Putnam
Sustainable Leaders ETF
Summary prospectus
12 | 30 | 21
| This ETF is different from traditional ETFs. |
| Traditional ETFs tell the public what assets they hold each day. This ETF will not. This may create additional risks for your investment. For example: |
| • | You may have to pay more money to trade the ETF’s shares. This ETF will provide less information to traders, who tend to charge more for trades when they have less information. |
| • | The price you pay to buy ETF shares on an exchange may not match the value of the ETF’s portfolio. The same is true when you sell shares. These price differences may be greater for this ETF compared to other ETFs because it provides less information to traders. |
| • | These additional risks may be even greater in bad or uncertain market conditions. |
| • | The ETF will publish on its website each day a “Tracking Basket” designed to help trading in shares of the ETF. While the Tracking Basket includes some of the ETF’s holdings, it is not the ETF’s actual portfolio. |
| The differences between this ETF and other ETFs may also have advantages. By keeping certain information about the ETF secret, the ETF may face less risk that other traders can predict or copy its investment strategy. This may improve the ETF’s performance. If other traders are able to copy or predict the ETF’s investment strategy, however, this may hurt the ETF’s performance. |
| For additional information regarding the unique attributes and risks of this ETF, see “Tracking Basket structure risk,” “Arbitrage risk,” and “Fluctuation of NAV and share price risk” in the “Principal investment risks” section (in the Fund summary section and in the Fund details section under “Investment details”) and the “Additional information about the fund” section (in the Fund details section under “Shareholder information”) below. |
| FUND SYMBOL | Putnam Sustainable Leaders ETF |
| PLDR |
Principal U.S. Listing Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.
Putnam Sustainable Leaders ETF
Investment objective
Putnam Sustainable Leaders ETF seeks long-term capital appreciation.
Fees and expenses
The following tables describe the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
Annual fund operating expenses
(expenses you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
| Management fees | Distribution and service (12b-1) fees | Other expenses+ | Total annual fund operating expenses |
| 0.59% | None | 0.00% | 0.59% |
| + | Other expenses are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. |
Example
The following hypothetical example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. It assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then, except as indicated, redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. It assumes a 5% return on your investment each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Your actual costs may be higher or lower.
| 1 year | 3 years |
| $60 | $189 |
Portfolio turnover
The fund pays transaction-related costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when the fund’s shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or the above example, affect fund performance. The fund’s portfolio turnover rate for the fiscal period May 25, 2021 (commencement of operations) through August 31, 2021 was 14%.
Principal investment strategies
The fund invests mainly in common stocks of U.S. companies of any size, with a focus on companies that Putnam Investment Management, LLC (Putnam Management) believes exhibit a commitment to financially material sustainable business practices. In evaluating investments for the fund, Putnam Management views “financial material sustainable business practices” as business practices that it believes are reasonably likely to impact the financial condition or operating performance of a company and that relate to environmental, social, or corporate governance issues. Putnam Management identifies relevant environmental, social, or corporate governance issues on a sector-specific basis using an internally developed materiality map, which is informed by the sustainability issues identified by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board as material to companies within a particular industry. As part of this analysis, Putnam Management may utilize metrics and information such as emissions data, carbon intensity, sources of energy used for operations, water use and re-use, water generation and diversion from landfill, employee safety and diversity data, supplier audits, product safety, board composition, and incentive
2
compensation structures. Stocks of companies that exhibit a commitment to financially material sustainable business practices are typically, but not always, considered to be growth stocks. Growth stocks are stocks of companies whose revenues, earnings, or cash flows 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. The fund may consider, among other factors, a company’s sustainable business practices (as described below), valuation, financial strength, growth potential, competitive position in its industry, projected future earnings, cash flows and dividends when deciding whether to buy or sell investments.
Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of the value of its net assets in securities that meet Putnam Management’s sustainability criteria. These criteria are based on a proprietary materiality map that is informed by the sustainability issues identified as material by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. In applying these criteria, Putnam Management will assign each company a proprietary environmental, social and/or corporate governance (ESG) rating ranging from 1 to 4 (1 indicating the highest (best) ESG rating and 4 indicating the lowest (worst) ESG rating). In order to meet Putnam Management’s sustainability criteria for purposes of this investment policy, a company must be rated 2 or 1 by Putnam Management. This policy is non-fundamental and may be changed only after 60 days’ notice to shareholders. In selecting each investment, the fund’s investment manager, Putnam Management, focuses on companies that have a demonstrated commitment to sustainable business practices in areas that are relevant and material to their long-term financial returns and risk profiles. Putnam Management believes that companies that have exhibited such a commitment also often demonstrate potential for strong financial growth. This commitment may be reflected through ESG policies, practices, or outcomes. The fund’s approach to sustainable investing incorporates fundamental research together with consideration of ESG factors. Environmental factors include, for example, a company’s carbon intensity and use of resources like water or minerals. Sustainability measures in this area might include plans to reduce waste, increase recycling, raise the proportion of energy supply from renewable sources, or improve product design to be less resource intensive. Social factors include, for example, labor practices and supply chain management. Sustainability measures in this area might include programs to improve employee well-being, commitment to workplace equality and diversity, or improved stewardship of supplier relationships and working conditions. Corporate governance factors include, for example, board composition and executive compensation. Sustainability measures in this area might include improvements in board independence or diversity, or alignment of management incentives with the company’s strategic sustainability objectives. The integrated approach of the fund combines analysis of the growing body of ESG data and deep fundamental analysis and looks for companies that demonstrate leadership, beyond compliance, on relevant sustainability issues. The characteristics that Putnam Management may use when considering sustainability leadership include:
(1) Materiality. The company is focused on sustainability issues that are relevant to long term business success.
(2) Creativity and proactiveness. The company’s sustainability characteristics go beyond compliance to demonstrate heightened commitment.
(3) Transparency. The company’s goals are specific, with candid and consistent progress reporting.
(4) Impact. The sustainability characteristics create benefits that are meaningful both at the company and more broadly.
The fund is an actively managed ETF that operates pursuant to an exemptive order from the Securities and Exchange Commission (Order) and does not publicly disclose its complete portfolio holdings each business day. Instead, the fund publishes each business day on its
3
website a “Tracking Basket,” which is designed to closely track the daily performance of the fund but is not the fund’s actual portfolio. The Tracking Basket is comprised of: (1) select recently disclosed portfolio holdings (Strategy Components); (2) liquid ETFs that convey information about the types of instruments (that are not otherwise fully represented by the Strategy Components) in which the fund invests (Representative ETFs); and (3) cash and cash equivalents. For additional information regarding the Tracking Basket, see “Additional information about the fund – Tracking basket structure” in the prospectus.
The fund also publishes each business day on its website the “Tracking Basket Weight Overlap,” which is the percentage weight overlap between the holdings of the prior business day’s Tracking Basket compared to the holdings of the fund that formed the basis for the fund’s calculation of net asset value per share (NAV) at the end of the prior business day. The Tracking Basket Weight Overlap is designed to provide investors with an understanding of how similar the Tracking Basket is to the fund’s actual portfolio in percentage terms.
