated February 28, 1997
PUTNAM GLOBAL GOVERNMENTAL INCOME TRUST
SAI dated February 28, 1997
PUTNAM GLOBAL NATURAL RESOURCES FUND
SAI dated December 30, 1996
PUTNAM GROWTH AND INCOME FUND II
SAI dated March 30, 1997
PUTNAM HEALTH SCIENCES TRUST
SAI dated December 30, 1996
PUTNAM HIGH YIELD ADVANTAGE FUND
SAI dated March 30, 1997
PUTNAM HIGH YIELD TOTAL RETURN FUND
SAI dated January 1, 1997
PUTNAM HIGH YIELD TRUST
SAI dated December 30, 1996
PUTNAM INCOME FUND
SAI dated February 28, 1997
PUTNAM INTERMEDIATE U.S. GOVERNMENT INCOME FUND
SAI dated March 30, 1997
PUTNAM INTERNATIONAL GROWTH FUND
SAI dated October 30, 1996
PUTNAM INTERNATIONAL GROWTH AND INCOME FUND
SAI dated April 1, 1997
PUTNAM INTERNATIONAL NEW OPPORTUNITIES FUND
SAI dated December 31, 1996
PUTNAM INTERNATIONAL VOYAGER FUND
SAI dated October 30, 1996
PUTNAM INVESTORS FUND
SAI dated November 30, 1996
PUTNAM NEW OPPORTUNITIES FUND
SAI dated October 30, 1996
PUTNAM NEW VALUE FUND
SAI dated December 31, 1996
PUTNAM OTC & EMERGING GROWTH FUND
SAI dated December 16, 1996
PUTNAM U.S. GOVERNMENT INCOME TRUST
SAI dated January 30, 1997
PUTNAM UTILITIES GROWTH AND INCOME FUND
SAI dated February 28, 1997
PUTNAM VISTA FUND
SAI dated November 30, 1996
PUTNAM VOYAGER FUND
SAI dated November 30, 1996
1. The section of each SAI entitled "How to buy shares --
General -- Sales without sales charges or contingent deferred
sales charges" is replaced with the following:
HOW TO BUY SHARES
Sales without sales charges or contingent deferred sales charges.
The fund may sell shares without a sales charge or CDSC to:
(i) current and retired Trustees of the fund; officers of the fund;
directors and current and retired U.S. full-time employees of Putnam
Management, Putnam Mutual Funds, their parent corporations and certain
corporate affiliates; family members of and employee benefit plans for
the foregoing; and partnerships, trusts or other entities in which any
of the foregoing has a substantial interest;
(ii) employer-sponsored retirement plans, for the repurchase
of shares in connection with repayment of plan loans made to
plan participants (if the sum loaned was obtained by
redeeming shares of a Putnam fund sold with a sales charge)
(not offered by tax-exempt funds);
(iii) clients of administrators of tax-qualified employer-
sponsored retirement plans which have entered into
agreements with Putnam Mutual Funds (not offered by
tax-exempt funds);
(iv) registered representatives and other employees of
broker-dealers having sales agreements with Putnam Mutual
Funds; employees of financial institutions having sales
agreements with Putnam Mutual Funds or otherwise having an
arrangement with any such broker-dealer or financial
institution with respect to sales of fund shares; and
their spouses and children under age 21 (Putnam Mutual
Funds is regarded as the dealer of record for all such
accounts);
(v) investors meeting certain requirements who sold shares
of certain Putnam closed-end funds pursuant to a tender
offer by such closed-end fund;
(vi) a trust department of any financial institution
purchasing shares of the fund in its capacity as trustee
of any trust, if the value of the shares of the fund and
other Putnam funds purchased or held by all such trusts
exceeds $1 million in the aggregate; and
<PAGE>
(vii) "wrap accounts" maintained for clients of broker-
dealers, financial institutions or financial planners who
have entered into agreements with Putnam Mutual Funds with
respect to such accounts.
In addition, the fund may issue its shares at net asset value
without an initial sales charge or a CDSC in connection with the
acquisition of substantially all of the securities owned by other
investment companies or personal holding companies, and the CDSC
will be waived on redemptions of shares arising out of death or
post-purchase disability or in connection with certain
withdrawals from IRA or other retirement plans. Up to 12% of the
value of shares subject to a systematic withdrawal plan may also
be redeemed each year without a CDSC. The fund may sell class M
shares at net asset value to members of qualified groups. See
"Group purchases of class A and class M shares" below. Class A
shares are available without a front-end sales charge to
employer-sponsored retirement plans as described below.
