Putnam Investors Fund Turns 80.

BOSTON -- One of Nation's Oldest Mutual Funds

Putnam Investments announced that its Putnam Investors Fund turns 80 on December 1, making it one of just a few of funds that ushered in the era of mutual fund investing in America.

Putnam Investors Fund (then known as Incorporated Investors Fund) was co-founded by George Putnam, on December 1, 1925. A large capitalization blend fund, Putnam Investors Fund has had an annualized return since inception of 9.64% at NAV as of September 30, 2005, making a $10,000 investment in the fund in 1925 worth over $15.5 million(a) as of September 30, 2005.

With over $3.8 billion under management in the fund as of October 31, 2005, Putnam Investors Fund's class A share's more recent performance outpaces 89% of peer funds over the last three years ended October 31, 2005, according to Lipper. The fund has returned 12.91% and 13.57% at NAV for the one and three year periods ended October 31, 2005 versus the S&P 500 with returns of 8.72% and 12.85% for the same period.

"We're honored to be at the helm of a mutual fund that played a pioneering role in American investing history," said Richard Cervone, who co-manages the fund with James Wiess. "The fund has succeeded through the stock market crash of 1929, the great depression, a world war, and more than 10 bear markets as well as calmer times."

By year-end 1929, mutual funds managed only $140 million in assets. Today assets of the nation's mutual funds total $8.6 trillion, and more than half of all U.S. households are mutual fund owners, according to the Investment Company Institute.

George Putnam, the co-founder of Putnam Investors Fund, also founded Putnam Investments in 1937. George Putnam was the great-great-grandson of Samuel Putnam, a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Justice, who established the Prudent Man Rule, a legal foundation for responsible money management. George Putnam believed that every investor could benefit from the guidance of an experienced advisor.

"At Putnam today we believe in the investing principles of our heritage," said Kevin Cronin, Putnam's Head of Investments. "We offer our funds to investors through financial intermediaries, believing that with the benefit of professional advice, people are more likely to make wise investment decisions. We also seek to provide investment returns that are consistent and dependable and will become superior over the long term. Putnam Investors Fund epitomizes this approach. We're proud to have the fund in our family."

True to its roots, Putnam Investors Fund continues to focus on leading companies -- a strategy that the management team believe will continue to serve the fund well as it moves forward from this landmark eightieth year. The fund targets companies whose business worth is believed to be more than their current stock prices indicate. Cervone and Wiess combine fundamental and quantitative research in their stock selection. Regardless of how the economy or markets are behaving, they look for companies whose stocks appear to be mispriced by the market.

About Putnam

Founded in 1937, Putnam Investments is one of the nation's oldest and largest money management firms. As of October 31, 2005, Putnam managed $187 billion in assets, of which $126 billion is for mutual fund investors and $61 billion is for institutional accounts. Putnam has headquarters in Boston and offices in London and Tokyo. For more information, go to www.putnaminvestments.com.

(a) The period illustrated is longer than the investment time horizon of many investors.

Putnam Investors Fund may invest a portion of its assets in small and/or midsize companies. Such investments increase the risk of greater price fluctuations.

Putnam Investors Fund

Performance of Class-A shares for periods ended 10/31/2005

Class A shares        Annualized       Annualized      S&P 500
                      Return at NAV    Return at POP   Index
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Life of fund (12/1/25)  9.62%            9.55%         -----
----------------------------------------------------------------------
10 years                7.72             7.14          9.34%
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5 years                -5.48            -6.50         -1.74
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3 years                13.57            11.56         12.85
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1 year                 12.91             6.97          8.72
----------------------------------------------------------------------



Putnam Investors Fund

Performance of Class-A shares for periods ended 9/30/05

Class A shares          Annualized      Annualized     S&P 500
                        Return at NAV   Return at POP  Index
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Life of fund (12/1/25)    9.64%           9.57%        ------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
10 years                  7.76            7.18          9.49%
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5 years                  -6.14           -7.15         -1.49
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3 years                  17.1            15.09         16.72
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1 year                   16.38           10.22         12.25
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Data is historical. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. More recent returns may be more or less than those shown. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate, and you may have a gain or a loss when you sell your shares. Performance assumes reinvestment of distributions and does not account for taxes. Returns at public offering price (POP) for class A reflect a sales charge of 5.25%. Performance for other share classes will vary. For the most recent month-end performance, please visit www.putnam.com. A short-term trading fee of 2% may apply.

The S&P 500 Index is an unmanaged index of common stock performance. You cannot invest directly in an index.

Lipper rankings for Putnam Investors Fund's class A shares were 89/877, 83/763, 496/606 and 116/223 among the Large-Cap Core funds category for the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods ended 10/31/05.

Lipper ranks funds based on total return (without sales charges) based on similar investment styles or objectives as determined by Lipper. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Performance for other share classes will vary. Performance shown is relative to other funds rather than absolute performance.

The fund had a negative return for the 5-year period.

Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of a fund before investing. For a prospectus containing this and other information for any Putnam fund or product, contact your financial advisor or call Putnam at 1-800-225-1581 and ask for a prospectus. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.