# EDGAR Filing Document

**Accession Number:** 0000081259
**File Stem:** 0001133228-26-004121
**Filing Date:** 2026-3
**Character Count:** 219887
**Document Hash:** 36e5384171289536ba7036730f43aa83
**Contains OCR:** False
**Source Format:** 

## Filing Content

## Filing Summary
**0001133228-26-004121.hdr.sgml**: 20260326

**ACCESSION NUMBER**: 0001133228-26-004121

**CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE**: N-CSRS

**PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT**: 32

**CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT**: 20260131

**FILED AS OF DATE**: 20260326

**DATE AS OF CHANGE**: 20260326

**EFFECTIVENESS DATE**: 20260326

**FILER**: 

**COMPANY DATA:**
- **COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:** GEORGE PUTNAM BALANCED FUND
- **CENTRAL INDEX KEY:** 0000081259

**ORGANIZATION NAME:**
- **EIN:** 046013677
- **STATE OF INCORPORATION:** MA
- **FISCAL YEAR END:** 0731

**FILING VALUES:**
- **FORM TYPE:** N-CSRS
- **SEC ACT:** 1940 Act
- **SEC FILE NUMBER:** 811-00058
- **FILM NUMBER:** 26798641

**BUSINESS ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** 100 FEDERAL STREET
- **CITY:** BOSTON
- **STATE:** MA
- **ZIP:** 02110
- **BUSINESS PHONE:** 6177601000

**MAIL ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** 100 FEDERAL STREET
- **CITY:** BOSTON
- **STATE:** MA
- **ZIP:** 02110

**FORMER COMPANY:**
- **FORMER CONFORMED NAME:** GEORGE PUTNAM FUND OF BOSTON
- **DATE OF NAME CHANGE:** 19940302

**FORMER COMPANY:**
- **FORMER CONFORMED NAME:** PUTNAM EQUITY INCOME FUND/NEW
- **DATE OF NAME CHANGE:** 19940302

**FORMER COMPANY:**
- **FORMER CONFORMED NAME:** PUTNAM GEORGE FUND OF BOSTON
- **DATE OF NAME CHANGE:** 19920703

## Series and Classes Contracts Data

### GEORGE PUTNAM FUND OF BOSTON (Series ID: S000005597)

| Class ID   | Class Name     | Ticker Symbol   |
|:---|:---|:---|
| C000015264 | Class A Shares | PGEOX           |
| C000015266 | Class C Shares | PGPCX           |
| C000015267 | Class M Shares | PGEMX           |
| C000015268 | Class R Shares | PGPRX           |
| C000015269 | Class Y Shares | PGEYX           |
| C000136854 | Class R5       |  |
| C000136855 | Class R6       |  |

?xml version='1.0' encoding='ASCII'? 2026-02-1874200171800_GeorgePutnamBalancedFund_ClassA_TSRSemiAnnual

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

**FORM N-CSR**

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED

MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number **811-00058**

**George Putnam Balanced Fund**

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

**100 Federal Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110**

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

Stephen Tate, Vice President

100 Federal Street

Boston, Massachusetts 02110

Copy to:

Bryan Chegwidden, Esq.

Ropes & Gray LLP

1211 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10036

James E. Thomas, Esq.

Ropes & Gray LLP

800 Boylston Street

Boston, Massachusetts 02199

(Name and address of agent for service)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: **(617) 292-1000**

Date of fiscal year end: **July 31**

Date of reporting period: **January 31, 2026**

ITEM 1. REPORT TO STOCKHOLDERS.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) The Report to Shareholders is filed herewith

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **George Putnam Balanced Fund**  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| Class A [PGEOX] | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| Semi-Annual Shareholder Report \| January 31, 2026  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) | ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) |

---

This semi-annual shareholder report contains important information about George Putnam Balanced Fund for the period August 1, 2025, to January 31, 2026.

You can find additional information about the Fund at https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents. You can also request this information by contacting us at (800) 225-1581.

**WHAT WERE THE FUND COSTS FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS?** (based on a hypothetical $10,000 investment)

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Class Name** | **Costs of a $10,000** **investment** | **Costs paid as a percentage of a** **$10,000 investment**<sup>†</sup>  |
| Class A | $45 | 0.85% |

---

† Annualized.

**KEY FUND STATISTICS** (as of January 31, 2026)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Total Net Assets** | $2290906894 |
| **Total Number of Portfolio Holdings (excludes derivatives, except purchased options, if any)** | 689 |
| **Portfolio Turnover Rate** | 40% |

---

**WHAT DID THE FUND INVEST IN?** (as of January 31, 2026)

**Portfolio Composition**<sup>\*</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>†</sup> **(% of Total Investments)**

![image](ts6486img003.jpg)

\* Does not include derivatives, except purchased options, if any.

† Certain
 categories may represent less than 0.1%.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | **WHERE CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND?** |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | Additional information is available on https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents, including its: |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | • prospectus • proxy voting information • financial information • holdings • tax information |

---

George Putnam Balanced Fund PAGE 1 38900-STSA-0326

60.414.211.88.30.10.00.00.05.2 ------

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **George Putnam Balanced Fund**  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| Class C [PGPCX] | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| Semi-Annual Shareholder Report \| January 31, 2026  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) | ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) |

---

This semi-annual shareholder report contains important information about George Putnam Balanced Fund for the period August 1, 2025, to January 31, 2026.

You can find additional information about the Fund at https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents. You can also request this information by contacting us at (800) 225-1581.

**WHAT WERE THE FUND COSTS FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS?** (based on a hypothetical $10,000 investment)

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Class Name** | **Costs of a $10,000** **investment** | **Costs paid as a percentage of a** **$10,000 investment**<sup>†</sup>  |
| Class C | $84 | 1.60% |

---

† Annualized.

**KEY FUND STATISTICS** (as of January 31, 2026)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Total Net Assets** | $2290906894 |
| **Total Number of Portfolio Holdings (excludes derivatives, except purchased options, if any)** | 689 |
| **Portfolio Turnover Rate** | 40% |

---

**WHAT DID THE FUND INVEST IN?** (as of January 31, 2026)

**Portfolio Composition**<sup>\*</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>†</sup> **(% of Total Investments)**

![image](ts6487img003.jpg)

\* Does not include derivatives, except purchased options, if any.

† Certain
 categories may represent less than 0.1%.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | **WHERE CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND?** |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | Additional information is available on https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents, including its: |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | • prospectus • proxy voting information • financial information • holdings • tax information |

---

George Putnam Balanced Fund PAGE 1 38900-STSC-0326

60.414.211.88.30.10.00.00.05.2 ------

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **George Putnam Balanced Fund**  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| Class M [PGEMX] | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| Semi-Annual Shareholder Report \| January 31, 2026  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) | ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) |

---

This semi-annual shareholder report contains important information about George Putnam Balanced Fund for the period August 1, 2025, to January 31, 2026.

You can find additional information about the Fund at https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents. You can also request this information by contacting us at (800) 225-1581.

**WHAT WERE THE FUND COSTS FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS?** (based on a hypothetical $10,000 investment)

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Class Name** | **Costs of a $10,000** **investment** | **Costs paid as a percentage of a** **$10,000 investment**<sup>†</sup>  |
| Class M | $71 | 1.35% |

---

† Annualized.

**KEY FUND STATISTICS** (as of January 31, 2026)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Total Net Assets** | $2290906894 |
| **Total Number of Portfolio Holdings (excludes derivatives, except purchased options, if any)** | 689 |
| **Portfolio Turnover Rate** | 40% |

---

**WHAT DID THE FUND INVEST IN?** (as of January 31, 2026)

**Portfolio Composition**<sup>\*</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>†</sup> **(% of Total Investments)**

![image](ts6488img003.jpg)

\* Does not include derivatives, except purchased options, if any.

† Certain
 categories may represent less than 0.1%.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | **WHERE CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND?** |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | Additional information is available on https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents, including its: |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | • prospectus • proxy voting information • financial information • holdings • tax information |

---

George Putnam Balanced Fund PAGE 1 38900-STSM-0326

60.414.211.88.30.10.00.00.05.2 ------

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **George Putnam Balanced Fund**  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| Class R [PGPRX] | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| Semi-Annual Shareholder Report \| January 31, 2026  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) | ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) |

---

This semi-annual shareholder report contains important information about George Putnam Balanced Fund for the period August 1, 2025, to January 31, 2026.

You can find additional information about the Fund at https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents. You can also request this information by contacting us at (800) 225-1581.

**WHAT WERE THE FUND COSTS FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS?** (based on a hypothetical $10,000 investment)

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Class Name** | **Costs of a $10,000** **investment** | **Costs paid as a percentage of a** **$10,000 investment**<sup>†</sup>  |
| Class R | $58 | 1.11% |

---

† Annualized.

**KEY FUND STATISTICS** (as of January 31, 2026)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Total Net Assets** | $2290906894 |
| **Total Number of Portfolio Holdings (excludes derivatives, except purchased options, if any)** | 689 |
| **Portfolio Turnover Rate** | 40% |

---

**WHAT DID THE FUND INVEST IN?** (as of January 31, 2026)

**Portfolio Composition**<sup>\*</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>†</sup> **(% of Total Investments)**

![image](ts6489img003.jpg)

\* Does not include derivatives, except purchased options, if any.

† Certain
 categories may represent less than 0.1%.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | **WHERE CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND?** |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | Additional information is available on https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents, including its: |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | • prospectus • proxy voting information • financial information • holdings • tax information |

---

George Putnam Balanced Fund PAGE 1 38900-STSR-0326

60.414.211.88.30.10.00.00.05.2 ------

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **George Putnam Balanced Fund**  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| Class R5 [PGELX] | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| Semi-Annual Shareholder Report \| January 31, 2026  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) | ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) |

---

This semi-annual shareholder report contains important information about George Putnam Balanced Fund for the period August 1, 2025, to January 31, 2026.

You can find additional information about the Fund at https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents. You can also request this information by contacting us at (800) 225-1581.

**WHAT WERE THE FUND COSTS FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS?** (based on a hypothetical $10,000 investment)

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Class Name** | **Costs of a $10,000** **investment** | **Costs paid as a percentage of a** **$10,000 investment**<sup>†</sup>  |
| Class R5 | $35 | 0.66% |

---

† Annualized.

**KEY FUND STATISTICS** (as of January 31, 2026)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Total Net Assets** | $2290906894 |
| **Total Number of Portfolio Holdings (excludes derivatives, except purchased options, if any)** | 689 |
| **Portfolio Turnover Rate** | 40% |

---

**WHAT DID THE FUND INVEST IN?** (as of January 31, 2026)

**Portfolio Composition**<sup>\*</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>†</sup> **(% of Total Investments)**

![image](ts6490img003.jpg)

\* Does not include derivatives, except purchased options, if any.

† Certain
 categories may represent less than 0.1%.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | **WHERE CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND?** |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | Additional information is available on https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents, including its: |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | • prospectus • proxy voting information • financial information • holdings • tax information |

---

George Putnam Balanced Fund PAGE 1 38900-STSR5-0326

60.414.211.88.30.10.00.00.05.2 ------

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **George Putnam Balanced Fund**  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| Class R6 [PGEJX] | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| Semi-Annual Shareholder Report \| January 31, 2026  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) | ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) |

---

This semi-annual shareholder report contains important information about George Putnam Balanced Fund for the period August 1, 2025, to January 31, 2026.

You can find additional information about the Fund at https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents. You can also request this information by contacting us at (800) 225-1581.

**WHAT WERE THE FUND COSTS FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS?** (based on a hypothetical $10,000 investment)

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Class Name** | **Costs of a $10,000** **investment** | **Costs paid as a percentage of a** **$10,000 investment**<sup>†</sup>  |
| Class R6 | $29 | 0.56% |

---

† Annualized.

**KEY FUND STATISTICS** (as of January 31, 2026)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Total Net Assets** | $2290906894 |
| **Total Number of Portfolio Holdings (excludes derivatives, except purchased options, if any)** | 689 |
| **Portfolio Turnover Rate** | 40% |

---

**WHAT DID THE FUND INVEST IN?** (as of January 31, 2026)

**Portfolio Composition**<sup>\*</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>†</sup> **(% of Total Investments)**

![image](ts6491img003.jpg)

\* Does not include derivatives, except purchased options, if any.

† Certain
 categories may represent less than 0.1%.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | **WHERE CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND?** |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | Additional information is available on https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents, including its: |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | • prospectus • proxy voting information • financial information • holdings • tax information |

---

George Putnam Balanced Fund PAGE 1 38900-STSR6-0326

60.414.211.88.30.10.00.00.05.2 ------

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **George Putnam Balanced Fund**  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| Class Y [PGEYX] | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| Semi-Annual Shareholder Report \| January 31, 2026  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) | ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) |

---

This semi-annual shareholder report contains important information about George Putnam Balanced Fund for the period August 1, 2025, to January 31, 2026.

You can find additional information about the Fund at https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents. You can also request this information by contacting us at (800) 225-1581.

**WHAT WERE THE FUND COSTS FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS?** (based on a hypothetical $10,000 investment)

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Class Name** | **Costs of a $10,000** **investment** | **Costs paid as a percentage of a** **$10,000 investment**<sup>†</sup>  |
| Class Y | $32 | 0.60% |

---

† Annualized.

**KEY FUND STATISTICS** (as of January 31, 2026)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Total Net Assets** | $2290906894 |
| **Total Number of Portfolio Holdings (excludes derivatives, except purchased options, if any)** | 689 |
| **Portfolio Turnover Rate** | 40% |

---

**WHAT DID THE FUND INVEST IN?** (as of January 31, 2026)

**Portfolio Composition**<sup>\*</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>†</sup> **(% of Total Investments)**

![image](ts6492img003.jpg)

\* Does not include derivatives, except purchased options, if any.

† Certain
 categories may represent less than 0.1%.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | **WHERE CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND?** |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | Additional information is available on https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents, including its: |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | • prospectus • proxy voting information • financial information • holdings • tax information |

---

George Putnam Balanced Fund PAGE 1 38900-STSY-0326

60.414.211.88.30.10.00.00.05.2 ------

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) Not applicable

ITEM 2. CODE OF ETHICS.

Not applicable.

ITEM 3. AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT.

Not applicable.

ITEM 4. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES.

Not applicable.

ITEM 5. AUDIT COMMITTEE OF LISTED REGISTRANTS.

Not applicable.

ITEM 6. SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) Please see schedule of investments contained in the Financial Statements and Financial Highlights included under Item 7 of this Form N-CSR.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) Not applicable.

ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS FOR OPEN-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

#### George

#### Putnam

#### Balanced

#### Fund

#### Financial

#### Statements

#### and

#### Other

#### Important

#### Information

#### Semi-annual
\|

January 31, 2026

#### If

#### you

#### need

#### assistance

#### accessing

#### this

#### content,

#### please

#### reach

#### out

#### to

#### your

#### sales

#### representative

#### or

#### send

#### an

#### email

#### to

#### accessibility@franklintempleton.com

#### .

#### Table

#### of

#### Contents
franklintempleton.com

Financial

Statements

and

Other

Important

Information—Semiannual

Financial

Highlights

and

Schedule

of

Investments

#### 2
Financial

Statements

#### 31
Notes

to

Financial

Statements

#### 36
Changes

In

and

Disagreements

with

Accountants

#### 51
Results

of

Meeting(s)

of

Shareholders

Remuneration

Paid

to

Directors,

Officers

and

Others

Board

Approval

of

Management

and

Subadvisory

Agreements

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Financial

Highlights

#### George

#### Putnam

#### Balanced

#### Fund
franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

#### Six

#### Months

#### Ended

#### January

#### 31,

#### 2026
(unaudited)

#### Year

#### Ended

#### July

#### 31,

#### 2025

#### 2024

#### 2023

#### 2022

#### 2021

#### Class

#### A

#### Per

#### share

#### operating

#### performance
(for

a

share

outstanding

throughout

the

period)

Net

asset

value,

beginning

of

period

.....

$27.05

$25.56

$21.95

$21.02

$24.62

$21.68

Income

from

investment

operations

a

:

Net

investment

income

b

.............

0.21 0.40 0.34 0.25 0.17 0.16 Net

realized

and

unrealized

gains

(losses)

2.00 2.30 3.57 1.29 (1.93)

4.19 Total

from

investment

operations

........

2.21 2.70 3.91 1.54 (1.76)

4.35 Less

distributions

from:

Net

investment

income

..............

(0.21)

(0.50)

(0.30)

(0.21)

(0.20)

(0.16)

Net

realized

gains

.................

(1.80)

(0.71)

—

(0.40)

(1.64)

(1.25)

Total

distributions

...................

(2.01)

(1.21)

(0.30)

(0.61)

(1.84)

(1.41)

Net

asset

value,

end

of

period

..........

$27.25

$27.05

$25.56

$21.95

$21.02

$24.62

Total

return

c

.......................

8.22%

10.77%

17.96%

7.66%

(7.87)%

20.84%

#### Ratios

#### to

#### average

#### net

#### assets

#### d
Expenses

e

........................

0.85%

0.91%

0.93%

0.96%

0.94%

0.94%

Net

investment

income

...............

1.51%

1.56%

1.47%

1.22%

0.73%

0.68%

#### Supplemental

#### data
Net

assets

,

end

of

period

(000's)

........

$1,552,433

$1,484,304

$1,405,540

$1,243,009

$1,225,429

$1,383,459

Portfolio

turnover

rate

................

40%

97%

80%

47%

66%

93%

a

The

amount

shown

for

a

share

outstanding

throughout

the

period

may

not

correlate

with

the

Statement

of

Operations

for

the

period

due

to

the

timing

of

sales

and

repurchases

of

the

Fund's

shares

in

relation

to

income

earned

and/or

fluctuating

fair

value

of

the

investments

of

the

Fund.

b

Based

on

average

daily

shares

outstanding.

c

Total

return

does

not

reflect

sales

commissions

or

contingent

deferred

sales

charges,

if

applicable,

and

is

not

annualized

for

periods

less

than

one

year.

d

Ratios

are

annualized

for

periods

less

than

one

year.

e

Benefit

of

expense

reduction

rounds

to

less

than

0.01%.