Principal investment risks
| • | Tracking Basket structure risk. The fund’s Tracking Basket structure may affect the price at which shares of the fund trade in the secondary market. Although the Tracking Basket is intended to provide investors with enough information to allow for an effective arbitrage mechanism that will keep the market price of the fund at or close to the fund’s NAV per share, there is a risk that market prices will vary significantly from NAV. ETFs trading on the basis of a published Tracking Basket may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis, and therefore, may cost investors more to trade. These risks may increase during periods of market disruption or volatility. In addition, although the fund seeks to benefit from keeping its portfolio information secret, market participants may attempt to use the Tracking Basket to identify the fund’s trading strategy. If successful, this could result in such market participants engaging in certain predatory trading practices that may have the potential to harm the fund and its shareholders, such as front running the fund’s trades of portfolio securities. |
| • | Arbitrage risk. Unlike ETFs that publicly disclose their complete portfolio holdings each business day, the fund provides certain other information intended to allow market participants to estimate the value of positions in fund shares. Although this information is designed to facilitate arbitrage opportunities in fund shares to reduce bid/ask spread and minimize discounts or premiums between the market price and NAV of fund shares, there is no guarantee the fund’s arbitrage mechanism will operate as intended and that the fund will not experience wide bid/ask spreads and/or large discount or premiums to NAV. In addition, market participants may attempt to use the disclosed information to “reverse engineer” the fund’s trading strategy, which, if successful, could increase opportunities for predatory trading practices that may have the potential to negatively impact the fund’s performance. |
| • | Fluctuation of NAV and share price risk. Shares may trade at a larger premium or discount to the NAV than shares of other ETFs, including ETFs that make their daily holdings public. The NAV of the fund will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the fund’s holdings. The fund’s shares can be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Disruptions to creations and redemptions, the existence of extreme market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for the fund’s shares may result in the fund’s shares trading significantly above (at a premium) or below (at a discount) to NAV. In addition, in stressed market conditions or periods of market disruption or volatility, the market for shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the fund’s underlying portfolio holdings. |
4
| • | Trading issues risk. The fund has no public trading history and will operate differently from other actively managed ETFs that publish their portfolio holdings on a daily basis. There can be no assurance that an active trading market will develop or be maintained or that the market for fund shares will operate as intended, which could lead to the fund’s shares trading at wider spreads and larger premiums and discounts to NAV than other actively managed ETFs that publish their portfolio holdings on a daily basis, particularly during periods of market disruption or volatility. As a result, it may cost investors more to trade fund shares than shares of other ETFs. There is no guarantee that the fund will be able to attract market makers and authorized participants. Market makers and authorized participants are not obligated to make a market in the fund’s shares or to submit purchase and redemption orders for creation units. |
| • | Trading halt risk. There may be circumstances where a security held in the fund’s portfolio but not in the Tracking Basket does not have readily available market quotations. If Putnam Management determines that such circumstance may affect the reliability of the Tracking Basket as an arbitrage vehicle, that information, along with the identity and weighting of that security in the fund’s portfolio, will be publicly disclosed on the fund’s website and Putnam Management will assess appropriate remedial measures. In these circumstances, market participants may use this information to engage in certain predatory trading practices that may have the potential to harm the fund and its shareholders. In addition, if securities representing 10% or more of the fund’s portfolio do not have readily available market quotations, Putnam Management would promptly request the exchange to halt trading on the fund, meaning that investors would not be able to trade their shares. Trading may also be halted in other circumstances, for example, due to market conditions. |
| • | Large shareholder risk. Certain accounts or affiliates of Putnam Management, including other funds advised by Putnam Management or third parties, may from time to time own (beneficially or of record) or control a substantial amount of the fund’s shares, including through seed capital arrangements. Such shareholders may at times be considered to control the fund. Dispositions of a large number of shares by these shareholders may adversely affect the fund’s liquidity and net assets to the extent such transactions are executed directly with the fund in the form of redemptions through an authorized participant, rather than executed in the secondary market. These redemptions may also force the fund to sell securities, which may increase the fund’s brokerage costs. To the extent these large shareholders transact in shares of the fund on the secondary market, such transactions may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the exchange and may, therefore, have a material effect (upward or downward), on the market price of the fund’s shares. |
| • | Authorized participant concentration risk. The fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that act as authorized participants, none of which are obligated to engage in creation and/ or redemption transactions. To the extent that those authorized participants do not engage in creation and redemption orders, there may be a significantly diminished trading market for fund shares or fund shares may trade at a discount (or premium) to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or de-listing. This risk may be heightened due to the fact that the fund has a novel and unique structure and does not disclose its portfolio holdings daily, unlike certain other actively managed ETFs, and could be greater during market disruptions or periods of volatility. |