2. The section of each SAI entitled "How to buy shares --
Additional information about class A and class M shares --
Employee benefit plans; individual account plans" is replaced
with the following:
Additional Information About Class A and Class M Shares
Qualified benefit plans; Individual account plans. The terms
"class A qualified benefit plan" and "class M qualified benefit
plan" mean any employer-sponsored plan or arrangement, whether or
not tax-qualified, for which Putnam Fiduciary Trust Company
("PFTC") or its affiliates provide recordkeeping or other
services in connection with the purchase of class A shares or
class M shares, respectively. The term "affiliated employer"
means employers who are affiliated with each other within the
meaning of Section 2(a)(3)(C) of the Investment Company Act of
1940. The term "individual account plan" means any employee
benefit plan whereby (i) class A shares are purchased through
payroll deductions or otherwise by a fiduciary or other person
for the account of participants who are employees (or their
spouses) of an employer, or of affiliated employers, and (ii) a
separate investing account is maintained in the name of such
fiduciary or other person for the account of each participant in
the plan.
The table of sales charges in the prospectus applies to sales to
employer-sponsored retirement plans that are not class A
qualified benefit plans, except that the fund may sell class A
shares at net asset value to employee benefit plans, including
individual account plans, of employers or of affiliated employers
which have at least 750 employees to whom such plan is made
available, in connection with a payroll deduction system of plan
funding (or other system acceptable to Putnam Investor Services)
by which contributions or account information for plan
participation are transmitted to Putnam Investor Services by
methods acceptable to Putnam Investor Services.
The fund may also sell class A shares at net asset value to
employer-sponsored retirement plans that initially invest at
least $1 million in the fund, or that have at least 200
employees. In addition, the fund may sell class M shares at net
asset value to class M qualified benefit plans.
An employer-sponsored retirement plan participating in a "multi-
fund" program approved by Putnam Mutual Funds may include amounts
invested in the other mutual funds participating in such program
for purposes of determining whether the plan may purchase class A
shares at net asset value based on the size of the purchase as
described in the prospectus. These investments will also be
included for purposes of the discount privileges and programs
described above.
Additional information about qualified benefit plans and
individual account plans is available from investment dealers or
from Putnam Mutual Funds.
3. The section of each SAI entitled "How to buy shares --
Contingent deferred sales charges -- Class A shares" is replaced
with the following:
Contingent Deferred Sales Charges; Commissions
Class A shares. Except as described below, a CDSC of 0.75%
(1.00% in the case of plans for which Putnam Mutual Funds and its
affiliates do not act as trustee or recordkeeper) ("full service
plans") of the total amount redeemed is imposed on redemptions of
shares purchased by class A qualified benefit plans if, within
two years of a plan's initial purchase of class A shares, it
redeems 90% or more of its cumulative purchases. Thereafter, such
plan is no longer liable for any CDSC. The two-year CDSC
applicable to class A qualified benefit plans for which Putnam
Mutual Funds or its affiliates serve as trustee or recordkeeper
is 0.50% of the total amount redeemed for full service plans that
initially invest at least $5 million but less than $10 million in
Putnam funds and other investments managed by Putnam Management
or its affiliates ("Putnam Assets"), and is 0.25% of the total
amount redeemed for full service plans that initially invest at
least $10 million but less than $20 million in Putnam Assets.
Class A qualified benefit plans that initially invest at least
$20 million in Putnam Assets, or whose dealer of record has, with
Putnam Mutual Funds' approval, waived its commission or agreed to
refund its commission to Putnam Mutual Funds in the event a CDSC
would otherwise be applicable, are not subject to any CDSC.
Similarly, class A shares purchased at net asset value by any
investor other than a class A qualified benefit plan, including
purchases pursuant to any Combined Purchase Privilege, Right of
Accumulation or Statement of Intention, are subject to a CDSC of
1.00% or 0.50%, respectively, if redeemed within the first or
second year after purchase, unless the dealer of record waived
its commission with Putnam Mutual Funds' approval. The class A
CDSC is imposed on the lower of the cost and the current net
asset value of the shares redeemed.