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Financial

Highlights

#### George

#### Putnam

#### Balanced

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

#### Six

#### Months

#### Ended

#### January

#### 31,

#### 2026
(unaudited)

#### Year

#### Ended

#### July

#### 31,

#### 2025

#### 2024

#### 2023

#### 2022

#### 2021

#### Class

#### C

#### Per

#### share

#### operating

#### performance
(for

a

share

outstanding

throughout

the

period)

Net

asset

value,

beginning

of

period

.....

$26.69

$25.21

$21.66

$20.75

$24.35

$21.48

Income

from

investment

operations

a

:

Net

investment

income

(loss)

b

........

0.11 0.21 0.16 0.09 (0.01)

(0.02)

Net

realized

and

unrealized

gains

(losses)

1.96 2.28 3.52 1.28 (1.89)

4.15 Total

from

investment

operations

........

2.07 2.49 3.68 1.37 (1.90)

4.13 Less

distributions

from:

Net

investment

income

..............

(0.13)

(0.30)

(0.13)

(0.06)

(0.06)

(0.01)

Net

realized

gains

.................

(1.80)

(0.71)

—

(0.40)

(1.64)

(1.25)

Total

distributions

...................

(1.93)

(1.01)

(0.13)

(0.46)

(1.70)

(1.26)

Net

asset

value,

end

of

period

..........

$26.83

$26.69

$25.21

$21.66

$20.75

$24.35

Total

return

c

.......................

7.80%

10.00%

17.05%

6.84%

(8.57)%

19.90%

#### Ratios

#### to

#### average

#### net

#### assets

#### d
Expenses

e

........................

1.60%

1.66%

1.68%

1.71%

1.69%

1.69%

Net

investment

income

(loss)

..........

0.76%

0.81%

0.72%

0.47%

(0.02)%

(0.07)%

#### Supplemental

#### data
Net

assets

,

end

of

period

(000's)

........

$134,087

$128,869

$118,722

$105,791

$115,907

$128,300

Portfolio

turnover

rate

................

40%

97%

80%

47%

66%

93%

a

The

amount

shown

for

a

share

outstanding

throughout

the

period

may

not

correlate

with

the

Statement

of

Operations

for

the

period

due

to

the

timing

of

sales

and

repurchases

of

the

Fund's

shares

in

relation

to

income

earned

and/or

fluctuating

fair

value

of

the

investments

of

the

Fund.

b

Based

on

average

daily

shares

outstanding.

c

Total

return

does

not

reflect

sales

commissions

or

contingent

deferred

sales

charges,

if

applicable,

and

is

not

annualized

for

periods

less

than

one

year.

d

Ratios

are

annualized

for

periods

less

than

one

year.

e

Benefit

of

expense

reduction

rounds

to

less

than

0.01%.

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Financial

Highlights

#### George

#### Putnam

#### Balanced

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

#### Six

#### Months

#### Ended

#### January

#### 31,

#### 2026
(unaudited)

#### Year

#### Ended

#### July

#### 31,

#### 2025

#### 2024

#### 2023

#### 2022

#### 2021

#### Class

#### M

#### Per

#### share

#### operating

#### performance
(for

a

share

outstanding

throughout

the

period)

Net

asset

value,

beginning

of

period

.....

$26.52

$25.06

$21.54

$20.63

$24.20

$21.34

Income

from

investment

operations

a

:

Net

investment

income

b

.............

0.14 0.27 0.22 0.14 0.05 0.04 Net

realized

and

unrealized

gains

(losses)

1.96 2.26 3.49 1.29 (1.89)

4.12 Total

from

investment

operations

........

2.10 2.53 3.71 1.43 (1.84)

4.16 Less

distributions

from:

Net

investment

income

..............

(0.16)

(0.36)

(0.19)

(0.12)

(0.09)

(0.05)

Net

realized

gains

.................

(1.80)

(0.71)

—

(0.40)

(1.64)

(1.25)

Total

distributions

...................

(1.96)

(1.07)

(0.19)

(0.52)

(1.73)

(1.30)

Net

asset

value,

end

of

period

..........

$26.66

$26.52

$25.06

$21.54

$20.63

$24.20

Total

return

c

.......................

7.93%

10.27%

17.32%

7.18%

(8.36)%

20.20%

#### Ratios

#### to

#### average

#### net

#### assets

#### d
Expenses

e

........................

1.35%

1.41%

1.43%

1.46%

1.44%

1.44%

Net

investment

income

...............

1.01%

1.06%

0.97%

0.72%

0.22%

0.19%

#### Supplemental

#### data
Net

assets

,

end

of

period

(000's)

........

$59,179

$59,676

$59,816

$51,525

$50,466

$59,887

Portfolio

turnover

rate

................

40%

97%

80%

47%

66%

93%

a

The

amount

shown

for

a

share

outstanding

throughout

the

period

may

not

correlate

with

the

Statement

of

Operations

for

the

period

due

to

the

timing

of

sales

and

repurchases

of

the

Fund's

shares

in

relation

to

income

earned

and/or

fluctuating

fair

value

of

the

investments

of

the

Fund.

b

Based

on

average

daily

shares

outstanding.

c

Total

return

does

not

reflect

sales

commissions

or

contingent

deferred

sales

charges,

if

applicable,

and

is

not

annualized

for

periods

less

than

one

year.

d

Ratios

are

annualized

for

periods

less

than

one

year.

e

Benefit

of

expense

reduction

rounds

to

less

than

0.01%.

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Financial

Highlights

#### George

#### Putnam

#### Balanced

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

#### Six

#### Months

#### Ended

#### January

#### 31,

#### 2026
(unaudited)

#### Year

#### Ended

#### July

#### 31,

#### 2025

#### 2024

#### 2023

#### 2022

#### 2021

#### Class

#### R

#### Per

#### share

#### operating

#### performance
(for

a

share

outstanding

throughout

the

period)

Net

asset

value,

beginning

of

period

.....

$26.92

$25.44

$21.85

$20.92

$24.51

$21.60

Income

from

investment

operations

a

:

Net

investment

income

b

.............

0.17 0.34 0.28 0.20 0.11 0.10 Net

realized

and

unrealized

gains

(losses)

2.00 2.28 3.55 1.29 (1.92)

4.16 Total

from

investment

operations

........

2.17 2.62 3.83 1.49 (1.81)

4.26 Less

distributions

from:

Net

investment

income

..............

(0.20)

(0.43)

(0.24)

(0.16)

(0.14)

(0.10)

Net

realized

gains

.................

(1.80)

(0.71)

—

(0.40)

(1.64)

(1.25)

Total

distributions

...................

(2.00)

(1.14)

(0.24)

(0.56)

(1.78)

(1.35)

Net

asset

value,

end

of

period

..........

$27.09

$26.92

$25.44

$21.85

$20.92

$24.51

Total

return

c

.......................

8.09%

10.49%

17.64%

7.40%

(8.10)%

20.50%

#### Ratios

#### to

#### average

#### net

#### assets

#### d
Expenses

e

........................

1.11%

1.16%

1.18%

1.21%

1.19%

1.19%

Net

investment

income

...............

1.22%

1.31%

1.22%

0.96%

0.47%

0.43%

#### Supplemental

#### data
Net

assets

,

end

of

period

(000's)

........

$2,409

$1,282

$1,320

$1,212

$1,795

$2,001

Portfolio

turnover

rate

................

40%

97%

80%

47%

66%

93%

a

The

amount

shown

for

a

share

outstanding

throughout

the

period

may

not

correlate

with

the

Statement

of

Operations

for

the

period

due

to

the

timing

of

sales

and

repurchases

of

the

Fund's

shares

in

relation

to

income

earned

and/or

fluctuating

fair

value

of

the

investments

of

the

Fund.

b

Based

on

average

daily

shares

outstanding.

c

Total

return

is

not

annualized

for

periods

less

than

one

year.

d

Ratios

are

annualized

for

periods

less

than

one

year.

e

Benefit

of

expense

reduction

rounds

to

less

than

0.01%.

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Financial

Highlights

#### George

#### Putnam

#### Balanced

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

#### Six

#### Months

#### Ended

#### January

#### 31,

#### 2026
(unaudited)

#### Year

#### Ended

#### July

#### 31,

#### 2025

#### 2024

#### 2023

#### 2022

#### 2021

#### Class

#### R5

#### Per

#### share

#### operating

#### performance
(for

a

share

outstanding

throughout

the

period)

Net

asset

value,

beginning

of

period

.....

$27.50

$25.96

$22.29

$21.31

$24.94

$21.89

Income

from

investment

operations

a

:

Net

investment

income

b

.............

0.25 0.45 0.40 0.27 0.20 0.21 Net

realized

and

unrealized

gains

(losses)

2.03 2.37 3.62 1.36 (1.93)

4.24 Total

from

investment

operations

........

2.28 2.82 4.02 1.63 (1.73)

4.45 Less

distributions

from:

Net

investment

income

..............

(0.24)

(0.57)

(0.35)

(0.25)

(0.26)

(0.15)

Net

realized

gains

.................

(1.80)

(0.71)

—

(0.40)

(1.64)

(1.25)

Total

distributions

...................

(2.04)

(1.28)

(0.35)

(0.65)

(1.90)

(1.40)

Net

asset

value,

end

of

period

..........

$27.74

$27.50

$25.96

$22.29

$21.31

$24.94

Total

return

c

.......................

8.35%

11.05%

18.22%

8.01%

(7.68)%

21.11%

#### Ratios

#### to

#### average

#### net

#### assets

#### d
Expenses

e

........................

0.66%

0.69%

0.71%

0.72%

0.71%

0.71%

Net

investment

income

...............

1.71%

1.73%

1.69%

1.26%

0.86%

0.92%

#### Supplemental

#### data
Net

assets

,

end

of

period

(000's)

........

$14

$14

$13

$11

$20

$21

Portfolio

turnover

rate

................

40%

97%

80%

47%

66%

93%

#### a
The

amount

shown

for

a

share

outstanding

throughout

the

period

may

not

correlate

with

the

Statement

of

Operations

for

the

period

due

to

the

timing

of

sales

and

repurchases

of

the

Fund's

shares

in

relation

to

income

earned

and/or

fluctuating

fair

value

of

the

investments

of

the

Fund.

#### b
Based

on

average

daily

shares

outstanding.

#### c
Total

return

is

not

annualized

for

periods

less

than

one

year.

#### d
Ratios

are

annualized

for

periods

less

than

one

year.

#### e
Benefit

of

expense

reduction

rounds

to

less

than

0.01%.

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Financial

Highlights

#### George

#### Putnam

#### Balanced

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

#### Six

#### Months

#### Ended

#### January

#### 31,

#### 2026
(unaudited)

#### Year

#### Ended

#### July

#### 31,

#### 2025

#### 2024

#### 2023

#### 2022

#### 2021

#### Class

#### R6

#### Per

#### share

#### operating

#### performance
(for

a

share

outstanding

throughout

the

period)

Net

asset

value,

beginning

of

period

.....

$27.21

$25.70

$22.07

$21.13

$24.75

$21.79

Income

from

investment

operations

a

:

Net

investment

income

b

.............

0.26 0.49 0.42 0.32 0.24 0.23 Net

realized

and

unrealized

gains

(losses)

2.00 2.32 3.58 1.30 (1.94)

4.21 Total

from

investment

operations

........

2.26 2.81 4.00 1.62 (1.70)

4.44 Less

distributions

from:

Net

investment

income

..............

(0.25)

(0.59)

(0.37)

(0.28)

(0.28)

(0.23)

Net

realized

gains

.................

(1.80)

(0.71)

—

(0.40)

(1.64)

(1.25)

Total

distributions

...................

(2.05)

(1.30)

(0.37)

(0.68)

(1.92)

(1.48)

Net

asset

value,

end

of

period

..........

$27.42

$27.21

$25.70

$22.07

$21.13

$24.75

Total

return

c

.......................

8.38%

11.16%

18.33%

8.03%

(7.60)%

21.22%

#### Ratios

#### to

#### average

#### net

#### assets

#### d
Expenses

e

........................

0.56%

0.60%

0.61%

0.62%

0.61%

0.61%

Net

investment

income

...............

1.81%

1.87%

1.79%

1.56%

1.05%

1.01%

#### Supplemental

#### data
Net

assets

,

end

of

period

(000's)

........

$100,958

$94,218

$92,369

$93,044

$65,091

$69,239

Portfolio

turnover

rate

................

40%

97%

80%

47%

66%

93%

#### a
The

amount

shown

for

a

share

outstanding

throughout

the

period

may

not

correlate

with

the

Statement

of

Operations

for

the

period

due

to

the

timing

of

sales

and

repurchases

of

the

Fund's

shares

in

relation

to

income

earned

and/or

fluctuating

fair

value

of

the

investments

of

the

Fund.

#### b
Based

on

average

daily

shares

outstanding.

#### c
Total

return

is

not

annualized

for

periods

less

than

one

year.

#### d
Ratios

are

annualized

for

periods

less

than

one

year.

#### e
Benefit

of

expense

reduction

rounds

to

less

than

0.01%.

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Financial

Highlights

#### George

#### Putnam

#### Balanced

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

#### Six

#### Months

#### Ended

#### January

#### 31,

#### 2026
(unaudited)

#### Year

#### Ended

#### July

#### 31,

#### 2025

#### 2024

#### 2023

#### 2022

#### 2021

#### Class

#### Y

#### Per

#### share

#### operating

#### performance
(for

a

share

outstanding

throughout

the

period)

Net

asset

value,

beginning

of

period

.....

$27.20

$25.69

$22.07

$21.12

$24.74

$21.78

Income

from

investment

operations

a

:

Net

investment

income

b

.............

0.25 0.47 0.40 0.30 0.22 0.21 Net

realized

and

unrealized

gains

(losses)

2.00 2.33 3.58 1.31 (1.94)

4.21 Total

from

investment

operations

........

2.25 2.80 3.98 1.61 (1.72)

4.42 Less

distributions

from:

Net

investment

income

..............

(0.24)

(0.58)

(0.36)

(0.26)

(0.26)

(0.21)

Net

realized

gains

.................

(1.80)

(0.71)

—

(0.40)

(1.64)

(1.25)

Total

distributions

...................

(2.04)

(1.29)

(0.36)

(0.66)

(1.90)

(1.46)

Net

asset

value,

end

of

period

..........

$27.41

$27.20

$25.69

$22.07

$21.12

$24.74

Total

return

c

.......................

8.36%

11.09%

18.20%

7.98%

(7.68)%

21.13%

#### Ratios

#### to

#### average

#### net

#### assets

#### d
Expenses

e

........................

0.60%

0.66%

0.68%

0.71%

0.69%

0.69%

Net

investment

income

...............

1.76%

1.81%

1.71%

1.47%

0.97%

0.93%

#### Supplemental

#### data
Net

assets

,

end

of

period

(000's)

........

$441,828

$442,459

$349,881

$259,985

$256,633

$285,962

Portfolio

turnover

rate

................

40%

97%

80%

47%

66%

93%

#### a
The

amount

shown

for

a

share

outstanding

throughout

the

period

may

not

correlate

with

the

Statement

of

Operations

for

the

period

due

to

the

timing

of

sales

and

repurchases

of

the

Fund's

shares

in

relation

to

income

earned

and/or

fluctuating

fair

value

of

the

investments

of

the

Fund.

#### b
Based

on

average

daily

shares

outstanding.

#### c
Total

return

is

not

annualized

for

periods

less

than

one

year.

#### d
Ratios

are

annualized

for

periods

less

than

one

year.

#### e
Benefit

of

expense

reduction

rounds

to

less

than

0.01%.

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited),

January

31,

2026

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Country

#### Shares
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Common

#### Stocks

#### 62.8%

#### Aerospace

#### &

#### Defense

#### 1.1%
Airbus

SE

.........................................

France

28,855

$

6,606,353

Northrop

Grumman

Corp.

.............................

United

States

11,993

8,302,274

RTX

Corp.

........................................

United

States

51,798

10,407,772

25,316,399

#### Air

#### Freight

#### &

#### Logistics

#### 0.6%
FedEx

Corp.

.......................................

United

States

42,614

13,732,361

#### Automobiles

#### 1.3%
General

Motors

Co.

..................................

United

States

51,914

4,360,776

a

Tesla,

Inc.

.........................................

United

States

59,111

25,441,965

29,802,741

#### Banks

#### 1.5%
Bank

of

America

Corp.

...............................

United

States

108,677

5,781,616

Citigroup,

Inc.

......................................

United

States

147,083

17,018,974

JPMorgan

Chase

&

Co.

...............................

United

States

29,664

9,073,921

PNC

Financial

Services

Group,

Inc.

(The)

.................

United

States

12,992

2,901,114

34,775,625

#### Beverages

#### 0.9%
Coca-Cola

Co.

(The)

.................................

United

States

201,237

15,054,540

Keurig

Dr.

Pepper,

Inc.

...............................

United

States

94,263

2,586,577

PepsiCo,

Inc.

......................................

United

States

18,567

2,852,448

20,493,565

#### Biotechnology

#### 1.3%
AbbVie,

Inc.

.......................................

United

States

51,095

11,394,696

Amgen,

Inc.

.......................................

United

States

846

289,230

Gilead

Sciences,

Inc.

................................

United

States

37,413

5,310,775

Regeneron

Pharmaceuticals,

Inc.

.......................

United

States

10,197

7,560,566

a

Vertex

Pharmaceuticals,

Inc.

...........................

United

States

8,581

4,032,212

28,587,479

#### Broadline

#### Retail

#### 2.9%
a

Amazon.com,

Inc.

...................................

United

States

276,993

66,284,425

#### Building

#### Products

#### 0.3%
Trane

Technologies

plc

...............................

