PUTNAM ASIA PACIFIC GROWTH FUND
Prospectus Supplement dated August 1, 1996
to Prospectus dated February 1, 1996
At a shareholder meeting to be held on September 5, 1996, the
shareholders of the fund are being asked to approve amendments to
the fund's fundamental investment restrictions, including the
elimination of certain restrictions. If these amendments are
approved, the fund will be able to:
-- acquire more than 10% of the outstanding voting
securities of any issuer with respect to 25% of its
total assets; and
-- invest more than 5% of its total assets in securities
of any issuer with respect to 25% of its total assets.
(Investments in obligations issued or guaranteed as to
interest or principal by the U.S. government or its
agencies or instrumentalities are not subject to any
limitation.)
The policies set forth above are fundamental and may not be
changed without shareholder approval. See the Statement of
Additional Information of the fund for the full text of these
policies as well as the fund's other fundamental policies, some
of which are also proposed to be amended at the upcoming meeting.
To the extent the fund invests a significant portion of its
assets in the securities of a particular issuer, such fund will
be subject to an increased risk of loss if the market value of
such issuer's securities declines.
If shareholders do not ultimately approve some or all of the
proposed changes, the prospectus will be revised accordingly.
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The third paragraph under the heading "How the fund is managed"
is replaced with the following:
The following officers of Putnam Investment Management, Inc.
("Putnam Management") have had primary responsibility for the
day-to-day management of the fund's portfolio since the years
stated below:
BUSINESS EXPERIENCE
YEAR (AT LEAST 5 YEARS)
---- -------------------------
Robert Swift 1996 Employed as an investment
Senior Vice President professional by Putnam
Management since August, 1995.
Prior to August, 1995, Mr. Swift
was Director and Portfolio
Manager at IAI International/Hill
Samuel Investment Advisors.
David K. Thomas 1991 Employed as an investment
Senior Vice President professional by Putnam Management
since 1987.
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The second and third paragraphs and the first sentence of the
fourth paragraph under the heading "How to buy shares -- Class A
shares" is replaced with the following:
There is no initial sales charge on purchases of class A
shares of $1 million or more. However, a CDSC of 1.00% or
0.50%, respectively, will be imposed on redemptions (other
than redemptions by certain participant-directed qualified
retirement plans, which are subject to a two-year CDSC of
1.00%, as described below) within the first or second year
after purchase.
There are also no initial sales charges on class A shares
purchased by participant-directed qualified retirement plans
with at least 200 eligible employees. A CDSC of 1.00% will,
however, be imposed upon the redemption of shares purchased
after July 31, 1996 at net asset value by a participant-
directed qualified retirement plan (including a plan with at
least 200 eligible employees) that initially invested less
than $20 million in Putnam funds and other investments
managed by Putnam Management or its affiliates and that
sells 90% or more of the amount initially invested within
two years after its initial purchase.
Any CDSC will be based on the lower of the shares' cost and
current net asset value. Any shares acquired by
reinvestment of distributions will be redeemed without a
CDSC.
Shares purchased by certain investors (including
participant-directed qualified retirement plans with at
least 200 eligible employees) investing $1 million or more
who have made arrangements with Putnam Mutual Funds and
whose dealer of record waived the commission as described
below are not subject to the CDSC.
27058 8/96