| • | Market risk. 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. The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain its spread are likely to negatively affect the value, volatility, and liquidity |
5
| of the securities and other assets in which the fund invests and exacerbate other risks that apply to the fund. These effects could negatively impact the fund’s performance and lead to losses on your investment in the fund. Companies whose stocks we believe are undervalued by the market may have experienced adverse business developments or may be subject to special risks that have caused their stocks to be out of favor. |
| • | Common stock risk. Common stock represents an ownership interest in a company. The value of a company’s stock may fall or fail to rise as a result of factors directly relating to that company, such as decisions made by its management or lower demand for the company’s products or services. A stock’s value may also fall because of factors affecting not just the company, but also other companies in the same industry or in a number of different industries, such as increases in production costs. |
| • | Growth investing risk. Growth stocks may be more susceptible to earnings disappointments, and the market may not favor growth-style investing. |
| • | Small and midsize companies risk. Stocks of small and midsize companies often trade in smaller volumes, and their prices may fluctuate more than stocks of larger companies. Stocks of these companies may therefore be more vulnerable to adverse developments than those of larger companies. |
| • | Industry or sector concentration risk. 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. |
| • | Sustainable investing risk. Investing with a focus on companies that exhibit a commitment to sustainable practices may result in the fund investing in certain types of companies, industries or sectors that the market may not favor. In evaluating an investment opportunity, Putnam Management may make investment decisions based on information and data that is incomplete or inaccurate. Sustainability and ESG metrics are not uniformly defined and applying such metrics involves subjective assessments. Sustainability and ESG scorings and assessments of issuers can vary across third-party data providers and may change over time. In addition, a company’s business practices, products or services may change over time. As a result of these possibilities, among others, the fund may temporarily hold securities that are inconsistent with the fund’s sustainable investment criteria. Regulatory changes or interpretations regarding the definitions and/or use of ESG or other sustainability criteria could have a material adverse effect on the fund’s ability to invest in accordance with its investment policies and/or achieve its investment objective, as well as the ability of certain classes of investors to invest in funds, such as the fund, whose strategies include ESG or other sustainability criteria. |
| • | Management and operational risk. There is no guarantee that the investment techniques, analyses, or judgments that Putnam Management applies in making investment decisions for the fund will produce the intended outcome or that the investments Putnam Management selects for the fund will perform as well as other securities that were not selected for the fund. Putnam Management, or the fund’s other service providers, may experience disruptions or operating errors that could negatively impact the fund. The fund may not achieve its goal, and it is not intended to be a complete investment program. |
An investment in the fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. It is important to understand that you can lose money by investing in the fund.
Performance
Performance information will be available after the fund completes a full calendar year of operation.
6
Your fund’s management
Investment advisor
Putnam Investment Management, LLC
Portfolio managers
Katherine
Collins
Head of Sustainable Investing, portfolio
manager of the fund since 2021
Stephanie
Dobson
Portfolio Manager, portfolio manager of
the fund since 2021
Sub-advisor
Putnam Investments Limited*
| * | Though the investment advisor has retained the services of Putnam Investments Limited (PIL), PIL does not currently manage any assets of the fund. |
Purchase and sale of fund shares
Shares of the fund are listed and traded on an exchange, and individual fund shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker or dealer at market price. These transactions, which do not involve the fund, are made at market prices that may vary throughout the day, rather than at net asset value (NAV). Shares of the fund may trade at a price greater than the fund’s NAV (premium) or less than the fund’s NAV (discount). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying or selling fund shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information, including information regarding the fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spread, is available at putnam.com.
Tax information
The fund’s distributions will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains unless you hold the shares through a tax-advantaged arrangement, in which case you will generally be taxed only upon withdrawal of monies from the arrangement.
Financial intermediary compensation
The fund and its related companies may pay intermediaries, which may include banks, broker/dealers, or financial professionals, for the sale of fund shares and related services. Please bear in mind that these payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker/dealer or other intermediary to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your advisor or visit your advisor’s website for more information.
Information about the Summary Prospectus, Prospectus, and SAI
The summary prospectus, prospectus, and SAI for a fund provide information concerning the fund. The summary prospectus, prospectus, and SAI are updated at least annually, and any information provided in a summary prospectus, prospectus, or SAI can be changed without a shareholder vote unless specifically stated otherwise. The summary prospectus, prospectus, and the SAI are not contracts between the fund and its shareholders, and do not give rise to any contractual rights or obligations or any shareholder rights other than any rights conferred explicitly by federal or state securities laws that may not be waived.
Additional information, including current performance, is available at putnam.com/funddocuments, or by calling 1-833-228-5577.
7