United

States

13,713

5,767,414

#### Capital

#### Markets

#### 1.5%
BlackRock,

Inc.

.....................................

United

States

7,119

7,965,734

Charles

Schwab

Corp.

(The)

...........................

United

States

93,588

9,725,665

CME

Group,

Inc.

....................................

United

States

15,294

4,420,884

Nasdaq,

Inc.

.......................................

United

States

53,886

5,221,014

TPG,

Inc.,

A

.......................................

United

States

117,828

6,941,247

34,274,544

#### Chemicals

#### 0.7%
Corteva,

Inc.

.......................................

United

States

71,616

5,213,645

Linde

plc

..........................................

United

States

5,651

2,582,338

PPG

Industries,

Inc.

.................................

United

States

35,962

4,158,286

a

Solstice

Advanced

Materials,

Inc.

.......................

United

States

62,694

3,872,608

15,826,877

#### Commercial

#### Services

#### &

#### Supplies

#### 0.3%
Cintas

Corp.

.......................................

United

States

12,347

2,363,092

a

Copart,

Inc.

........................................

United

States

58,868

2,388,864

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Country

#### Shares
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Common

#### Stocks
(continued)

#### Commercial

#### Services

#### &

#### Supplies
(continued)

Waste

Connections,

Inc.

..............................

United

States

18,817

$

3,153,729

7,905,685

#### Communications

#### Equipment

#### 1.4%
Cisco

Systems,

Inc.

.................................

United

States

397,455

31,128,676

#### Construction

#### Materials

#### 0.4%
CRH

plc

..........................................

United

States

81,828

10,016,565

#### Consumer

#### Finance

#### 0.6%
Capital

One

Financial

Corp.

...........................

United

States

67,231

14,718,883

#### Consumer

#### Staples

#### Distribution

#### &

#### Retail

#### 1.4%
a

BJ's

Wholesale

Club

Holdings,

Inc.

......................

United

States

26,466

2,446,517

Costco

Wholesale

Corp.

..............................

United

States

6,628

6,231,977

Target

Corp.

.......................................

United

States

20,039

2,113,514

a

US

Foods

Holding

Corp.

..............................

United

States

15,316

1,280,724

Walmart,

Inc.

......................................

United

States

166,188

19,799,638

31,872,370

#### Electric

#### Utilities

#### 1.1%
Constellation

Energy

Corp.

............................

United

States

7,731

2,169,937

NextEra

Energy,

Inc.

.................................

United

States

90,083

7,918,296

NRG

Energy,

Inc.

...................................

United

States

44,603

6,807,756

PPL

Corp.

.........................................

United

States

105,396

3,820,605

Xcel

Energy,

Inc.

....................................

United

States

46,985

3,573,679

24,290,273

#### Electrical

#### Equipment

#### 0.4%
GE

Vernova,

Inc.

....................................

United

States

11,821

8,586,420

#### Energy

#### Equipment

#### &

#### Services

#### 0.0%

#### †
SLB

Ltd.

..........................................

United

States

19,758

955,892

#### Entertainment

#### 2.1%
a

Liberty

Media

Corp.-Liberty

Formula

One

Corp.,

C

...........

United

States

50,530

4,397,121

a,b

Live

Nation

Entertainment,

Inc.

.........................

United

States

53,204

7,738,522

a

Netflix,

Inc.

........................................

United

States

109,264

9,122,451

a

ROBLOX

Corp.,

A

...................................

United

States

78,707

5,175,772

a

Spotify

Technology

SA

................................

United

States

12,270

6,139,295

Walt

Disney

Co.

(The)

................................

United

States

131,169

14,795,863

47,369,024

#### Financial

#### Services

#### 2.5%
Apollo

Global

Management,

Inc.

........................

United

States

51,566

6,937,690

a

Berkshire

Hathaway,

Inc.,

B

............................

United

States

32,338

15,539,379

Corebridge

Financial,

Inc.

.............................

United

States

62,386

1,923,361

Mastercard,

Inc.,

A

..................................

United

States

39,170

21,104,404

Visa,

Inc.,

A

........................................

United

States

37,252

11,988,811

57,493,645

#### Food

#### Products

#### 0.1%
Mondelez

International,

Inc.,

A

..........................

United

States

44,865

2,623,257

#### Ground

#### Transportation

#### 0.3%
Union

Pacific

Corp.

..................................

United

States

30,042

7,062,874

#### Health

#### Care

#### Equipment

#### &

#### Supplies

#### 1.2%
Abbott

Laboratories

..................................

United

States

18,853

2,060,633

Becton

Dickinson

&

Co.

...............................

United

States

32,840

6,682,283

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Country

#### Shares
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Common

#### Stocks
(continued)

#### Health

#### Care

#### Equipment

#### &

#### Supplies
(continued)

a

Boston

Scientific

Corp.

...............................

United

States

66,063

$

6,178,872

a

Dexcom,

Inc.

.......................................

United

States

34,415

2,513,672

a

Edwards

Lifesciences

Corp.

...........................

United

States

27,660

2,250,418

a

Intuitive

Surgical,

Inc.

................................

United

States

9,375

4,727,062

Medtronic

plc

......................................

United

States

22,276

2,293,537

Stryker

Corp.

......................................

United

States

2,445

903,574

27,610,051

#### Health

#### Care

#### Providers

#### &

#### Services

#### 1.1%
Cardinal

Health,

Inc.

.................................

United

States

10,129

2,176,519

Cencora,

Inc.

......................................

United

States

2,102

755,080

CVS

Health

Corp.

...................................

United

States

38,308

2,854,712

HCA

Healthcare,

Inc.

.................................

United

States

5,325

2,600,038

McKesson

Corp.

....................................

United

States

10,808

8,983,718

UnitedHealth

Group,

Inc.

..............................

United

States

29,374

8,428,282

25,798,349

#### Health

#### Care

#### REITs

#### 0.3%
Welltower,

Inc.

.....................................

United

States

37,745

7,109,648

#### Hotels,

#### Restaurants

#### &

#### Leisure

#### 0.4%
a

Chipotle

Mexican

Grill,

Inc.,

A

..........................

United

States

62,182

2,417,014

McDonald's

Corp.

...................................

United

States

15,773

4,968,495

Starbucks

Corp.

....................................

United

States

25,317

2,327,898

9,713,407

#### Household

#### Products

#### 0.4%
Procter

&

Gamble

Co.

(The)

...........................

United

States

62,854

9,539,352

#### Industrial

#### Conglomerates

#### 0.5%
Honeywell

International,

Inc.

...........................

United

States

53,052

12,070,391

#### Industrial

#### REITs

#### 0.3%
Prologis,

Inc.

.......................................

United

States

56,991

7,440,745

#### Insurance

#### 1.7%
Allstate

Corp.

(The)

..................................

United

States

56,042

11,151,798

American

International

Group,

Inc.

......................

United

States

86,051

6,443,499

Aon

plc,

A

.........................................

United

States

13,672

4,780,278

a

Arch

Capital

Group

Ltd.

...............................

United

States

48,674

4,674,651

Assured

Guaranty

Ltd.

...............................

United

States

14,869

1,261,635

AXA

SA

...........................................

France

28,483

1,298,800

Prudential

plc

......................................

Hong

Kong

339,624

5,578,408

Unum

Group

.......................................

United

States

41,015

3,115,909

38,304,978

#### Interactive

#### Media

#### &

#### Services

#### 5.5%
Alphabet,

Inc.,

A

....................................

United

States

245,923

83,121,974

Meta

Platforms,

Inc.,

A

...............................

United

States

58,383

41,831,419

124,953,393

#### Life

#### Sciences

#### Tools

#### &

#### Services

#### 1.0%
a,b

Bio-Rad

Laboratories,

Inc.,

A

...........................

United

States

18,269

5,365,605

Danaher

Corp.

.....................................

United

States

11,004

2,408,666

Thermo

Fisher

Scientific,

Inc.

..........................

United

States

25,631

14,830,353

22,604,624

#### Machinery

#### 0.9%
Fortive

Corp.

.......................................

United

States

122,083

6,447,203

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Country

#### Shares
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Common

#### Stocks
(continued)

#### Machinery
(continued)

Ingersoll

Rand,

Inc.

..................................

United

States

58,014

$

4,994,425

Otis

Worldwide

Corp.

................................

United

States

100,918

8,620,416

20,062,044

#### Metals

#### &

#### Mining

#### 0.5%
Barrick

Mining

Corp.

.................................

Canada

77,677

3,556,830

Glencore

plc

.......................................

Australia

1,054,974

7,192,134

10,748,964

#### Multi-Utilities

#### 0.4%
Ameren

Corp.

......................................

United

States

62,966

6,503,128

CenterPoint

Energy,

Inc.

..............................

United

States

80,187

3,182,622

9,685,750

#### Oil,

#### Gas

#### &

#### Consumable

#### Fuels

#### 2.4%
a

Antero

Resources

Corp.

..............................

United

States

62,353

2,267,779

BP

plc

............................................

United

States

445,318

2,823,564

Cenovus

Energy,

Inc.

................................

Canada

364,770

7,198,157

ConocoPhillips

.....................................

United

States

99,882

10,410,701

Exxon

Mobil

Corp.

...................................

United

States

185,263

26,196,188

Shell

plc

..........................................

United

States

167,850

6,452,072

55,348,461

#### Passenger

#### Airlines

#### 0.2%
Southwest

Airlines

Co.

...............................

United

States

99,811

4,743,019

#### Pharmaceuticals

#### 2.1%
Bristol-Myers

Squibb

Co.

..............................

United

States

62,201

3,424,165

Eli

Lilly

&

Co.

......................................

United

States

23,921

24,809,665

Johnson

&

Johnson

.................................

United

States

58,293

13,247,084

Merck

&

Co.,

Inc.

...................................

United

States

68,016

7,500,125

48,981,039

#### Real

#### Estate

#### Management

#### &

#### Development

#### 0.1%
a

CBRE

Group,

Inc.,

A

.................................

United

States

15,394

2,622,060

#### Semiconductors

#### &

#### Semiconductor

#### Equipment

#### 10.4%
a

Advanced

Micro

Devices,

Inc.

..........................

United

States

82,682

19,573,310

Analog

Devices,

Inc.

.................................

United

States

87,465

27,191,119

Broadcom,

Inc.

.....................................

United

States

136,165

45,111,465

Lam

Research

Corp.

.................................

United

States

135,634

31,665,114

Marvell

Technology,

Inc.

..............................

United

States

214,621

16,937,889

NVIDIA

Corp.

......................................

United

States

484,744

92,649,121

Qnity

Electronics,

Inc.

................................

United

States

40,179

3,864,416

QUALCOMM,

Inc.

...................................

United

States

6,948

1,053,247

238,045,681

#### Software

#### 4.9%
Microsoft

Corp.

.....................................

United

States

201,899

86,875,121

Oracle

Corp.

.......................................

United

States

78,225

12,874,270

a

Palantir

Technologies,

Inc.,

A

...........................

United

States

82,322

12,067,582

111,816,973

#### Specialized

#### REITs

#### 0.6%
American

Tower

Corp.

................................

United

States

80,429

14,419,311

#### Specialty

#### Retail

#### 0.8%
Home

Depot,

Inc.

(The)

...............................

United

States

26,655

9,984,696

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Country

#### Shares
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Common

#### Stocks
(continued)

#### Specialty

#### Retail
(continued)

TJX

Cos.,

Inc.

(The)

.................................

United

States

44,665

$

6,691,264

a

Ulta

Beauty,

Inc.

....................................

United

States

1,593

1,031,245

17,707,205

#### Technology

#### Hardware,

#### Storage

#### &

#### Peripherals

#### 3.6%
Apple,

Inc.

........................................

United

States

266,199

69,073,316

a

Pure

Storage,

Inc.,

A

.................................

United

States

175,507

12,204,757

81,278,073

#### Textiles,

#### Apparel

#### &

#### Luxury

#### Goods

#### 0.2%
Levi

Strauss

&

Co.,

A

................................

United

States

82,624

1,642,565

NIKE,

Inc.,

B

.......................................

United

States

6,161

380,811

a

On

Holding

AG,

A

...................................

Switzerland

39,676

1,795,339

3,818,715

#### Tobacco

#### 0.4%
Philip

Morris

International,

Inc.

.........................

United

States

54,599

9,797,245

#### Trading

#### Companies

#### &

#### Distributors

#### 0.2%
United

Rentals,

Inc.

..................................

United

States

6,775

5,298,456

#### Total

#### Common

#### Stocks

#### (Cost

#### $776,880,054)

#### ...................................

#### 1,438,402,928

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*

#### Corporate

#### Bonds

#### 12.2%

#### Aerospace

#### &

#### Defense

#### 0.5%
c

BAE

Systems

plc

,

Senior

Bond,

144A,

5.3%,

3/26/34

.....................

United

Kingdom

1,415,000

1,464,311

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.125%,

3/26/29

...................

United

Kingdom

1,145,000

1,179,509

Boeing

Co.

(The)

,

Senior

Bond,

2.95%,

2/01/30

.........................

United

States

139,000

132,006

Senior

Bond,

6.125%,

2/15/33

........................

United

States

1,044,000

1,128,467

Senior

Bond,

3.6%,

5/01/34

..........................

United

States

344,000

313,251

Senior

Bond,

3.25%,

2/01/35

.........................

United

States

192,000

168,127

Senior

Bond,

3.5%,

3/01/39

..........................

United

States

390,000

320,002

Senior

Bond,

6.875%,

3/15/39

........................

United

States

575,000

649,673

Senior

Bond,

3.375%,

6/15/46

........................

United

States

278,000

197,664

Senior

Bond,

3.9%,

5/01/49

..........................

United

States

534,000

399,346

Senior

Bond,

6.858%,

5/01/54

........................

United

States

565,000

637,534

Senior

Bond,

3.95%,

8/01/59

.........................

United

States

480,000

340,242

Senior

Note,

2.196%,

2/04/26

........................

United

States

1,405,000

1,404,761

Senior

Note,

6.259%,

5/01/27

........................

United

States

87,000

89,249

Senior

Note,

6.298%,

5/01/29

........................

United

States

132,000

140,247

Howmet

Aerospace,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

6.75%,

1/15/28

.........................

United

States

801,000

842,556

Senior

Bond,

5.95%,

2/01/37

.........................

United

States

512,000

554,770

Senior

Note,

3%,

1/15/29

...........................

United

States

942,000

916,493

10,878,208

#### Automobiles

#### 0.1%
c

Hyundai

Capital

America

,

Senior

Bond,

144A,

6.375%,

4/08/30

...................

United

States

106,000

113,313

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.5%,

1/16/29

.....................

United

States

930,000

986,595

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.35%,

3/19/29

....................

United

States

540,000

556,694

Senior

Note,

144A,

4.55%,

9/26/29

....................

United

States

315,000

317,620

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.4%,

1/08/31

.....................

United

States

254,000

263,477

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Automobiles
(continued)

c

Hyundai

Capital

America,

(continued)

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.4%,

6/23/32

.....................

United

States

380,000

$

395,005

2,632,704

#### Banks

#### 1.9%
c

Australia

&

New

Zealand

Banking

Group

Ltd.

,

d

Junior

Sub.

Bond,

144A,

6.75%

to

6/14/26,

FRN

thereafter,

Perpetual

.......................................

Australia

200,000

202,248

Sub.

Bond,

144A,

2.57%

to

11/24/30,

FRN

thereafter,

11/25/35

Australia

920,000

831,242

Banco

Santander

SA

,

Senior

Non-Preferred

Note

,

1.722%

to

9/13/26,

FRN

thereafter

,

9/14/27

......................

Spain

3,800,000

3,745,311

Bank

of

America

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.468%

to

1/22/34,

FRN

thereafter,

1/23/35

...

United

States

363,000

376,509

Senior

Bond,

5.511%

to

1/23/35,

FRN

thereafter,

1/24/36

...

United

States

245,000

254,421

Senior

Note,

2.551%

to

2/03/27,

FRN

thereafter,

2/04/28

....

United

States

655,000

645,864

Senior

Note,

5.162%

to

1/23/30,

FRN

thereafter,

1/24/31

....

United

States

245,000

252,705

e

Sub.

Bond,

FRN,

4.745%,

(3-month

SOFR

+

1.022%),

9/15/26

United

States

275,000

275,770

Sub.

Bond,

5.425%

to

8/14/34,

FRN

thereafter,

8/15/35

.....

United

States

1,290,000

1,310,586

Sub.

Bond,

6.11%,

1/29/37

..........................

United

States

500,000

535,691

Sub.

Bond,

3.846%

to

3/07/32,

FRN

thereafter,

3/08/37

.....

United

States

3,817,000

3,584,350

Bank

of

Nova

Scotia

(The)

,

Junior

Sub.

Bond

,

7.35%

to

4/26/30,

FRN

thereafter

,

4/27/85

.............................

Canada

1,255,000

1,315,561

c

Banque

Federative

du

Credit

Mutuel

SA

,

Senior

Preferred

Note

,

144A,

4.541 %

,

1/15/31

..............................

France

655,000

653,661

Barclays

plc

,

Senior

Note

,

5.367%

to

2/24/30,

FRN

thereafter

,

2/25/31

.........................................

United

Kingdom

930,000

960,365

c

BPCE

SA

,

Sub.

Bond

,

144A,

3.648%

to

1/13/32,

FRN

thereafter

,

1/14/37

.........................................

France

482,000

443,864

c

CaixaBank

SA

,

Senior

Non-Preferred

Note,

144A,

4.634%

to

7/02/28,

FRN

thereafter,

7/03/29

.................................

Spain

765,000

773,225

Senior

Non-Preferred

Note,

144A,

5.673%

to

3/14/29,

FRN

thereafter,

3/15/30

.................................

Spain

700,000

727,679

Citigroup,

Inc.

,

d

Junior

Sub.

Bond,

6.625%

to

2/14/31,

FRN

thereafter,

Perpetual

.......................................

