Putnam Core Equity Fund

Putnam

Core Equity Fund

Summary Prospectus

September 1, 2026


Class A	Class C	Class R	Class R6	Class Y

PMYAX	PMYCX	PMYZX	PMYTX	PMYYX

Before you invest, you may want to review the fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the fund and its risks. You can find the fund’s prospectus, statement of additional information, reports to shareholders and other information about the fund online at www.franklintempleton.com/prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-225-1581 or by sending an e-mail request to funddocuments@putnam.com.

The fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated September 1, 2026, as may be supplemented, are all incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.

Goal

The fund seeks 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. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Putnam funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in How do I buy fund shares? beginning on page 21 of the fund’s prospectus, in the Appendix to the fund’s prospectus, and in How to buy shares beginning on page 17 of the fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)


Share class	Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of original purchase price or redemption proceeds, whichever is lower)
Class A	5.75%	1.00%¹
Class C	None	1.00%²
Class R	None	None
Class R6	None	None
Class Y	None	None

¹ Applies only to certain redemptions of shares bought with no initial sales charge.

² This charge is eliminated after one year.

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

(expenses you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)


Share class	Management fees	Distribution and service (12b-1) fees	Other expenses	Total annual fund operating expenses
Class A	0.53%	0.25%	0.14%	0.92%
Class C	0.53%	1.00%	0.14%	1.67%
Class R	0.53%	0.50%	0.14%	1.17%
Class R6	0.53%	None	0.07%	0.60%
Class Y	0.53%	None	0.14%	0.67%

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 (except that any applicable fee

waiver or expense reimbursement is reflected only through its expiration date). Your actual costs may be higher or lower.


Share class	1 year	3 years	5 years	10 years
Class A	$663	$851	$1,055	$1,641
Class C	$270	$526	$907	$1,777
Class C (no redemption)	$170	$526	$907	$1,777
Class R	$119	$372	$644	$1,420
Class R6	$61	$192	$335	$750
Class Y	$68	$214	$373	$834

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 turnover rate in the most recent fiscal year was 13%.

Investments, risks, and performance

Investments

The fund invests mainly in common stocks (growth or value stocks or both) of U.S. companies of any size that the Investment Manager, as defined below, believes have favorable investment potential. For example, the fund may purchase stocks of companies with stock prices that reflect a value lower than that which the Investment Manager places on the company. The Investment Manager may also consider other factors it believes will cause the stock price to rise. The Investment Manager 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. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity investments, including common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, warrants, American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs). This policy may be changed only after 60 days’ notice to shareholders.

Risks

It is important to understand that you can lose money by investing in the fund.

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, outbreaks of infectious illnesses or other

widespread public health issues, and factors related to a specific issuer, asset class, geography, industry or sector. These and other factors may lead to increased volatility and reduced liquidity in the fund’s portfolio holdings, may negatively impact the fund’s performance, and may exacerbate other risks to which the fund is subject.

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 stocks may be more susceptible to earnings disappointments, and value stocks may fail to rebound. These risks are generally greater for small and midsize companies.

Large shareholder transaction risk: The fund is subject to the risk that shareholders will purchase or redeem large quantities of shares of the fund. The fund may be an investment option for mutual funds that are managed by the Investment Manager and its affiliates as “funds of funds.” Additionally, other investors from time to time may make substantial investments in the fund. Such shareholders may at times be considered to control the fund. In addition, a large number of shareholders may collectively purchase or redeem fund shares in large amounts rapidly or unexpectedly. Large shareholder transactions may adversely affect the fund’s liquidity and net assets. These redemptions may also adversely affect the fund’s performance if the fund is forced to sell securities, which may also increase the fund’s brokerage costs.

Liquidity and illiquid investments risk: The fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments, which may be considered speculative and which may be difficult to sell. The fund may not be able to sell its illiquid investments when the Investment Manager considers it desirable to do so, or the fund may be able to sell them only at less than their value.

Short sales risk: The fund may engage in short sales, which are transactions in which the fund sells a security it does not own to a third party by borrowing the security in anticipation of purchasing the same security at the market price on a later date to close out the short position. If the price of the security sold short increases between the time of the short sale and the time the fund replaces the borrowed security, the fund will incur a loss that is theoretically unlimited. The fund’s investment strategy of reinvesting proceeds received from selling securities short may effectively create leverage, which can amplify the effects of market volatility on the fund’s share price and make the fund’s returns more volatile. The use of leverage may also cause the fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations.

Management and operational risk: There is no guarantee that the investment techniques, analyses, or judgments that the Investment Manager applies in making investment decisions for the fund will produce the intended outcome or that the investments selected for the fund will perform as well as other securities that were

not selected for the fund. The Investment Manager, 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.