Except as described below with respect to sales to class A
qualified benefit plans, Putnam Mutual Funds pays investment
dealers of record commissions on sales of class A shares of $1
million or more and sales to employer-sponsored benefit plans
that have at least 200 eligible employees based on cumulative
purchases of such shares, including purchases pursuant to any
Combined Purchase Privilege, Right of Accumulation or Statement
of Intention, during the one-year period beginning with the date
of the initial purchase at net asset value. Each subsequent one-
year measuring period for these purposes will begin with the
first net asset value purchase following the end of the prior
period. Such commissions are paid at the rate of 1.00% of the
amount under $3 million, 0.50% of the next $47 million and 0.25%
thereafter.
On sales at net asset value to a class A qualified benefit plan,
Putnam Mutual Funds pays commissions to the dealer of record at
the time of the sale on net monthly purchases at the following
rates: 1.00% of the first $1 million, 0.75% of the next $1
million, 0.50% of the next $3 million, 0.20% of the next $5
million, 0.15% of the next $10 million, 0.10% of the next $ 10
million and 0.05% thereafter, except that commissions on sales to
class A qualified benefit plans receiving proposals from Putnam
Mutual Funds on or before April 15, 1997 and initially investing
less than $20 million in Putnam Funds and other investments
managed by Putnam Management or its affiliates are based on
cumulative purchases over a one-year measuring period at the rate
of 1.00% of the first $2 million, 0.80% of the next $1 million,
and 0.50% thereafter. On sales at net asset value to all other
class A qualified benefit plans receiving proposals from Putnam
Mutual Funds on or before April 15, 1997, Putnam Mutual Funds
pays commissions on the initial investment and on subsequent net
quarterly sales (gross sales minus gross redemptions during the
quarter) at the rate of 0.15%. Money market fund shares are
excluded from all commission calculations, except for determining
the amount initially invested by a qualified benefit plan.
Commissions on sales at net asset value to such plans are subject
to Putnam Mutual Funds' right to reclaim such commissions if the
shares are redeemed within two years.
Different CDSC and commission rates may apply to shares purchased
prior to December 1, 1995.
4. The section of each SAI entitled "Distribution Plans" is
replaced with the following:
<PAGE>
DISTRIBUTION PLANS
If the fund or a class of shares of the fund has adopted a
distribution plan, the prospectus describes the principal
features of the plan. This SAI contains additional information
which may be of interest to investors.
Continuance of a plan is subject to annual approval by a vote of
the Trustees, including a majority of the Trustees who are not
interested persons of the fund and who have no direct or indirect
interest in the plan or related arrangements (the "Qualified
Trustees"), cast in person at a meeting called for that purpose.
All material amendments to a plan must be likewise approved by
the Trustees and the Qualified Trustees. No plan may be amended
in order to increase materially the costs which the fund may bear
for distribution pursuant to such plan without also being
approved by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of
the fund or the relevant class of the fund, as the case may be.
A plan terminates automatically in the event of its assignment
and may be terminated without penalty, at any time, by a vote of
a majority of the Qualified Trustees or by a vote of a majority
of the outstanding voting securities of the fund or the relevant
class of the fund, as the case may be.
Putnam Mutual Funds pays service fees to qualifying dealers at
the rates set forth in the Prospectus, except with respect to
class A shares held by class A qualified benefit plans. Putnam
Mutual Funds pays service fees to the dealer of record for plans
for which PFTC provides full plan services at the following
annual rates: 0.25% of average net asset value (as defined below)
up to $5 million, 0.20% of the next $5 million, 0.15% of the next
$10 million, 0.10% of the next $30 million, and 0.05% thereafter.
For class A qualified benefit plans for which PFTC or an
affiliate provides some services but does not act as
recordkeeper, Putnam Mutual Funds will pay service fees of up to
0.25% of average net assets, depending on the level of services
provided by PFTC or its affiliates, by the dealer of record, and
by third parties. Service fees are paid quarterly to the dealer
of record for that quarter.
If plan payments are made to reimburse Putnam Mutual Funds for
payments to dealers based on the average net asset value of fund
shares attributable to shareholders for whom the dealers are
designated as the dealer of record, "average net asset value"
attributable to a shareholder account means the product of (i)
the fund's average daily share balance of the account and (ii)
the fund's average daily net asset value per share (or the
average daily net asset value per share of the class, if
applicable). For administrative reasons, Putnam Mutual Funds may
enter into agreements with certain dealers providing for the
calculation of "average net asset value" on the basis of assets
of the accounts of the dealer's customers on an established day
in each quarter.
Financial institutions receiving payments from Putnam Mutual
Funds as described above may be required to comply with various
state and federal regulatory requirements, including among others
those regulating the activities of securities brokers or dealers.
35562 7/97
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