United

States

735,000

748,689

d

CC,

Junior

Sub.

Bond,

7.125%

to

8/14/29,

FRN

thereafter,

Perpetual

.......................................

United

States

865,000

895,818

d

GG,

Junior

Sub.

Bond,

6.875%

to

8/14/30,

FRN

thereafter,

Perpetual

.......................................

United

States

1,537,000

1,571,192

Senior

Bond,

3.668%

to

7/23/27,

FRN

thereafter,

7/24/28

...

United

States

10,000

9,953

Sub.

Bond,

4.45%,

9/29/27

..........................

United

States

3,039,000

3,059,272

Sub.

Bond,

6.174%

to

5/24/33,

FRN

thereafter,

5/25/34

.....

United

States

271,000

287,036

Sub.

Bond,

4.75%,

5/18/46

..........................

United

States

1,380,000

1,212,700

c

Commonwealth

Bank

of

Australia

,

Sub.

Bond,

144A,

2.688%,

3/11/31

....................

Australia

535,000

487,577

Sub.

Bond,

144A,

5.837%,

3/13/34

....................

Australia

1,085,000

1,141,428

c

Cooperatieve

Rabobank

UA

,

Senior

Non-Preferred

Note

,

144A,

1.98%

to

12/14/26,

FRN

thereafter

,

12/15/27

.............

Netherlands

285,000

280,329

ING

Groep

NV

,

Senior

Note

,

6.083%

to

9/10/26,

FRN

thereafter

,

9/11/27

.........................................

Netherlands

1,015,000

1,027,522

JPMorgan

Chase

&

Co.

,

d

KK,

Junior

Sub.

Bond,

3.65%

to

5/31/26,

FRN

thereafter,

Perpetual

.......................................

United

States

195,000

194,928

e

W,

Junior

Sub.

Bond,

FRN,

5.113%,

(3-month

SOFR

+

1.262%),

5/15/47

.........................................

United

States

595,000

536,342

Senior

Bond,

3.782%

to

1/31/27,

FRN

thereafter,

2/01/28

...

United

States

2,088,000

2,084,025

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Banks
(continued)

JPMorgan

Chase

&

Co.,

(continued)

Senior

Bond,

5.502%

to

1/23/35,

FRN

thereafter,

1/24/36

...

United

States

491,000

$

510,850

Senior

Note,

5.14%

to

1/23/30,

FRN

thereafter,

1/24/31

.....

United

States

1,249,000

1,288,965

Sub.

Bond,

5.717%

to

9/13/32,

FRN

thereafter,

9/14/33

.....

United

States

1,532,000

1,617,073

Sub.

Bond,

5.576%

to

7/22/35,

FRN

thereafter,

7/23/36

.....

United

States

345,000

354,570

Lloyds

Banking

Group

plc

,

Sub.

Bond,

4.65%,

3/24/26

..........................

United

Kingdom

315,000

315,374

Sub.

Bond,

3.369%

to

12/13/41,

FRN

thereafter,

12/14/46

...

United

Kingdom

735,000

547,660

NatWest

Group

plc

,

Senior

Note

,

5.847%

to

3/01/26,

FRN

thereafter

,

3/02/27

.................................

United

Kingdom

790,000

791,093

PNC

Financial

Services

Group,

Inc.

(The)

,

Senior

Bond,

5.373%

to

7/20/35,

FRN

thereafter,

7/21/36

...

United

States

235,000

240,703

Sub.

Bond,

4.626%

to

6/05/32,

FRN

thereafter,

6/06/33

.....

United

States

2,557,000

2,535,741

e

Truist

Bank

,

Sub.

Bond

,

FRN

,

4.632 %

,

(5-year

CMT

T-Note

+

1.15 %),

9/17/29

...................................

United

States

575,000

578,795

Truist

Financial

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.711%

to

1/23/34,

FRN

thereafter

,

1/24/35

.................................

United

States

937,000

981,690

US

Bancorp

,

Sub.

Bond

,

2.491%

to

11/02/31,

FRN

thereafter

,

11/03/36

........................................

United

States

1,627,000

1,424,772

d

Wells

Fargo

&

Co.

,

BB

,

Junior

Sub.

Bond

,

3.9%

to

3/14/26,

FRN

thereafter

,

Perpetual

...............................

United

States

610,000

609,635

Wells

Fargo

Bank

NA

,

Sub.

Bond

,

6.6 %

,

1/15/38

............

United

States

1,095,000

1,222,503

Westpac

Banking

Corp.

,

Sub.

Bond,

4.421%,

7/24/39

.........................

Australia

600,000

554,922

Sub.

Bond,

2.963%,

11/16/40

........................

Australia

535,000

409,181

44,409,390

#### Biotechnology

#### 0.1%
AbbVie,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.05 %

,

3/15/34

................

United

States

301,000

308,655

Amgen,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.65%,

3/02/53

.........................

United

States

320,000

315,197

Senior

Bond,

5.75%,

3/02/63

.........................

United

States

677,000

662,397

Senior

Note,

5.25%,

3/02/30

.........................

United

States

650,000

674,583

1,960,832

#### Building

#### Products

#### 0.0%

#### †
Carlisle

Cos.,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.25 %

,

9/15/35

............

United

States

400,000

407,519

#### Capital

#### Markets

#### 0.8%
Ares

Capital

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

%

,

1/15/27

..............

United

States

325,000

333,775

Blackstone

Private

Credit

Fund

,

Senior

Note

,

3.25 %

,

3/15/27

..

United

States

578,000

569,336

Goldman

Sachs

Group,

Inc.

(The)

,

d

U,

Junior

Sub.

Bond,

3.65%

to

8/09/26,

FRN

thereafter,

Perpetual

.......................................

United

States

185,000

184,067

Senior

Bond,

4.223%

to

4/30/28,

FRN

thereafter,

5/01/29

...

United

States

804,000

806,000

Senior

Bond,

5.065%

to

1/20/36,

FRN

thereafter,

1/21/37

...

United

States

330,000

328,712

Senior

Note,

4.153%

to

10/20/28,

FRN

thereafter,

10/21/29

..

United

States

1,015,000

1,014,578

c

Jane

Street

Group

/

JSG

Finance,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

6.75 %

,

5/01/33

...............................

United

States

1,065,000

1,108,248

Jefferies

Financial

Group,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.5 %

,

9/15/26

....

United

States

1,215,000

1,218,525

c

KKR

Group

Finance

Co.

VI

LLC

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

3.75 %

,

7/01/29

.........................................

United

States

105,000

103,121

LPL

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

6.75%,

11/17/28

........................

United

States

529,000

562,864

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Capital

#### Markets
(continued)

LPL

Holdings,

Inc.,

(continued)

Senior

Note,

5.2%,

3/15/30

..........................

United

States

764,000

$

781,672

Morgan

Stanley

,

Senior

Bond,

5.073%

to

1/29/36,

FRN

thereafter,

1/30/37

...

United

States

500,000

498,255

Senior

Note,

5.123%

to

1/31/28,

FRN

thereafter,

2/01/29

....

United

States

1,030,000

1,050,986

Senior

Note,

5.23%

to

1/14/30,

FRN

thereafter,

1/15/31

.....

United

States

490,000

504,566

Senior

Note,

4.493%

to

1/15/31,

FRN

thereafter,

1/16/32

....

United

States

490,000

489,785

Sub.

Bond,

4.35%,

9/08/26

..........................

United

States

3,409,000

3,418,800

Sub.

Bond,

5.948%

to

1/18/33,

FRN

thereafter,

1/19/38

.....

United

States

226,000

236,462

Sub.

Bond,

5.942%

to

2/06/34,

FRN

thereafter,

2/07/39

.....

United

States

744,000

778,831

c

MSCI,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

3.625 %

,

9/01/30

............

United

States

1,766,000

1,689,129

Nasdaq,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.55 %

,

2/15/34

................

United

States

146,000

152,660

S&P

Global,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

2.5 %

,

12/01/29

.............

United

States

1,550,000

1,466,447

17,296,819

#### Chemicals

#### 0.1%
Celanese

US

Holdings

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

1.4 %

,

8/05/26

......

United

States

750,000

738,764

FMC

Corp.

,

Sub.

Bond

,

8.45%

to

10/31/30,

FRN

thereafter

,

11/01/55

........................................

United

States

1,155,000

927,238

Nutrien

Ltd.

,

Senior

Note

,

%

,

12/15/26

...................

Canada

1,170,000

1,171,568

2,837,570

#### Commercial

#### Services

#### &

#### Supplies

#### 0.2%
Republic

Services,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

%

,

11/15/29

..........

United

States

1,670,000

1,725,456

Waste

Connections,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

4.25%,

12/01/28

........................

United

States

1,318,000

1,329,982

Senior

Bond,

5%,

3/01/34

...........................

United

States

520,000

529,298

Waste

Management,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.875 %

,

2/15/29

......

United

States

880,000

903,294

4,488,030

#### Communications

#### Equipment

#### 0.0%

#### †
Motorola

Solutions,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

2.3%,

11/15/30

.........................

United

States

195,000

177,042

Senior

Note,

4.85%,

8/15/30

.........................

United

States

224,000

228,632

Senior

Note,

5.2%,

8/15/32

..........................

United

States

761,000

785,564

1,191,238

#### Consumer

#### Finance

#### 0.5%
AerCap

Ireland

Capital

DAC

/

AerCap

Global

Aviation

Trust

,

Senior

Bond,

3.3%,

1/30/32

..........................

Ireland

1,890,000

1,749,092

Senior

Note,

5.1%,

1/19/29

..........................

Ireland

285,000

291,747

Senior

Note,

4.125%,

2/28/29

........................

Ireland

225,000

224,266

Ally

Financial,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

%

,

11/01/31

.............

United

States

649,000

736,120

c

Avolon

Holdings

Funding

Ltd.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.75%,

11/15/29

...................

Ireland

976,000

1,014,444

Senior

Note,

144A,

4.9%,

10/10/30

....................

Ireland

1,015,000

1,021,417

Capital

One

Financial

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

3.75%,

3/09/27

.........................

United

States

1,146,000

1,143,964

Senior

Note,

4.493%

to

9/10/30,

FRN

thereafter,

9/11/31

....

United

States

315,000

313,003

Senior

Note,

7.624%

to

10/29/30,

FRN

thereafter,

10/30/31

..

United

States

383,000

430,071

Ford

Motor

Credit

Co.

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

5.8 %

,

3/05/27

.......

United

States

1,120,000

1,136,001

General

Motors

Financial

Co.,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.45%,

9/06/34

.........................

United

States

430,000

436,871

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Consumer

#### Finance
(continued)

General

Motors

Financial

Co.,

Inc.,

(continued)

Senior

Note,

4.2%,

10/27/28

.........................

United

States

280,000

$

280,777

Senior

Note,

5.8%,

1/07/29

..........................

United

States

715,000

745,707

Senior

Note,

4.9%,

10/06/29

.........................

United

States

404,000

410,602

c

Macquarie

Airfinance

Holdings

Ltd.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.15%,

3/17/30

....................

United

Kingdom

528,000

535,134

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.5%,

3/26/31

.....................

United

Kingdom

677,000

724,789

11,194,005

#### Consumer

#### Staples

#### Distribution

#### &

#### Retail

#### 0.2%
c

7-Eleven,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

144A,

1.8%,

2/10/31

.....................

United

States

202,000

177,496

Senior

Note,

144A,

1.3%,

2/10/28

.....................

United

States

1,748,000

1,655,033

c

Alimentation

Couche-Tard,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

144A,

3.55%,

7/26/27

....................

Canada

995,000

988,446

Senior

Bond,

144A,

2.95%,

1/25/30

....................

Canada

919,000

873,211

3,694,186

#### Containers

#### &

#### Packaging

#### 0.1%
AptarGroup,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.75 %

,

3/30/31

.............

United

States

525,000

528,448

c

Berry

Global,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

4.875 %

,

7/15/26

United

States

30,000

30,017

WestRock

MWV

LLC

,

Senior

Bond,

8.2%,

1/15/30

..........................

United

States

1,040,000

1,182,345

Senior

Bond,

7.95%,

2/15/31

.........................

United

States

168,000

192,953

1,933,763

#### Diversified

#### Consumer

#### Services

#### 0.1%
Service

Corp.

International

,

Senior

Bond,

3.375%,

8/15/30

........................

United

States

165,000

154,428

Senior

Note,

4%,

5/15/31

...........................

United

States

1,335,000

1,271,434

1,425,862

#### Diversified

#### REITs

#### 0.2%
GLP

Capital

LP

/

GLP

Financing

II,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

3.25%,

1/15/32

.........................

United

States

453,000

410,416

Senior

Bond,

6.75%,

12/01/33

........................

United

States

690,000

748,108

VICI

Properties

LP

,

Senior

Bond,

5.75%,

4/01/34

.........................

United

States

752,000

776,165

Senior

Note,

4.75%,

2/15/28

.........................

United

States

760,000

767,841

c

VICI

Properties

LP

/

VICI

Note

Co.,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

3.75%,

2/15/27

....................

United

States

285,000

283,432

Senior

Note,

144A,

4.5%,

1/15/28

.....................

United

States

945,000

948,111

Senior

Note,

144A,

3.875%,

2/15/29

...................

United

States

730,000

717,972

4,652,045

#### Diversified

#### Telecommunication

#### Services

#### 0.4%
AT&T,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

2.25%,

2/01/32

.........................

United

States

991,000

871,798

Senior

Bond,

2.55%,

12/01/33

........................

United

States

1,464,000

1,245,894

f

Senior

Bond,

5.125%,

4/30/36

........................

United

States

415,000

413,456

Senior

Bond,

4.75%,

5/15/46

.........................

United

States

94,000

81,250

Senior

Bond,

3.55%,

9/15/55

.........................

United

States

56,000

37,225

c

Cipher

Compute

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

7.125 %

,

11/15/30

........................................

United

States

1,930,000

1,991,106

Sprint

Capital

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

6.875 %

,

11/15/28

.........

United

States

1,613,000

1,730,835

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Diversified

#### Telecommunication

#### Services
(continued)

TELUS

Corp.

,

Junior

Sub.

Bond

,

6.625%

to

10/14/30,

FRN

thereafter

,

10/15/55

................................

Canada

1,462,000

$

1,495,926

Verizon

Communications,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.875%,

11/30/55

.......................

United

States

310,000

306,231

Senior

Note,

4.75%,

1/15/33

.........................

United

States

710,000

710,410

8,884,131

#### Electric

#### Utilities

#### 1.2%
American

Electric

Power

Co.,

Inc.

,

C,

Junior

Sub.

Bond,

5.8%

to

3/14/31,

FRN

thereafter,

3/15/56

United

States

1,145,000

1,145,474

D,

Junior

Sub.

Bond,

6.05%

to

3/14/36,

FRN

thereafter,

3/15/56

.........................................

United

States

380,000

377,482

Senior

Bond,

5.625%,

3/01/33

........................

United

States

296,000

310,003

J,

Senior

Bond,

4.3%,

12/01/28

.......................

United

States

528,000

531,915

c

American

Transmission

Systems,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

2.65 %

,

1/15/32

...................................

United

States

345,000

311,580

Appalachian

Power

Co.

,

L

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.8 %

,

10/01/35

......

United

States

502,000

533,465

Commonwealth

Edison

Co.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.875 %

,

2/01/33

....

United

States

547,000

584,229

DTE

Electric

Co.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.25 %

,

5/15/35

.............

United

States

250,000

256,327

Duke

Energy

Carolinas

LLC

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.25 %

,

12/15/41

...

United

States

466,000

412,127

Duke

Energy

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.75%,

9/15/33

.........................

United

States

1,071,000

1,134,969

Senior

Bond,

5.8%,

6/15/54

..........................

United

States

767,000

759,169

Senior

Note,

4.85%,

1/05/29

.........................

United

States

125,000

127,695

Duke

Energy

Ohio,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

3.65 %

,

2/01/29

........

United

States

139,000

137,830

c

Enel

Finance

International

NV

,

Senior

Bond,

144A,

7.5%,

10/14/32

....................

Italy

920,000

1,058,231

Senior

Note,

144A,

4.375%,

9/30/30

...................

Italy

490,000

489,028

Exelon

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.625%,

6/15/35

........................

United

States

237,000

247,376

Senior

Note,

5.15%,

3/15/29

.........................

United

States

1,655,000

1,703,410

FirstEnergy

Transmission

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

4.55 %

,

1/15/30

...

United

States

225,000

226,390

Georgia

Power

Co.

,

Senior

Bond,

4.95%,

5/17/33

.........................

United

States

824,000

841,520

Senior

Bond,

5.25%,

3/15/34

.........................

United

States

713,000

735,443

IPALCO

Enterprises,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

4.25 %

,

5/01/30

United

States

729,000

715,165

NextEra

Energy

Capital

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.9%,

3/15/55

..........................

United

States

625,000

629,142

Senior

Note,

5.3%,

3/15/32

..........................

United

States

2,005,000

2,083,301

c

NRG

Energy,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

2.45 %

,

12/02/27

United

States

900,000

870,626

Oncor

Electric

Delivery

Co.

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Bond

,

5.75 %

,

3/15/29

.........................................

United

States

445,000

466,321

Pacific

Gas

and

Electric

Co.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.9%,

6/15/32

..........................

United

States

480,000

505,319

Senior

Bond,

4.95%,

7/01/50

.........................

United

States

506,000

429,373

Senior

Bond,

6.75%,

1/15/53

.........................

United

States

550,000

586,504

Senior

Note,

2.1%,

8/01/27

..........................

United

States

235,000

228,272

Senior

Note,

3.3%,

12/01/27

.........................

United

States

1,050,000

1,035,788

Senior

Note,

5.55%,

5/15/29

.........................

United

States

275,000

284,149

Southern

Co.

(The)

,

Senior

Note

,

5.5 %

,

3/15/29

............

