PTBEX Performance — Putnam Tax Exempt Income Fund, Class B
Data updated: 2025-12-12
PTBEX returned +11.38% over one year to Sep 2024. Annualised returns are −0.66% over 3 years and +0.67% over 5 years. The fund beat its Long-Term Municipal Bond category average: $100 invested three years ago grew to $98, against $98 for the category, and to $111 over one year, against $108. Volatility over the past three years was 8.85% a year. In the 12 months to Sep 2025 the fund lost a net $79.6M, and assets reached $518.32M.
PTBEX Growth of $100
What $100 invested in Putnam Tax Exempt Income Fund grew to, compounded from monthly returns reported on SEC Form N-PORT, against the Long-Term Municipal Bond category average over the same months.
| Period | PTBEX | Category average |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year (Sep 2023 – Sep 2024) | $111 | $108 |
| 3 years (Sep 2021 – Sep 2024) | $98 | $98 |
| 5 years (Sep 2019 – Sep 2024) | $103 | $104 |
| Since data start (Jul 2019 – Sep 2024) | $104 | $107 |
PTBEX Trailing Returns
Total returns to Sep 2024, from SEC N-PORT.
| Period | Total return |
|---|---|
| 1 year | +11.38% |
| 3 years (annualised) | −0.66% |
| 5 years (annualised) | +0.67% |
PTBEX Annual Returns
Calendar-year total returns of Putnam Tax Exempt Income Fund, compounded from monthly SEC N-PORT returns. Partial years show the months covered.
| Year | Total return |
|---|---|
| 2024 (Jan–Sep) | +2.15% |
| 2023 | +6.69% |
| 2022 | −11.12% |
| 2021 | +1.51% |
| 2020 | +3.93% |
| 2019 (Jul–Dec) | +2.20% |
PTBEX Monthly Returns
Monthly total returns as reported on SEC Form N-PORT.
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | +0.2% | +0.1% | −0.2% | +1.9% | +0.1% | −1.3% | — | +0.5% | +0.9% | — | — | — |
| 2023 | +1.9% | −2.5% | +3.2% | +1.0% | −0.7% | −0.1% | −3.5% | −1.5% | +0.2% | +3.1% | +7.7% | −2.0% |
| 2022 | −3.5% | −0.7% | −2.8% | −2.5% | +1.5% | −3.6% | −4.4% | −2.6% | +3.0% | +0.1% | +5.8% | −1.6% |
| 2021 | +0.7% | −1.8% | +0.9% | +0.4% | +0.4% | +1.0% | −1.0% | −0.4% | +0.7% | +0.1% | +0.9% | −0.4% |
| 2020 | −5.8% | +1.5% | +1.8% | +2.2% | +3.3% | −2.6% | −0.3% | −0.3% | +2.0% | +0.9% | +1.9% | −0.3% |
| 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | −0.7% | +1.8% | +0.6% | +0.3% | +0.2% | +0.1% |
PTBEX Risk
Risk measures from monthly returns over Sep 2021 – Sep 2024.
- 3-year volatility (annualised): 8.85%
- 3-year Sharpe ratio: -0.58 (vs 4.5% risk-free rate)
- Best month: +7.67% (Nov 2023)
- Worst month: −4.37% (Jul 2022)
PTBEX Fund Flows
Monthly money in and out of Putnam Tax Exempt Income Fund, from SEC Form N-PORT.
- 12-month net flow: −$79.6M
- 12-month gross sales (incl. reinvestments): $68.5M
- Sales ÷ redemptions: 0.46×
| Month | Sales | Redemptions | Net flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | $2.4M | $18.2M | −$15.8M |
| Aug 2025 | $3.7M | $14.3M | −$10.5M |
| Jul 2025 | $7.6M | $14.0M | −$6.4M |
| Jun 2025 | $4.4M | $10.5M | −$6.0M |
| May 2025 | $3.0M | $9.9M | −$6.9M |
| Apr 2025 | $6.3M | $11.2M | −$4.9M |
| Mar 2025 | $6.6M | $12.1M | −$5.4M |
| Feb 2025 | $3.9M | $6.5M | −$2.6M |
| Jan 2025 | $6.2M | $7.0M | −$752K |
| Dec 2024 | $8.7M | $19.4M | −$10.8M |
| Nov 2024 | $3.9M | $8.4M | −$4.5M |
| Oct 2024 | $11.7M | $16.7M | −$5.0M |
PTBEX Assets Under Management
Net assets of Putnam Tax Exempt Income Fund by report date, from SEC N-PORT filings.
| Report date | Net assets |
|---|---|
| 2025-09-30 | $518.32M |
| 2025-06-30 | $539.91M |
| 2025-03-31 | $566.68M |
| 2024-12-31 | $583.60M |
| 2024-09-30 | $617.79M |
| 2024-06-30 | $615.15M |
| 2024-03-31 | $624.97M |
| 2023-12-31 | $632.03M |
| 2023-09-30 | $596.20M |
| 2023-06-30 | $646.71M |
| 2023-03-31 | $662.36M |
| 2022-12-31 | $653.81M |
For information only. Not investment advice: figures are as reported in SEC filings and may contain errors or be out of date. Past performance does not guarantee future results.