Cybersecurity risk: Cybersecurity incidents, both intentional and unintentional, may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to fund assets, fund or customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, cause the fund, the Investment Manager and/or their service providers (including, but not limited to, fund accountants, custodians, sub-custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or loss of operational functionality or prevent fund investors from purchasing, redeeming, or exchanging shares, or receiving distributions. The fund and the Investment Manager have limited ability to prevent or mitigate cybersecurity incidents affecting third party service providers, and such third party service providers may have limited indemnification obligations to the fund and/or the Investment Manager. Cybersecurity incidents may result in financial losses to the fund and its shareholders, and substantial costs may be incurred in an effort to prevent or mitigate future cybersecurity incidents. Issuers of securities in which the fund invests are also subject to cybersecurity risks, and the value of these securities could decline if the issuers experience cybersecurity incidents.

Because technology continues to evolve rapidly, including through developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning, new methods of carrying out cyber-attacks continue to emerge. As a result, certain cybersecurity risks may not yet be identified and some cyber-attacks may not be detected promptly, which may limit the fund’s ability to anticipate, prepare for or respond effectively to a cybersecurity incident. Like other funds and business enterprises, the fund, the Investment Manager and their service providers are subject to the risk of cybersecurity incidents from time to time. The rapid development and increasingly widespread use of artificial intelligence technologies may increase the sophistication and effectiveness of cyber attacks, which may exacerbate these risks.

Performance

The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The bar chart shows changes in the fund’s performance from year to year for Class A shares. The table shows the average annual total returns of each class of the fund that has been in operation for at least one full calendar year and also compares the fund’s performance with the average annual total returns of a broad measure of market performance. Performance for classes other than those shown may vary from the performance shown to the

extent the expenses for those classes differ. The fund makes updated performance information, including its current net asset value per share, available at www.franklintempleton.com.

The fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

Sales charges are not reflected in the accompanying bar chart, and if those charges were included, returns would be less than those shown.

Annual total returns for class A shares before sales charges

LOGO



Best Quarter:	Q2 2020	21.36%

Worst Quarter:	Q1 2020	-22.85%

As of June 30, 2026, the fund’s year-to-date return was 7.02%.

Average annual total returns after sales charges

(for periods ended 12/31/25)


Share class	1 year		5 years		10 years
Class A before taxes		10.29%		14.22%		14.53%
Class A after taxes on distributions		9.53%		12.85%		13.51%
Class A after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		6.45%		10.97%		11.88%
Class C before taxes		15.13%		14.72%		14.52%
Class R before taxes		16.72%		15.28%		14.92%
Class R6 before taxes^*		17.39%		15.96%		15.58%
Class Y before taxes		17.31%		15.87%		15.50%
Russell 3000 Index (no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)		17.15%		13.15%		14.29%

^*	Performance for class R6 shares prior to their inception (5/22/18) is derived from the historical performance of class Y shares and has not been adjusted for the lower investor servicing fees applicable to class R6 shares; had it been adjusted, returns would have been higher.

After-tax returns reflect the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown.

After-tax returns are shown for class A shares only and will vary for other classes. These after-tax returns do not apply if you hold your fund shares through a 401(k) plan, an IRA, or another tax-advantaged arrangement.

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

Important data provider notices and terms are available at www.franklintempletondatasources.com. Such information is subject to change.

Your fund’s management

Investment Manager

Putnam Investment Management, LLC (“Putnam Management” or the “Investment Manager”)

Sub-advisors

Franklin Advisers, Inc. (“Franklin Advisers”)

Franklin Templeton Investment Management Limited (“FTIML”)

Portfolio managers

Walter D. Scully, CPA

Portfolio Manager of Putnam Management and portfolio manager of the fund since 2025.

Arthur Yeager

Portfolio Manager of Putnam Management and portfolio manager of the fund since 2017.

Purchase and sale of fund shares

You can open an account, purchase and/or sell fund shares, or exchange them for shares of another Putnam fund by contacting your financial professional or by calling Putnam Investor Services at 1-800-225-1581.

When opening an account, you must complete and mail a Putnam account application, along with a check made payable to the fund, to: Putnam Investor Services, P.O. Box 219697, Kansas City, MO 64121-9697. The minimum initial investment of $500 is currently waived, although the fund reserves the right to reject initial investments under $500 at its discretion. There is no minimum for subsequent investments.

You can sell your shares back to the fund or exchange them for shares of another Putnam fund any day the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open. Shares may be sold or exchanged by mail, by phone, or, for exchanges only, online at www.franklintempleton.com. Some restrictions may apply.

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

If you purchase the fund through a broker/dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank or financial professional), the fund and its related companies may pay that intermediary 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 www.franklintempleton.com, by calling 1-800-225-1581, or by e-mailing Putnam at funddocuments@putnam.com.