United

States

105,000

109,082

Virginia

Electric

and

Power

Co.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.05%,

8/15/34

.........................

United

States

770,000

781,094

C,

Senior

Bond,

4.9%,

9/15/35

.......................

United

States

1,100,000

1,093,824

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Electric

#### Utilities
(continued)

c

Vistra

Operations

Co.

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Bond,

144A,

4.3%,

7/15/29

..............

United

States

442,000

$

439,918

Senior

Secured

Bond,

144A,

6.95%,

10/15/33

............

United

States

743,000

824,250

Senior

Secured

Bond,

144A,

6%,

4/15/34

...............

United

States

896,000

940,422

Senior

Secured

Bond,

144A,

5.25%,

10/15/35

............

United

States

315,000

312,077

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

3.7%,

1/30/27

..............

United

States

920,000

917,258

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

4.6%,

10/15/30

.............

United

States

430,000

428,866

Xcel

Energy,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.6 %

,

4/15/35

..............

United

States

1,250,000

1,292,234

26,896,648

#### Electrical

#### Equipment

#### 0.1%
c

Vertiv

Group

Corp.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

4.125 %

,

11/15/28

........................................

United

States

1,706,000

1,681,136

#### Entertainment

#### 0.1%
c

Netflix,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

5.375 %

,

11/15/29

..........

United

States

1,779,000

1,854,483

#### Financial

#### Services

#### 0.0%

#### †
Corebridge

Financial,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

3.85 %

,

4/05/29

.......

United

States

521,000

515,833

#### Food

#### Products

#### 0.4%
JBS

NV

/

JBS

USA

Foods

Group

Holdings,

Inc.

/

JBS

USA

Food

Co.

Holdings

,

Senior

Note,

3%,

2/02/29

...........................

United

States

1,090,000

1,055,371

Senior

Note,

5.75%,

4/01/33

.........................

United

States

212,000

221,367

Senior

Note,

6.75%,

3/15/34

.........................

United

States

665,000

733,574

JBS

NV/JBS

USA

Foods

Group

Holdings,

Inc.

/

JBS

USA

Food

Co.

Holdings

,

Senior

Note

,

5.95 %

,

4/20/35

...............

United

States

410,000

431,255

Kellanova

,

Senior

Bond,

4.5%,

4/01/46

..........................

United

States

122,000

107,696

B,

Senior

Bond,

7.45%,

4/01/31

.......................

United

States

159,000

182,471

Kraft

Heinz

Foods

Co.

,

Senior

Bond,

6.875%,

1/26/39

........................

United

States

295,000

330,147

Senior

Bond,

4.625%,

10/01/39

.......................

United

States

295,000

266,571

Senior

Bond,

5%,

6/04/42

...........................

United

States

1,025,000

935,462

c

Mars,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

144A,

5.65%,

5/01/45

....................

United

States

1,930,000

1,947,926

Senior

Bond,

144A,

5.7%,

5/01/55

.....................

United

States

945,000

942,524

Senior

Bond,

144A,

5.8%,

5/01/65

.....................

United

States

240,000

241,011

Senior

Note,

144A,

4.65%,

4/20/31

....................

United

States

83,000

84,720

Senior

Note,

144A,

5%,

3/01/32

......................

United

States

135,000

138,765

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.2%,

3/01/35

.....................

United

States

765,000

783,519

Pilgrim's

Pride

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

3.5 %

,

3/01/32

...........

United

States

345,000

319,129

8,721,508

#### Ground

#### Transportation

#### 0.2%
Burlington

Northern

Santa

Fe

LLC

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.55 %

,

3/15/56

United

States

460,000

455,380

c

Penske

Truck

Leasing

Co.

LP

/

PTL

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

144A,

3.4%,

11/15/26

....................

United

States

595,000

592,065

Senior

Note,

144A,

4.4%,

7/01/27

.....................

United

States

2,165,000

2,173,072

c

SMBC

Aviation

Capital

Finance

DAC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.3 %

,

4/03/29

.........................................

Ireland

885,000

909,173

4,129,690

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Health

#### Care

#### Equipment

#### &

#### Supplies

#### 0.0%

#### †
c

Medline

Borrower

LP

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

3.875 %

,

4/01/29

.........................................

United

States

750,000

$

733,879

#### Health

#### Care

#### Providers

#### &

#### Services

#### 0.3%
CVS

Health

Corp.

,

Junior

Sub.

Bond,

7%

to

3/09/30,

FRN

thereafter,

3/10/55

...

United

States

480,000

502,603

Senior

Bond,

1.875%,

2/28/31

........................

United

States

315,000

277,485

Senior

Bond,

4.78%,

3/25/38

.........................

United

States

398,000

373,735

HCA,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.25%,

6/15/26

.........................

United

States

143,000

143,150

Senior

Bond,

5.6%,

4/01/34

..........................

United

States

433,000

449,916

Senior

Bond,

6%,

4/01/54

...........................

United

States

571,000

566,949

Senior

Note,

5.375%,

9/01/26

........................

United

States

458,000

458,487

Senior

Note,

3.625%,

3/15/32

........................

United

States

247,000

233,140

Senior

Note,

4.6%,

11/15/32

.........................

United

States

470,000

465,761

Humana,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

5.75 %

,

3/01/28

................

United

States

1,025,000

1,055,335

Icon

Investments

Six

DAC

,

Senior

Secured

Note,

5.809%,

5/08/27

.................

United

States

557,000

567,615

Senior

Secured

Note,

5.849%,

5/08/29

.................

United

States

238,000

248,276

UnitedHealth

Group,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

5.3 %

,

6/15/35

........

United

States

1,605,000

1,652,236

6,994,688

#### Hotels,

#### Restaurants

#### &

#### Leisure

#### 0.3%
c

Carnival

Corp.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.125%,

5/01/29

...................

United

States

1,175,000

1,189,324

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.75%,

3/15/30

....................

United

States

1,210,000

1,246,571

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.75%,

8/01/32

....................

United

States

1,255,000

1,290,484

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

4%,

8/01/28

................

United

States

1,861,000

1,842,675

Hyatt

Hotels

Corp.

,

Senior

Note,

5.25%,

6/30/29

.........................

United

States

635,000

654,894

Senior

Note,

5.375%,

12/15/31

.......................

United

States

425,000

438,032

Las

Vegas

Sands

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

3.5 %

,

8/18/26

.........

United

States

433,000

431,126

7,093,106

#### Household

#### Durables

#### 0.1%
DR

Horton,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

%

,

10/15/34

...............

United

States

921,000

929,071

Toll

Brothers

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

4.35%,

2/15/28

.........................

United

States

501,000

503,748

Senior

Bond,

3.8%,

11/01/29

.........................

United

States

605,000

597,067

2,029,886

#### Independent

#### Power

#### and

#### Renewable

#### Electricity

#### Producers

#### 0.3%
c

Alexander

Funding

Trust

II

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

7.467 %

,

7/31/28

.........................................

United

States

1,160,000

1,235,509

Constellation

Energy

Generation

LLC

,

Senior

Bond,

6.125%,

1/15/34

........................

United

States

436,000

470,811

Senior

Bond,

6.5%,

10/01/53

.........................

United

States

1,060,000

1,148,078

Senior

Bond,

5.75%,

3/15/54

.........................

United

States

439,000

433,357

Senior

Note,

5.6%,

3/01/28

..........................

United

States

1,460,000

1,505,673

Senior

Note,

4.4%,

1/15/31

..........................

United

States

355,000

354,266

Southern

Power

Co.

,

B,

Senior

Bond,

4.9%,

10/01/35

.......................

United

States

440,000

432,543

A,

Senior

Note,

4.25%,

10/01/30

......................

United

States

245,000

244,476

5,824,713

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Insurance

#### 0.5%
Arthur

J

Gallagher

&

Co.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.85 %

,

12/15/29

......

United

States

490,000

$

501,513

c

Athene

Global

Funding

,

Secured

Note,

144A,

5.526%,

7/11/31

..................

United

States

968,000

994,101

Secured

Note,

144A,

5.322%,

11/13/31

.................

United

States

763,000

776,622

Senior

Secured

Bond,

144A,

5.543%,

8/22/35

............

United

States

570,000

571,841

Athene

Holding

Ltd.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.875%,

1/15/34

........................

United

States

411,000

426,879

Senior

Bond,

6.25%,

4/01/54

.........................

United

States

309,000

301,055

Berkshire

Hathaway

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

4.3%,

5/15/43

..........................

United

States

724,000

643,370

Senior

Bond,

2.85%,

10/15/50

........................

United

States

5,000

3,186

Brown

&

Brown,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.55%,

6/23/35

.........................

United

States

425,000

435,074

Senior

Note,

4.9%,

6/23/30

..........................

United

States

883,000

896,795

Senior

Note,

5.25%,

6/23/32

.........................

United

States

318,000

324,515

CNA

Financial

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.125 %

,

2/15/34

.........

United

States

591,000

594,717

c

CNO

Global

Funding

,

Secured

Note,

144A,

2.65%,

1/06/29

...................

United

States

150,000

143,501

Secured

Note,

144A,

4.95%,

9/09/29

...................

United

States

120,000

122,058

F&G

Annuities

&

Life,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

6.5 %

,

6/04/29

.......

United

States

740,000

769,351

Fairfax

Financial

Holdings

Ltd.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.85 %

,

4/17/28

...

Canada

785,000

796,444

c

Massachusetts

Mutual

Life

Insurance

Co.

,

Sub.

Bond

,

144A,

3.729 %

,

10/15/70

..................................

United

States

1,305,000

837,531

c

MetLife

Capital

Trust

IV

,

Junior

Sub.

Bond

,

144A,

7.875 %

,

12/15/37

........................................

United

States

2,264,000

2,512,211

c

Teachers

Insurance

&

Annuity

Association

of

America

,

Sub.

Bond

,

144A,

6.85 %

,

12/16/39

..............................

United

States

234,000

268,008

11,918,772

#### Interactive

#### Media

#### &

#### Services

#### 0.0%

#### †
Meta

Platforms,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.75%,

5/15/63

.........................

United

States

386,000

367,046

Senior

Bond,

5.55%,

8/15/64

.........................

United

States

180,000

165,381

532,427

#### Leisure

#### Products

#### 0.0%

#### †
Brunswick

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

2.4%,

8/18/31

..........................

United

States

650,000

573,301

Senior

Note,

5.85%,

3/18/29

.........................

United

States

565,000

587,931

1,161,232

#### Life

#### Sciences

#### Tools

#### &

#### Services

#### 0.0%

#### †
Illumina,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.65 %

,

9/09/26

................

United

States

536,000

537,427

#### Machinery

#### 0.0%

#### †
Oshkosh

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

3.1 %

,

3/01/30

...............

United

States

146,000

139,485

#### Media

#### 0.3%
Charter

Communications

Operating

LLC

/

Charter

Communications

Operating

Capital

Corp.

,

Senior

Secured

Bond,

5.85%,

12/01/35

.................

United

States

475,000

472,948

Senior

Secured

Bond,

3.5%,

6/01/41

...................

United

States

420,000

300,794

Senior

Secured

Bond,

3.7%,

4/01/51

...................

United

States

59,000

37,765

Senior

Secured

Note,

2.25%,

1/15/29

..................

United

States

274,000

257,420

Omnicom

Group,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.65 %

,

10/01/28

.........

United

States

1,668,000

1,683,121

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Media
(continued)

Paramount

Global

,

Senior

Bond,

4.2%,

6/01/29

..........................

United

States

815,000

$

793,284

Senior

Bond,

4.95%,

1/15/31

.........................

United

States

275,000

263,185

Senior

Bond,

4.2%,

5/19/32

..........................

United

States

8,000

7,226

Senior

Note,

3.7%,

6/01/28

..........................

United

States

210,000

204,701

Time

Warner

Cable

Enterprises

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Bond

,

8.375 %

,

7/15/33

...................................

United

States

2,203,000

2,534,220

6,554,664

#### Metals

#### &

#### Mining

#### 0.1%
c

Glencore

Funding

LLC

,

Senior

Bond,

144A,

2.5%,

9/01/30

.....................

Australia

1,790,000

1,648,036

Senior

Bond,

144A,

5.634%,

4/04/34

...................

Australia

1,061,000

1,111,361

2,759,397

#### Multi-Utilities

#### 0.2%
Consolidated

Edison

Co.

of

New

York,

Inc.

,

12-A

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.2 %

,

3/15/42

....................................

United

States

228,000

195,634

Dominion

Energy,

Inc.

,

Junior

Sub.

Bond

,

6.2%

to

2/14/36,

FRN

thereafter

,

2/15/56

.................................

United

States

560,000

562,183

DTE

Energy

Co.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.85%,

6/01/34

.........................

United

States

491,000

522,283

Senior

Note,

4.95%,

7/01/27

.........................

United

States

745,000

754,531

NiSource,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

5.2 %

,

7/01/29

................

United

States

1,160,000

1,196,758

Puget

Sound

Energy,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.448 %

,

6/01/53

.....

United

States

510,000

492,427

Southern

Co.

Gas

Capital

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.95 %

,

9/15/34

.

United

States

525,000

525,987

4,249,803

#### Oil,

#### Gas

#### &

#### Consumable

#### Fuels

#### 0.6%
Canadian

Natural

Resources

Ltd.

,

Senior

Bond

,

7.2 %

,

1/15/32

.

Canada

945,000

1,058,948

Cheniere

Energy

Partners

LP

,

Senior

Bond

,

3.25 %

,

1/31/32

....

United

States

468,000

432,032

c

Columbia

Pipelines

Operating

Co.

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.927 %

,

8/15/30

...................................

United

States

497,000

527,086

Eastern

Energy

Gas

Holdings

LLC

,

Senior

Bond,

5.8%,

1/15/35

..........................

United

States

394,000

416,426

Senior

Bond,

5.65%,

10/15/54

........................

United

States

151,000

147,083

El

Paso

Natural

Gas

Co.

LLC

,

Senior

Bond

,

8.375 %

,

6/15/32

..

United

States

439,000

524,655

Enbridge,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.25 %

,

12/01/26

..............

Canada

416,000

416,721

Energy

Transfer

LP

,

d

B,

Junior

Sub.

Bond,

6.625%

to

2/14/28,

FRN

thereafter,

Perpetual

.......................................

United

States

2,076,000

2,105,504

Senior

Bond,

6.5%,

2/01/42

..........................

United

States

123,000

130,205

Senior

Note,

5.25%,

7/01/29

.........................

United

States

410,000

422,720

Kinder

Morgan

Energy

Partners

LP

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.4 %

,

9/01/44

United

States

178,000

170,240

Occidental

Petroleum

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

7.5 %

,

5/01/31

......

United

States

1,022,000

1,152,626

ONEOK,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.75 %

,

10/15/31

...............

United

States

845,000

849,045

South

Bow

USA

Infrastructure

Holdings

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

5.026 %

,

10/01/29

..................................

Canada

925,000

939,429

Targa

Resources

Partners

LP

/

Targa

Resources

Partners

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.875 %

,

2/01/31

............

United

States

444,000

448,261

c

Transcontinental

Gas

Pipe

Line

Co.

LLC

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

5.1 %

,

3/15/36

....................................

United

States

525,000

527,223

c

Venture

Global

Calcasieu

Pass

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

6.25 %

,

1/15/30

...................................

United

States

1,895,000

1,942,968

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Oil,

#### Gas

#### &

#### Consumable

#### Fuels
(continued)

Viper

Energy

Partners

LLC

,

Senior

Bond,

5.7%,

8/01/35

..........................

United

States

488,000

$

497,086

Senior

Note,

4.9%,

8/01/30

..........................

United

States

507,000

513,680

Williams

Cos.,

Inc.

(The)

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.6 %

,

3/15/35

........

United

States

697,000

724,358

13,946,296

#### Paper

#### &

#### Forest

#### Products

#### 0.1%
c

Georgia-Pacific

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

2.1 %

,

4/30/27

.......

United

States

1,525,000

1,492,941

#### Passenger

#### Airlines

#### 0.0%

#### †
c

AS

Mileage

Plan

IP

Ltd.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

5.021 %

,

10/20/29

........................................

United

States

1,190,000

1,203,887

#### Personal

#### Care

#### Products

#### 0.1%
Haleon

US

Capital

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

3.375 %

,

3/24/27

.......

United

States

740,000

735,434

Kenvue,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

4.85%,

5/22/32

.........................

United

States

200,000

204,249

Senior

Note,

4.9%,

3/22/33

..........................

United

States

1,490,000

1,517,568

2,457,251

#### Pharmaceuticals

#### 0.4%
Merck

&

Co.,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

4.75%,

12/04/35

........................

United

States

405,000

401,691

Senior

Note,

4.45%,

12/04/32

........................

United

States

250,000

250,690

Novartis

Capital

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.1 %

,

11/05/30

.........

United

States

1,795,000

1,795,513

Pfizer

Investment

Enterprises

Pte.

Ltd.

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.75 %

,

5/19/33

.........................................

United

States

1,355,000

1,369,058

Royalty

Pharma

plc

,

Senior

Bond,

5.4%,

9/02/34

..........................

United

States

743,000

761,227

Senior

Bond,

5.2%,

9/25/35

..........................

United

States

555,000

558,095

Senior

Note,

5.15%,

9/02/29

.........................

United

States

666,000

686,074

Teva

Pharmaceutical

Finance

Netherlands

III

BV

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.1 %

,

10/01/46

...................................

Israel

90,000

68,922

Viatris,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

2.3 %

,

6/22/27

...................

United

States

565,000

550,349

Wyeth

LLC

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.95 %

,

4/01/37

.................

United

States

304,000

327,011

Zoetis,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

2%,

5/15/30

...........................

United

States

557,000

510,172

Senior

Bond,

5%,

8/17/35

...........................

United

States

2,045,000

2,059,915

9,338,717

#### Semiconductors

#### &

#### Semiconductor

#### Equipment

#### 0.4%
Analog

Devices,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

5.05 %

,

4/01/34

..........

United

States

811,000

836,721

Broadcom,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

4.15%,

11/15/30

........................

United

States

1,003,000

997,950

Senior

Bond,

4.95%,

1/15/36

.........................

United

States

390,000

389,765

Senior

Bond,

5.7%,

1/15/56

..........................

United

States

60,000

60,506

c

Senior

Bond,

144A,

3.187%,

11/15/36

..................

United

States

606,000

513,887

c

Senior

Bond,

144A,

4.926%,

5/15/37

...................

United

States

1,000,000

985,292

c

Foundry

JV

Holdco

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Bond,

144A,

6.4%,

1/25/38

..............

United

States

415,000

444,796

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

5.5%,

1/25/31

..............

United

States

285,000

295,334

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

6.15%,

1/25/32

.............

United

States

1,345,000

1,433,115

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

5.9%,

1/25/33

..............

United

States

430,000

451,384

Intel

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.15 %

,

8/05/32

..................

United

States

1,480,000

1,435,711

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Semiconductors

#### &

#### Semiconductor

#### Equipment
(continued)

Marvell

Technology,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

5.75%,

2/15/29

.........................

United

States

808,000

$

842,335

Senior

Note,

4.75%,

7/15/30

.........................

United

States

10,000

10,130

Senior

Note,

5.95%,

9/15/33

.........................

United

States

723,000

770,452

9,467,378

#### Software

#### 0.2%
Oracle

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

3.65%,

3/25/41

.........................

United

States

784,000

572,558

Senior

Note,

1.65%,

3/25/26

.........................

United

States

1,385,000

1,380,150

Senior

Note,

4.45%,

9/26/30

.........................

United

States

510,000

498,013

Senior

Note,

4.8%,

9/26/32

..........................

United

States

680,000

658,589

ServiceNow,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

1.4 %

,

9/01/30

..............

United

States

1,362,000

1,201,347

Synopsys,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.15 %

,

4/01/35

...............

United

States

940,000

953,248

5,263,905

#### Specialized

#### REITs

#### 0.4%
American

Tower

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

3.125%,

1/15/27

........................

United

States

1,710,000

1,697,954

Senior

Bond,

2.9%,

1/15/30

..........................

United

States

921,000

875,173

Senior

Bond,

2.7%,

4/15/31

..........................

United

States

1,939,000

1,783,479

Senior

Note,

2.75%,

1/15/27

.........................

United

States

686,000

678,654

Senior

Note,

4.7%,

12/15/32

.........................

United

States

315,000

315,374

Crown

Castle,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

3.65%,

9/01/27

.........................

United

States

549,000

545,321

Senior

Bond,

3.8%,

2/15/28

..........................

United

States

458,000

455,168

Senior

Bond,

4.75%,

5/15/47

.........................

United

States

165,000

142,793

Senior

Note,

4.9%,

9/01/29

..........................

United

States

785,000

799,001

EPR

Properties

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.5 %

,

6/01/27

...............

United

States

255,000

255,471

Equinix,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

3.2 %

,

11/18/29

................

United

States

1,483,000

1,428,073

8,976,461

#### Specialty

#### Retail

#### 0.1%
Dick's

Sporting

Goods,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

3.15%,

1/15/32

.........................

United

States

780,000

719,436

Senior

Bond,

4.1%,

1/15/52

..........................

United

States

710,000

519,578

1,239,014

#### Technology

#### Hardware,

#### Storage

#### &

#### Peripherals

#### 0.0%

#### †
Hewlett

Packard

Enterprise

Co.

,

Senior

Note,

4.55%,

10/15/29

........................

United

States

517,000

520,897

Senior

Note,

4.85%,

10/15/31

........................

United

States

601,000

606,288

1,127,185

#### Textiles,

#### Apparel

#### &

#### Luxury

#### Goods

#### 0.0%

#### †
Tapestry,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

3.05%,

3/15/32

.........................

United

States

211,000

192,329

Senior

Note,

5.1%,

3/11/30

..........................

United

States

478,000

490,391

682,720

#### Tobacco

#### 0.2%
BAT

Capital

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

4.39%,

8/15/37

.........................

United

Kingdom

575,000

528,121

Senior

Note,

4.625%,

3/22/33

........................

United

Kingdom

2,125,000

2,106,443

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Tobacco
(continued)

Philip

Morris

International,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

5.125%,

2/15/30

........................

United

States

1,517,000

$

1,566,434

Senior

Note,

4.375%,

4/30/30

........................

United

States

580,000

583,623

Senior

Note,

4.75%,

11/01/31

........................

United

States

535,000

545,218

5,329,839

#### Trading

#### Companies

#### &

#### Distributors

#### 0.1%
c

Aviation

Capital

Group

LLC

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.375%,

7/15/29

...................

United

States

1,055,000

1,084,512

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.125%,

4/10/30

...................

United

States

935,000

950,538

2,035,050

#### Wireless

#### Telecommunication

#### Services

#### 0.3%
Rogers

Communications,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

8.75%,

5/01/32

.........................

Canada

85,000

99,862

Senior

Note,

3.8%,

3/15/32

..........................

Canada

544,000

515,632

Sub.

Bond,

7.125%

to

4/14/35,

FRN

thereafter,

4/15/55

.....

Canada

600,000

629,448

NC5,

Sub.

Bond,

7%

to

4/14/30,

FRN

thereafter,

4/15/55

....

Canada

1,195,000

1,240,078

T-Mobile

USA,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.05%,

7/15/33

.........................

United

States

187,000

190,071

Senior

Bond,

4.95%,

11/15/35

........................

United

States

110,000

109,086

Senior

Bond,

5%,

2/15/36

...........................

United

States

790,000

782,272

Senior

Note,

3.75%,

4/15/27

.........................

United

States

1,762,000

1,757,859

Senior

Note,

3.875%,

4/15/30

........................

United

States

44,000

43,259

Senior

Note,

6.7%,

12/15/33

.........................

United

States

395,000

440,865

5,808,432

#### Total

#### Corporate

#### Bonds

#### (Cost

#### $279,266,202)
...................................

#### 280,584,155

#### U.S.

#### Government

#### and

#### Agency

#### Securities

#### 14.7%
U.S.

Treasury

Bonds

,

4.375%,

11/15/39

.................................

United

States

5,500,000

5,404,180

4.625%,

2/15/40

..................................

United

States

4,380,000

4,409,257

4.25%,

11/15/40

..................................

United

States

6,500,000

6,247,617

3.25%,

5/15/42

...................................

United

States

18,280,000

15,191,323

g

2.75%,

8/15/42

...................................

United

States

19,190,000

14,780,798

5%,

5/15/45

.....................................

United

States

4,430,000

4,528,290

3.375%,

11/15/48

.................................

United

States

19,030,000

15,004,709

3%,

2/15/49

.....................................

United

States

16,880,000

12,396,909

1.875%,

2/15/51

..................................

United

States

27,550,000

15,353,744

2.875%,

5/15/52

..................................

United

States

2,740,000

1,907,190

3%,

8/15/52

.....................................

United

States

5,400,000

3,852,141

3.625%,

2/15/53

..................................

United

States

9,360,000

7,543,940

U.S.

Treasury

Notes

,

4.375%,

8/15/26

..................................

United

States

440,000

441,697

3.875%,

5/31/27

..................................

United

States

22,900,000

23,001,082

1.25%,

9/30/28

...................................

United

States

16,080,000

15,135,300

3.5%,

11/15/28

...................................

United

States

27,500,000

27,431,250

2.375%,

3/31/29

..................................

United

States

42,970,000

41,374,571

3.25%,

6/30/29

...................................

United

States

16,350,000

16,140,835

4.25%,

6/30/29

...................................

United

States

38,100,000

38,823,305

1.375%,

11/15/31

.................................

United

States

9,280,000

8,069,794

3.875%,

8/15/33

..................................

United

States

5,600,000

5,527,156

4%,

2/15/34

.....................................

United

States

15,480,000

15,354,830

4.375%,

5/15/34

..................................

United

States

15,480,000

15,733,666

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### U.S.

#### Government

#### and

#### Agency

#### Securities
(continued)

U.S.

Treasury

Notes,

(continued)

4.25%,

11/15/34

..................................

United

States

23,430,000

$

23,541,201

#### Total

#### U.S.

#### Government

#### and

#### Agency

#### Securities

#### (Cost

#### $344,873,799)
..............

#### 337,194,785

#### Asset-Backed

#### Securities

#### 0.0%

#### †

#### Consumer

#### Staples

#### Distribution

#### &

#### Retail

#### 0.0%

#### †
c

CVS

Pass-Through

Trust

,

144A,

7.507%,

1/10/32

..............................

United

States

329,298

350,137

2013,

144A,

4.704%,

1/10/36

.........................

United

States

407,246

389,188

739,325

a

a

a

a

a

a

#### Total

#### Asset-Backed

#### Securities

#### (Cost

#### $736,544)
................................

#### 739,325

#### Commercial

#### Mortgage-Backed

#### Securities

#### 0.1%

#### Financial

#### Services

#### 0.1%
h

Citigroup

Commercial

Mortgage

Trust

,

2014-GC21

,

C

,

FRN

,

4.78 %

,

5/10/47

...................................

United

States

100,947

99,119

CSAIL

Commercial

Mortgage

Trust

,

2019-C17

,

AS

,

3.278 %

,

9/15/52

.........................................

United

States

1,066,000

974,101

h

J.P.

Morgan

Chase

Commercial

Mortgage

Securities

Trust

,

2012-

C6

,

D

,

FRN

,

4.964 %

,

5/15/45

.........................

United

States

131,021

130,590

c,i

TIAA

Real

Estate

CDO

Ltd.

,

2003-1A

,

E

,

144A,

%

,

12/28/38

..

United

States

2,032,334

Wells

Fargo

Commercial

Mortgage

Trust

,

2017-C40

,

A4

,

3.581 %

,

10/15/50

........................................

United

States

1,112,000

1,099,739

2,303,785

a

a

a

a

a

a

#### Total

#### Commercial

#### Mortgage-Backed

#### Securities

#### (Cost

#### $3,040,215)
...............

#### 2,303,785

#### Mortgage-Backed

#### Securities

#### 9.3%

#### Federal

#### Home

#### Loan

#### Mortgage

#### Corp.
(FHLMC)

#### Fixed

#### Rate

#### 0.6%
FHLMC

Pool,

Year,

2%,

3/01/51

-

1/01/52

...............

United

States

2,184,051

1,784,166

FHLMC

Pool,

Year,

2.5%,

1/01/52

.....................

United

States

5,051,689

4,368,503

FHLMC

Pool,

Year,

3%,

3/01/43

......................

United

States

155,412

144,014

FHLMC

Pool,

Year,

3.5%,

12/01/42

-

8/01/52

............

United

States

2,342,899

2,181,154

FHLMC

Pool,

Year,

4%,

7/01/42

-

7/01/49

...............

United

States

1,683,619

1,642,914

FHLMC

Pool,

Year,

4.5%,

8/01/52

-

2/01/53

.............

United

States

1,129,725

1,114,851

FHLMC

Pool,

Year,

5.5%,

9/01/52

-

11/01/53

............

United

States

1,518,951

1,556,928

FHLMC

Pool,

Year,

6%,

3/01/35

-

9/01/53

...............

United

States

309,048

319,306

13,111,836

#### Federal

#### National

#### Mortgage

#### Association
(FNMA)

#### Fixed

#### Rate

#### 5.6%
FNMA,

3.5%,

5/01/56

................................

United

States

686,575

632,960

FNMA,

Year,

2%,

10/01/27

-

8/01/28

...................

United

States

738,702

724,095

FNMA,

Year,

2.5%,

2/01/36

.........................

United

States

1,206,305

1,141,839

FNMA,

Year,

3%,

12/01/30

..........................

United

States

230,219

227,682

FNMA,

Year,

2%,

9/01/50

-

4/01/52

....................

United

States

14,728,928

12,079,146

FNMA,

Year,

2.5%,

9/01/50

-

4/01/52

..................

United

States

21,984,871

18,905,150

FNMA,

Year,

3%,

8/01/51

...........................

United

States

12,361,489

11,173,754

FNMA,

Year,

3%,

2/01/43

-

4/01/52

....................

United

States

3,376,982

3,074,076

FNMA,

Year,

3.5%,

5/01/43

-

6/01/52

..................

United

States

5,021,280

4,703,220

FNMA,

Year,

4%,

9/01/45

-

5/01/53

....................

United

States

2,111,512

2,044,261

FNMA,

Year,

4.5%,

5/01/48

-

5/01/53

..................

United

States

4,257,459

4,223,278

FNMA,

Year,

5%,

8/01/33

-

10/01/52

...................

United

States

894,166

900,120

FNMA,

Year,

5.5%,

7/01/33

-

11/01/53

.................

United

States

2,888,041

2,964,673

FNMA,

Year,

6%,

10/01/53

..........................

United

States

3,895,310

4,055,377

j

Uniform

Mortgage-Backed

Securities,

1.5%,

TBA,

2/25/41

.....

United

States

3,900,000

3,521,080

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Mortgage-Backed

#### Securities
(continued)

#### Federal

#### National

#### Mortgage

#### Association
(FNMA)

#### Fixed

#### Rate
(continued)

j

Uniform

Mortgage-Backed

Securities,

2%,

TBA,

2/25/41

......

United

States

5,100,000

$

4,712,666

j

Uniform

Mortgage-Backed

Securities,

2%,

TBA,

2/25/56

......

United

States

23,000,000

18,664,631

j

Uniform

Mortgage-Backed

Securities,

2.5%,

TBA,

2/25/41

-

2/25/56

.........................................

United

States

2,630,000

2,295,020

j

Uniform

Mortgage-Backed

Securities,

3.5%,

TBA,

2/25/56

.....

United

States

2,500,000

2,312,666

j

Uniform

Mortgage-Backed

Securities,

4%,

TBA,

3/25/56

......

United

States

5,610,000

5,352,559

j

Uniform

Mortgage-Backed

Securities,

4.5%,

TBA,

2/25/41

-

3/25/56

.........................................

United

States

2,300,000

2,257,421

j

Uniform

Mortgage-Backed

Securities,

5%,

TBA,

2/25/41

-

2/25/56

United

States

10,500,000

10,516,703

j

Uniform

Mortgage-Backed

Securities,

5.5%,

TBA,

2/25/56

.....

United

States

13,000,000

13,182,868

129,665,245

#### Government

#### National

#### Mortgage

#### Association
(GNMA)

#### Fixed

#### Rate

#### 3.1%
GNMA

I,

Year,

4%,

4/15/43

..........................

United

States

1,341,804

1,304,168

GNMA

I,

Single-family,

Year,

3.5%,

11/15/47

.............

United

States

40,857

38,085

GNMA

II,

Year,

3.5%,

5/20/52

........................

United

States

3,632,038

3,316,548

j

GNMA

II,

Single-family,

Year,

2%,

2/15/56

...............

United

States

8,500,000

7,071,451

GNMA

II,

Single-family,

Year,

2.5%,

9/20/52

-

2/20/53

......

United

States

9,221,715

8,015,911

GNMA

II,

Single-family,

Year,

3%,

7/20/46

-

11/20/46

.......

United

States

16,946,555

15,537,118

GNMA

II,

Single-family,

Year,

3.5%,

11/20/47

-

1/20/48

.....

United

States

861,824

799,143

j

GNMA

II,

Single-family,

Year,

4%,

2/15/56

...............

United

States

2,490,000

2,355,026

GNMA

II,

Single-family,

Year,

4.5%,

3/20/49

-

10/20/49

.....

United

States

277,406

270,789

j

GNMA

II,

Single-family,

Year,

4.5%,

2/15/56

.............

United

States

4,000,000

3,906,725

GNMA

II,

Single-family,

Year,

5%,

2/20/49

-

10/20/49

......

United

States

978,046

999,747

j

GNMA

II,

Single-family,

Year,

5%,

2/15/56

...............

United

States

4,000,000

3,999,986

GNMA

II,

Single-family,

Year,

5.5%,

4/20/54

.............

United

States

3,792,769

3,875,011

j

GNMA

II,

Single-family,

Year,

5.5%,

2/15/56

.............

United

States

4,500,000

4,549,856

j

GNMA

II,

Single-family,

Year,

6%,

2/15/56

-

3/15/56

.......

United

States

14,000,000

14,284,791

70,324,355

#### Total

#### Mortgage-Backed

#### Securities

#### (Cost

#### $216,299,915)
.........................

#### 213,101,436

#### Residential

#### Mortgage-Backed

#### Securities

#### 0.0%

#### †

#### Financial

#### Services

#### 0.0%

#### †
h,k

FNMA

,

2001-79

,

BI

,

IO,

FRN

,

0.25 %

,

3/25/45

..............

United

States

124,890

685

l

FNMA

Connecticut

Avenue

Securities

Trust

,

2016-C01

,

1M2

,

FRN

,

10.562 %

,

(30-day

SOFR

Average

+

6.864 %),

8/25/28

..

United

States

50,932

51,163

51,848

a

a

a

a

a

a

#### Total

#### Residential

#### Mortgage-Backed

#### Securities

#### (Cost

#### $59,664)
...................

#### 51,848

#### Municipal

#### Bonds

#### 0.1%

#### California

#### 0.1%
County

of

Fresno

,

Revenue

,

2004

A

,

NATL

Insured

,

4.62 %,

8/15/32

.........................................

United

States

530,000

394,580

State

of

California

,

GO

,

7.5 %

,

4/01/34

....................

United

States

215,000

249,578

644,158

#### Ohio

#### 0.0%

#### †
Ohio

State

University

(The)

,

Revenue

,

2010

C

,

4.91 %

,

6/01/40

.

United

States

275,000

275,034

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Municipal

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Texas

#### 0.0%

#### †
North

Texas

Tollway

Authority

,

North

Texas

Tollway

System

,

Revenue,

First

Tier

,

2009

B

,

6.718 %

,

1/01/49

.............

United

States

350,000

$

383,745

#### Total

#### Municipal

#### Bonds

#### (Cost

#### $1,235,729)
.....................................

#### 1,302,937

#### Total

#### Long

#### Term

#### Investments

#### (Cost

#### $1,622,392,122)

#### ...........................

#### 2,273,681,199

#### a

#### Short

#### Term

#### Investments

#### 5.4%
a

a

#### Country

#### Shares
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Management

#### Investment

#### Companies

#### 5.0%
m,n

Putnam

Short

Term

Investment

Fund,

Class

P,

3.863%

.......

United

States

113,976,509

113,976,509

#### Total

#### Management

#### Investment

#### Companies

#### (Cost

#### $113,976,509)

#### .................

#### 113,976,509
o

#### Investments

#### from

#### Cash

#### Collateral

#### Received

#### for

#### Loaned

#### Securities

#### 0.4%

#### Money

#### Market

#### Funds

#### 0.4%
m,n

Putnam

Cash

Collateral

Pool,

LLC,

3.878%

................

United

States

9,202,075

9,202,075

#### Total

#### Investments

#### from

#### Cash

#### Collateral

#### Received

#### for

#### Loaned

#### Securities

#### (Cost

#### $9,202,075)
..........................................................

#### 9,202,075

#### Total

#### Short

#### Term

#### Investments

#### (Cost

#### $123,178,584

####)
.............................

#### 123,178,584

#### a

#### Total

#### Investments

#### (Cost

#### $1,745,570,706)

#### 104.6%

#### ..............................

#### $2,396,859,783

#### TBA

#### Sale

#### Commitments

#### (0.7)%

#### ..............................................

#### (17,180,854)

#### Other

#### Assets,

#### less

#### Liabilities

#### (3.9)%

#### .........................................

#### (88,772,035)

#### Net

#### Assets

#### 100.0%

#### .........................................................

#### $2,290,906,894

#### a

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
p

#### TBA

#### Sale

#### Commitments

#### (0.7)%

#### Mortgage-Backed

#### Securities

#### (0.7)%

#### Government

#### National

#### Mortgage

#### Association
(GNMA)

#### Fixed

#### Rate

#### (0.7)%
GNMA

II,

Single-family,

Year

,

2.5%,

2/15/56

....................................

United

States

(1,500,000)

(1,299,494)

3%,

2/15/56

......................................

United

States

(9,670,000)

(8,732,610)

6%,

2/15/56

......................................

United

States

(7,000,000)

(7,148,750)

(17,180,854)

#### Total

#### TBA

#### Sale

#### Commitments

#### (Proceeds

#### $(17,204,260))

#### ........................

#### $(17,180,854)
\*

The

principal

amount

is

stated

in

U.S.

dollars

unless

otherwise

indicated.

†

Rounds

to

less

than

0.1%

of

net

assets.

a

Non-income

producing.

b

A

portion

or

all

of

the

security

is

on

loan

at

January

31,

2026. See

Note

(f).

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

At

January

31,

2026,

the

Fund

had

the

following futures

contracts

outstanding.

See

Note

1(e).

At

January

31,

2026,

the

Fund

had

the

following

forward

exchange

contracts

outstanding.

See

Note

1(e)

.

c

Security

was

purchased

pursuant

to

Rule

144A

or

Regulation

S

under

the

Securities

Act

of

1933. 144A

securities

may

be

sold

in

transactions

exempt

from

registration

only

to

qualified

institutional

buyers

or

in

a

public

offering

registered

under

the

Securities

Act

of

1933. Regulation

S

securities

cannot

be

sold

in

the

United

States

without

either

an

effective

registration

statement

filed

pursuant

to

the

Securities

Act

of

1933,

or

pursuant

to

an

exemption

from

registration.

At

January

31,

2026,

the

aggregate

value

of

these

securities

was

$71,735,769,

representing

3.1%

of

net

assets.

d

Perpetual

security

with

no

stated

maturity

date.

e

The

coupon

rate

shown

represents

the

rate

at

period

end.

f

A

portion

or

all

of

the

security

purchased

on

a

delayed

delivery

basis.

See

Note

(d).

g

A

portion

or

all

of

the

security

has

been

segregated

as

collateral

for

certain

derivative

contracts.

At

January

31,

2026,

the

value

of

this

security

pledged

amounted

to

$1,468,913,

representing

0.1%

of

net

assets.

h

Adjustable

rate

security

with

an

interest

rate

that

is

not

based

on

a

published

reference

index

and

spread.

The

rate

is

based

on

the

structure

of

the

agreement

and

current

market

conditions.

The

coupon

rate

shown

represents

the

rate

at

period

end.

i

Defaulted

security

or

security

for

which

income

has

been

deemed

uncollectible.

See

Note

.

j

Security

purchased

on

a

to-be-announced

(TBA)

basis.

See

Note

(d).

k

Investment

in

an

interest-only

security

entitles

holders

to

receive

only

the

interest

payment

on

the

underlying

instruments.

The

principal

amount

shown

is

the

notional

amount

of

the

underlying

instruments.

l

The

coupon

rate

shown

represents

the

rate

inclusive

of

any

caps

or

floors,

if

applicable,

in

effect

at

period

end.

m

See

Note

(g)

regarding

investments

in

affiliated

management

investment

companies.

n

The

rate

shown

is

the

annualized

seven-day

effective

yield

at

period

end.

o

See

Note

(f)

regarding

securities

on

loan.

p

Security

sold

on

a

to-be-announced

(TBA)

basis

resulting

in

a

short

position.

As

such,

the

Fund

is

not

subject

to

fees

and

expenses

associated

with

short

sale

transactions.

#### Futures

#### Contracts

#### Description

#### Type

#### Number

#### of

#### Contracts

#### Notional

#### Amount

#### \*

#### Expiration

#### Date

#### Value/

#### Unrealized

#### Appreciation
(Depreciation)

#### Equity

#### contracts
S&P

500

E-Mini

Index

.........................

Long

$

8,358,900

3/20/26

$

664

Total

Futures

Contracts

......................................................................

$664

\*

As

of

period

end.

#### Forward

#### Exchange

#### Contracts

#### Currency

#### Counter-

#### party

#### a

#### Type

#### Quantity

#### Contract

#### Amount

#### \*

#### Settlement

#### Date

#### Unrealized

#### Appreciation

#### Unrealized

#### Depreciation

#### a

#### OTC

#### Forward

#### Exchange

#### Contracts
Hong

Kong

Dollar

...

BZWS

Buy

20,248,900

2,609,539

2/11/26

$

—

$

(16,593)

Hong

Kong

Dollar

...

GSCO

Sell

2,654,900

342,133

2/11/26

2,163

—

Hong

Kong

Dollar

...

HSBK

Sell

17,981,000

2,317,029

2/11/26

14,496

—

British

Pound

......

BOFA

Sell

2,475,000

3,324,351

3/17/26

—

(62,137)

British

Pound

......

BZWS

Sell

1,083,100

1,454,771

3/17/26

—

(27,211)

British

Pound

......

GSCO

Buy

213,700

287,033

3/17/26

5,368

—

British

Pound

......

GSCO

Sell

3,054,200

4,127,684

3/17/26

—

(51,311)

British

Pound

......

JPHQ

Sell

1,200,100

1,611,827

3/17/26

—

(30,243)

British

Pound

......

MSCO

Sell

1,519,400

2,029,771

3/17/26

—

(49,190)

British

Pound

......

SSBT

Buy

307,500

414,030

3/17/26

6,716

—

British

Pound

......

SSBT

Sell

2,425,000

3,237,559

3/17/26

—

(80,515)

British

Pound

......

TDOM

Sell

2,038,500

2,721,601

3/17/26

—

(67,633)

British

Pound

......

UBSW

Buy

176,400

235,508

3/17/26

5,856

—

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

#### Forward

#### Exchange

#### Contracts
(continued)

#### Currency

#### Counter-

#### party

#### a

#### Type

#### Quantity

#### Contract

#### Amount\*

#### Settlement

#### Date

#### Unrealized

#### Appreciation

#### Unrealized

#### Depreciation

#### a

#### OTC

#### Forward

#### Exchange

#### Contracts
(continued)

British

Pound

......

WPAC

Sell

1,717,200

2,292,654

3/17/26

$

—

$

(56,953)

Danish

Krone

......

HSBK

Sell

11,825,300

1,871,625

3/17/26

—

(9,861)

Euro

.............

BZWS

Buy

158,800

187,547

3/17/26

1,059

—

Euro

.............

CITI

Buy

150,500

176,206

3/17/26

2,543

—

Euro

.............

CITI

Sell

207,800

245,420

3/17/26

—

(1,384)

Euro

.............

GSCO

Sell

1,628,100

1,922,941

3/17/26

—

(10,751)

Euro

.............

MSCO

Sell

1,012,200

1,193,489

3/17/26

—

(8,699)

Euro

.............

SSBT

Buy

165,000

194,550

3/17/26

1,420

—

Euro

.............

UBSW

Sell

1,471,600

1,735,134

3/17/26

—

(12,682)

Swedish

Krona

.....

MSCO

Sell

49,836,400

5,393,266

3/17/26

—

(213,503)

Swiss

Franc

.......

BOFA

Sell

2,202,000

2,803,137

3/17/26

—

(58,188)

Canadian

Dollar

....

BOFA

Sell

721,700

521,663

4/15/26

—

(9,941)

Canadian

Dollar

....

BZWS

Sell

2,280,700

1,648,571

4/15/26

—

(31,393)

Canadian

Dollar

....

CITI

Sell

3,230,800

2,335,267

4/15/26

—

(44,541)

Canadian

Dollar

....

GSCO

Buy

169,100

122,338

4/15/26

2,221

—

Canadian

Dollar

....

GSCO

Sell

3,027,200

2,188,098

4/15/26

—

(41,739)

Canadian

Dollar

....

HSBK

Buy

1,297,100

938,612

4/15/26

16,832

—

Canadian

Dollar

....

JPHQ

Sell

1,201,600

868,524

4/15/26

—

(16,575)

Canadian

Dollar

....

MSCO

Buy

3,506,500

2,537,359

4/15/26

45,530

—

Canadian

Dollar

....

SSBT

Buy

1,674,800

1,211,882

4/15/26

21,776

—

Canadian

Dollar

....

TDOM

Buy

2,947,800

2,132,934

4/15/26

38,416

—

Canadian

Dollar

....

UBSW

Sell

9,913,600

7,173,393

4/15/26

—

(128,967)

Total

Forward

Exchange

Contracts

...................................................

$164,396

$(1,030,010)

Net

unrealized

appreciation

(depreciation)

............................................

$(865,614)

\*

In

U.S.

dollars

unless

otherwise

indicated.

a

May

be

comprised

of

multiple

contracts

with

the

same

counterparty,

currency

and

settlement

date.

See

Note

regarding

other

derivative

information.

See

A

bbreviations

on

.

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Financial

Statements

Statement

of

Assets

and

Liabilities

January

31,

2026

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

#### George

#### Putnam

#### Balanced

#### Fund
Assets:

Investments

in

securities:

Cost

-

Unaffiliated

issuers

...................................................................

$1,622,392,122

Cost

-

Non-controlled

affiliates

(Note

g)

........................................................

123,178,584

Value

-

Unaffiliated

issuers

(Includes

securities

loaned

of

$

8,935,995)

..................................

$2,273,681,199

Value

-

Non-controlled

affiliates

(Note

g)

.......................................................

123,178,584

Cash

....................................................................................

284,185

Receivables:

Investment

securities

sold

...................................................................

5,099,842

Receivable

for

sales

of

TBA

securities

(Note

d)

..................................................

17,204,260

Capital

shares

sold

........................................................................

2,222,873

Dividends

and

interest

.....................................................................

7,866,379

Unrealized

appreciation

on

OTC

forward

exchange

contracts

..........................................

164,396

Prepaid

expenses

..........................................................................

378,187

Total

assets

..........................................................................

2,430,079,905

Liabilities:

Payables:

Investment

securities

purchased

..............................................................

4,077,064

Payable

for

purchases

of

TBA

securities

(Note

d)

................................................

98,906,058

Capital

shares

redeemed

...................................................................

6,056,978

Management

fees

.........................................................................

971,575

Administrative

fees

........................................................................

5,885

Distribution

fees

..........................................................................

485,119

Transfer

agent

fees

........................................................................

435,370

Trustees'

fees

and

expenses

.................................................................

385,856

Variation

margin

on

futures

contracts

...........................................................

24,698

Deposits

from

brokers

for:

OTC

derivative

contracts

..................................................................

170,000

Unrealized

depreciation

on

OTC

forward

exchange

contracts

..........................................

1,030,010

TBA

sale

commitments,

at

value

(proceeds

$17,204,260)

(Note

1d)

.....................................

17,180,854

Payable

upon

return

of

securities

loaned

(Note

f)

..................................................

9,202,075

Accrued

expenses

and

other

liabilities

...........................................................

241,469

Total

liabilities

.........................................................................

139,173,011

Net

assets,

at

value

.................................................................

$2,290,906,894

Net

assets

consist

of:

Paid-in

capital

.............................................................................

$1,625,760,114

Total

distributable

earnings

(losses)

.............................................................

665,146,780

Net

assets,

at

value

.................................................................

$2,290,906,894

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Financial

Statements

Statement

of

Assets

and

Liabilities

(continued)

January

31,

2026

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

#### George

#### Putnam

#### Balanced

#### Fund

#### Class

#### A:
Net

assets,

at

value

.......................................................................

$1,552,433,085

Shares

outstanding

........................................................................

56,975,785

Net

asset

value

per

share

a

,b

..................................................................

$27.25

Maximum

offering

price

per

share

(net

asset

value

per

share

÷

.25

%)

b

................................

$28.91

#### Class

#### C:
Net

assets,

at

value

.......................................................................

$134,086,977

Shares

outstanding

........................................................................

4,996,931

Net

asset

value

and

maximum

offering

price

per

share

a

,b

............................................

$26.83

#### Class

#### M:
Net

assets,

at

value

.......................................................................

$59,179,038

Shares

outstanding

........................................................................

2,220,110

Net

asset

value

and

maximum

offering

price

per

share

b

.............................................

$26.66

Maximum

offering

price

per

share

(net

asset

value

per

share

÷

.50

%)

b

................................

$27.63

#### Class

#### R:
Net

assets,

at

value

.......................................................................

$2,408,673

Shares

outstanding

........................................................................

88,924

Net

asset

value

and

maximum

offering

price

per

share

b

.............................................

$27.09

#### Class

#### R5:
Net

assets,

at

value

.......................................................................

$13,660

Shares

outstanding

........................................................................

Net

asset

value

and

maximum

offering

price

per

share

b

.............................................

$27.74

#### Class

#### R6:
Net

assets,

at

value

.......................................................................

$100,957,706

Shares

outstanding

........................................................................

3,681,340

Net

asset

value

and

maximum

offering

price

per

share

b

.............................................

$27.42

#### Class

#### Y:
Net

assets,

at

value

.......................................................................

$441,827,755

Shares

outstanding

........................................................................

16,117,132

Net

asset

value

and

maximum

offering

price

per

share

b

.............................................

$27.41

a

Redemption

price

is

equal

to

net

asset

value

less

contingent

deferred

sales

charges,

if

applicable.

b

Net

asset

value

per

share

may

not

recalculate

due

to

rounding.

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Financial

Statements

Statement

of

Operations

for

the

six

months

ended

January

31,

2026

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

#### George

#### Putnam

#### Balanced

#### Fund
Investment

income:

Dividends:

(net

of

foreign

taxes

of

$25,059)

Unaffiliated

issuers

........................................................................

$7,941,992

Non-controlled

affiliates

(Note

g)

.............................................................

2,025,458

Interest:

Unaffiliated

issuers

........................................................................

17,288,667

Income

from

securities

loaned:

Unaffiliated

entities

(net

of

fees

and

rebates)

.....................................................

(138,072)

Non-controlled

affiliates

(Note

g)

.............................................................

144,873

Total

investment

income

...................................................................

27,262,918

Expenses:

Management

fees

(Note

a)

...................................................................

5,507,467

Administrative

fees

(Note

b)

..................................................................

27,950

Distribution

fees:

(Note

3c)

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Class

A

................................................................................

1,943,357

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Class

C

................................................................................

667,761

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Class

M

................................................................................

233,067

Class

R

................................................................................

4,491

Transfer

agent

fees:

(Note

3e)

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Class

A

................................................................................

771,771

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Class

C

................................................................................

66,279

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Class

M

................................................................................

30,836

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Class

R

................................................................................

881

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Class

R5

...............................................................................

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Class

R6

...............................................................................

24,979

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Class

Y

................................................................................

225,121

Custodian

fees

............................................................................

8,091

Reports

to

shareholders

fees

..................................................................

46,984

Registration

and

filing

fees

....................................................................

69,995

Professional

fees

...........................................................................

118,782

Trustees'

fees

and

expenses

(Note

f)

...........................................................

50,480

Other

....................................................................................

37,128

Total

expenses

.........................................................................

9,835,430

Expense

reductions

(Note

4)

...............................................................

(47,707)

Net

expenses

.........................................................................

9,787,723

Net

investment

income

................................................................

17,475,195

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Financial

Statements

Statement

of

Operations

(continued)

for

the

six

months

ended

January

31,

2026

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

#### George

#### Putnam

#### Balanced

#### Fund
Realized

and

unrealized

gains

(losses):

Net

realized

gain

(loss)

from:

Investments:

Unaffiliated

issuers

......................................................................

82,571,505

Written

options

...........................................................................

(6,141,735)

Foreign

currency

transactions

................................................................

1,290

Forward

exchange

contracts

.................................................................

227,428

Futures

contracts

.........................................................................

580,948

TBA

sale

commitments

.....................................................................

(172,766)

Net

realized

gain

(loss)

..................................................................

77,066,670

Net

change

in

unrealized

appreciation

(depreciation)

on:

Investments:

Unaffiliated

issuers

......................................................................

80,539,761

Translation

of

other

assets

and

liabilities

denominated

in

foreign

currencies

..............................

(590) Written

options

...........................................................................

6,868,045

Forward

exchange

contracts

.................................................................

(1,583,464)

Futures

contracts

.........................................................................

664

TBA

sale

commitments

.....................................................................

29,358

Net

change

in

unrealized

appreciation

(depreciation)

............................................

85,853,774

Net

realized

and

unrealized

gain

(loss)

............................................................

162,920,444

Net

increase

(decrease)

in

net

assets

resulting

from

operations

..........................................

$180,395,639

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Financial

Statements

Statements

of

Changes

in

Net

Assets

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

#### George

#### Putnam

#### Balanced

#### Fund

#### Six

#### Months

#### Ended

#### January

#### 31,

#### 2026
(unaudited)

#### Year

#### Ended

#### July

#### 31,

#### 2025
Increase

(decrease)

in

net

assets:

Operations:

Net

investment

income

.................................................

$17,475,195

$32,888,489

Net

realized

gain

(loss)

.................................................

77,066,670

117,931,653

Net

change

in

unrealized

appreciation

(depreciation)

...........................

85,853,774

66,213,457

Net

increase

(decrease)

in

net

assets

resulting

from

operations

................

180,395,639

217,033,599

Distributions

to

shareholders:

Class

A

.............................................................

(108,645,479)

(66,238,439)

Class

B

.............................................................

—

(1,043)

Class

C

.............................................................

(9,125,434)

(4,704,924)

Class

M

............................................................

(4,349,597)

(2,539,549)

Class

R

.............................................................

(160,994)

(68,202)

Class

R5

............................................................

(1,004)

(625) Class

R6

............................................................

(7,135,645)

(4,592,320)

Class

Y

.............................................................

(31,405,230)

(18,688,350)

Total

distributions

to

shareholders

..........................................

(160,823,383)

(96,833,452)

Capital

share

transactions:

(Note

2)

Class

A

.............................................................

55,379,886

(2,327,927)

Class

B

.............................................................

—

(1,423,174)

Class

C

.............................................................

4,433,617

3,287,744

Class

M

............................................................

(829,960)

(3,375,452)

Class

R

.............................................................

1,157,280

(102,323)

Class

R6

............................................................

5,935,255

(3,352,060)

Class

Y

.............................................................

(5,562,174)

68,824,047

Total

capital

share

transactions

............................................

60,513,904

61,530,855

Net

increase

(decrease)

in

net

assets

...................................

80,086,160

181,731,002

Net

assets:

Beginning

of

period

.....................................................

2,210,820,734

2,029,089,732

End

of

period

..........................................................

$2,290,906,894

$2,210,820,734

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

1. #### Organization

#### and

#### Significant

#### Accounting

#### Policies
George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund (Fund)

is

registered

under

the

Investment

Company

Act

of

1940

(1940

Act)

as

an

open-

end

management

investment

company.

The Fund

follows

the

accounting

and

reporting

guidance

in

Financial

Accounting

Standards

Board

(FASB)

Accounting

Standards

Codification

Topic

946,

Financial

Services

–

Investment

Companies

(ASC

946)

and

applies

the

specialized

accounting

and

reporting

guidance

in

U.S.

Generally

Accepted

Accounting

Principles

(U.S.

GAAP),

including,

but

not

limited

to,

ASC

946. The

Fund

offers

seven classes

of

shares:

Class

A,

Class

C,

Class

M,

Class

R,

Class

R5,

Class

R6

and

Class

Y. Class

C

shares

automatically

convert

to

Class

A

shares

on

a

monthly

basis,

after

they

have

been

held

for

years.

Each

class

of

shares

may

differ

by

its

initial

sales

load,

contingent

deferred

sales

charges,

voting

rights

on

matters

affecting

a

single

class,

its

exchange

privilege

and

fees

due

to

differing

arrangements

for

distribution

and

transfer

agent

fees.

Effective

September

5,

2024,

all

Class

B

shares

were

converted

to

Class

A. The

following

summarizes

the Fund's

significant

accounting

policies.

a. #### Financial

#### Instrument

#### Valuation
The

Fund's

investments

in

financial

instruments

are

carried

at

fair

value

daily.

Fair

value

is

the

price

that

would

be

received

to

sell

an

asset

or

paid

to

transfer

a

liability

in

an

orderly

transaction

between

market

participants

on

the

measurement

date.

The

Fund

calculates

the

net

asset

value

(NAV)

per

share

each business

day as

of

p.m.

Eastern

time

or

the

regularly

scheduled

close

of

the

New

York

Stock

Exchange

(NYSE),

whichever

is

earlier.

Under

compliance

policies

and

procedures

approved

by

the Fund's

Board

of

Trustees

(the

Board),

the

Board

has

designated

the

Fund's

investment

manager

as

the

valuation

designee

and

has

responsibility

for

oversight

of

valuation.

The

investment

manager

is

assisted

by

the

Fund's

administrator

in

performing

this

responsibility,

including

leading

the

cross-

functional

Valuation

Committee

(VC).

The

Fund

may

utilize

independent

pricing

services,

quotations

from

securities

and

financial

instrument

dealers,

and

other

market

sources

to

determine

fair

value.

Equity

securities

and

derivative

financial instruments listed

on

an

exchange

or

on

the

NASDAQ

National

Market

System

are

valued

at

the

last

quoted

sale

price

or

the

official

closing

price of

the

day,

respectively. Foreign

equity

securities

are

valued

as

of

the

close

of

trading

on

the

foreign

stock

exchange

on

which

the

security

is

primarily

traded,

or

as

of

p.m.

Eastern

time.

The

value

is

then

converted

into

its

U.S.

dollar

equivalent

at

the

foreign

exchange

rate

in

effect

at

p.m.

Eastern

time

on

the

day

that

the

value

of

the

security

is

determined.

Over-the-counter

(OTC)

securities

are

valued

within

the

range

of

the

most

recent

quoted

bid

and

ask

prices.

Securities

that

trade

in

multiple

markets

or

on

multiple

exchanges

are

valued

according

to

the

broadest

and

most

representative

market.

Certain

equity

securities

are

valued

based

upon

fundamental

characteristics

or

relationships

to

similar

securities.

Debt

securities

generally

trade

in

the OTC

market

rather

than

on

a

securities

exchange.

The

Fund's

pricing

services

use

multiple

valuation

techniques

to

determine

fair

value.

In

instances

where

sufficient

market

activity

exists,

the

pricing

services

may

utilize

a

market-based

approach

through

which

quotes

from

market

makers

are

used

to

determine

fair

value.

In

instances

where

sufficient

market

activity

may

not

exist

or

is

limited,

the

pricing

services

also

utilize

proprietary

valuation

models

which

may

consider

market

characteristics

such

as

benchmark

yield

curves,

credit

spreads,

estimated

default

rates,

anticipated

market

interest

rate

volatility,

coupon

rates,

anticipated

timing

of

principal

repayments,

underlying

collateral,

and

other

unique

security

features

in

order

to

estimate

the

relevant

cash

flows,

which

are

then

discounted

to

calculate

the

fair

value.

Securities

denominated

in

a

foreign

currency

are

converted

into

their

U.S.

dollar

equivalent

at

the

foreign

exchange

rate

in

effect

at

p.m.

Eastern

time

on

the

date

that

the

values

of

the

foreign

debt

securities

are

determined.

Investments

in open-end mutual

funds

are

valued

at

the

closing

NAV.

Certain

derivative

financial

instruments

trade

in

the

OTC

market.

The

Fund's

pricing

services

use

various

techniques

including

industry

standard

option

pricing

models

and

proprietary

discounted

cash

flow

models

to

determine

the

fair

value

of

those

instruments.

The

Fund's

net

benefit

or

obligation

under

the

derivative

contract,

as

measured

by

the

fair

value

of

the

contract,

is

included

in

net

assets.

The

Fund

has

procedures

to

determine

the

fair

value

of

financial

instruments

for

which

market

prices

are

not

reliable

or

readily

available.

Under

these

procedures,

the Fund

primarily

employs

a

market-based

approach

which

may

use

related

or

comparable

assets

or

liabilities,

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

recent

transactions,

market

multiples,

and

other

relevant

information

for

the

investment

to

determine

the

fair

value

of

the

investment.

An

income-based

valuation

approach

may

also

be

used

in

which

the

anticipated

future

cash

flows

of

the

investment

are

discounted

to

calculate

fair

value.

Discounts

may

also

be

applied

due

to

the

nature

or

duration

of

any

restrictions

on

the

disposition

of

the

investments.

Due

to

the

inherent

uncertainty

of

valuations

of

such

investments,

the

fair

values

may

differ

significantly

from

the

values

that

would

have

been

used

had

an

active

market

existed.

Trading

in

securities

on

foreign

securities

stock

exchanges

and

OTC

markets

may

be

completed

before

p.m.

Eastern

time.

In

addition,

trading

in

certain

foreign

markets

may

not

take

place

on

every

Fund's

business

day. Events

can occur

between

the

time

at

which

trading

in

a

foreign

security

is

completed

and

p.m.

Eastern

time

that

might

call

into

question

the

reliability

of

the

value

of

a

portfolio

security

held

by

the

Fund.

As

a

result,

differences

may

arise

between

the

value

of

the

Fund's

portfolio

securities

as

determined

at

the

foreign

market

close

and

the

latest

indications

of

value

at

p.m.

Eastern

time. In

order

to

minimize

the

potential

for

these

differences,

an

independent

pricing

service

may

be

used

to

adjust

the

value

of

the

Fund's

portfolio

securities

to

the

latest

indications

of

fair

value

at

p.m.

Eastern

time.

At

January

31,

2026,

certain

securities

may

have

been

fair

valued

using

these

procedures,

in

which

case

the

securities

were

categorized

as

Level

within

the

fair

value

hierarchy

(referred

to

as

"market

level

fair

value").

See

the

Fair

Value

Measurements

note

for

more

information.

When

the

last

day

of

the

reporting

period

is

a

non-business

day,

certain

foreign

markets

may

be

open

on

those

days

that

the

Fund's

NAV

is

not

calculated,

which

could

result

in

differences

between

the

value

of

the

Fund's

portfolio

securities

on

the

last

business

day

and

the

last

calendar

day

of

the

reporting

period.

Any

security

valuation

changes

due

to

an

open

foreign

market

are

adjusted

and

reflected

by

the

Fund

for

financial

reporting

purposes.

b. #### Foreign

#### Currency

#### Translation
Portfolio

securities

and

other

assets

and

liabilities

denominated

in

foreign

currencies

are

translated

into

U.S.

dollars

based

on

the

exchange

rate

of

such

currencies

against

U.S.

dollars

on

the

date

of

valuation.

The

Fund

may

enter

into

foreign

currency

exchange

contracts

to

facilitate

transactions

denominated

in

a

foreign

currency.

Purchases

and

sales

of

securities,

income

and

expense

items

denominated

in

foreign

currencies

are

translated

into

U.S.

dollars

at

the

exchange

rate

in

effect

on

the

transaction

date.

Portfolio

securities

and

assets

and

liabilities

denominated

in

foreign

currencies

contain

risks

that

those

currencies

will

decline

in

value

relative

to

the

U.S.

dollar.

Occasionally,

events

may

impact

the

availability

or

reliability

of

foreign

exchange

rates

used

to

convert

the

U.S.

dollar

equivalent

value.

If

such

an

event

occurs,

the

foreign

exchange

rate

will

be

valued

at

fair

value

using

procedures

established

and

approved

by

the

Board.

The

Fund

does

not

separately

report

the

effect

of

changes

in

foreign

exchange

rates

from

changes

in

market

prices

on

securities

held.

Such

changes

are

included

in

net

realized

and

unrealized

gain

or

loss

from

investments

in

the

Statement of

Operations.

Realized

foreign

exchange

gains

or

losses

arise

from

sales

of

foreign

currencies,

currency

gains

or

losses

realized

between

the

trade

and

settlement

dates

on

securities

transactions

and

the

difference

between

the

recorded

amounts

of

dividends,

interest,

and

foreign

withholding

taxes

and

the

U.S.

dollar

equivalent

of

the

amounts

actually

received

or

paid.

Net

unrealized

foreign

exchange

gains

and

losses

arise

from

changes

in

foreign

exchange

rates

on

foreign

denominated

assets

and

liabilities

other

than

investments

in

securities

held

at

the

end

of

the

reporting

period.

c. #### Stripped

#### Securities
The

Fund

may

invest

in

stripped

securities

which

represent

a

participation

in

securities

that

may

be

structured

in

classes

with

rights

to

receive

different

portions

of

the

interest

and

principal.

Interest-only

securities

receive

all

of

the

interest

and

principal-only

securities

receive

all

of

the

principal.

If

the

interest

only

securities

experience

greater

than

anticipated

prepayments

of

principal,

the

Fund

may

fail

to

recoup

fully

its

initial

investment

in

these

securities.

Conversely,

principal-

only

securities

increase

in

value

if

prepayments

are

greater

than

anticipated

and

decline

if

prepayments

are

slower

than

anticipated.

The

fair

value

of

these

securities

is

highly

sensitive

to

changes

in

interest

rates.

1. #### Organization

#### and

#### Significant

#### Accounting

#### Policies
(continued)

a. #### Financial

#### Instrument

#### Valuation
(continued)

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

d. #### Securities

#### Purchased

#### on

#### a

#### When-Issued,

#### Forward Commitment or

#### Delayed

#### Delivery

#### Basis

#### and

#### TBA

#### Basis
The

Fund

may

purchase

securities

on

a when-issued,

forward

commitment

or

delayed

delivery

and to-be-

announced

(TBA)

basis,

with

payment

and

delivery

scheduled

for

a

future

date.

These

transactions

are

subject

to

market

fluctuations

and

are

subject

to

the

risk

that

the

value

at

delivery

may

be

more

or

less

than

the

trade

date

purchase

price.

Although

the

Fund

will

generally

purchase

these

securities

with

the

intention

of

holding

the

securities, it

may

sell

the

securities

before

the

settlement

date.

The

Fund

may

also

enter

into

TBA

sale

commitments

to

hedge

its

portfolio

positions,

to

sell

mortgage-backed

securities

it

owns

under

delayed

delivery

arrangements

or

to

take

a

short

position

in

mortgage-backed

securities.

Proceeds

of

TBA

sale

commitments

are

not

received

until

the

contractual

settlement

date.

During

the

time

a

TBA

sale

commitment

is

outstanding,

either

equivalent

deliverable

securities

or

an

offsetting

TBA

purchase

commitment

deliverable

on

or

before

the

sale

commitment

date

are

held

as

"cover"

for

the

transaction,

or

other

liquid

assets

in

an

amount

equal

to

the

notional

value

of

the

TBA

sale

commitment

are

segregated.

If

the

TBA

sale

commitment

is

closed

through

the

acquisition

of

an

offsetting

TBA

purchase

commitment,

the

Fund

realizes

a

gain

or

loss.

If

the

Fund

delivers

securities

under

the

commitment,

the

Fund

realizes

a

gain

or

a

loss

from

the

sale

of

the

securities

based

upon

the

unit

price

established

at

the

date

the

commitment

was

entered

into.

TBA

commitments,

which

are

accounted

for

as

purchase

and

sale

transactions,

may

be

considered

securities

themselves,

and

involve

a

risk

of

loss

due

to

changes

in

the

value

of

the

security

prior

to

the

settlement

date

as

well

as

the

risk

that

the

counterparty

to

the

transaction

will

not

perform

its

obligations.

Counterparty

risk

is

mitigated

by

having

a

master

agreement

between

the

Fund

and

the

counterparty.

Unsettled

TBA

commitments

are

valued

at

their

fair

value

according

to

the

procedures

described

in

the

Financial

Instrument

Valuation

note.

The

contract

is

marked

to

market

daily

and

the

change

in

fair

value

is

recorded

by

the

Fund

as

an

unrealized

gain

or

loss.

Based

on

market

circumstances,

the

investment

manager

will

determine

whether

to

take

delivery

of

the

underlying

securities

or

to

dispose

of

the

TBA

commitments

prior

to

settlement.

e. #### Derivative

#### Financial

#### Instruments
The

Fund invested

in

derivative

financial

instruments

in

order

to

manage

risk

or

gain

exposure

to

various

other

investments

or

markets.

Derivatives

are

financial

contracts

based

on

an

underlying

or

notional

amount,

require

no

initial

investment

or

an

initial

net

investment

that

is

smaller

than

would

normally

be

required

to

have

a

similar

response

to

changes

in

market

factors,

and

require

or

permit

net

settlement.

Derivatives

contain

various

risks

including

the

potential

inability

of

the

counterparty

to

fulfill

their

obligations

under

the

terms

of

the

contract,

the

potential

for

an

illiquid

secondary

market,

and/or

the

potential

for

market

movements

which

expose

the

Fund

to

gains

or

losses

in

excess

of

the

amounts

shown

in

the

Statement

of

Assets

and

Liabilities.

Realized

gain

and

loss

and

unrealized

appreciation

and

depreciation

on

these

contracts

for

the

period

are

included

in

the

Statement

of

Operations.

Derivative

counterparty

credit

risk

is

managed

through

a

formal

evaluation

of

the

creditworthiness

of

all

potential

counterparties.

The

Fund

attempts

to

reduce

its

exposure

to

counterparty

credit

risk

on

OTC

derivatives,

whenever

possible,

by

entering

into

International

Swaps

and

Derivatives

Association

(ISDA)

master

agreements

with

certain

counterparties.

These

agreements

contain

various

provisions,

including

but

not

limited

to

collateral

requirements,

events

of

default,

or

early

termination.

Termination

events

applicable

to

the

counterparty

include

certain

deteriorations

in

the

credit

quality

of

the

counterparty.

Termination

events

applicable

to

the

Fund

include

failure

of

the

Fund

to

maintain

certain

net

asset

levels

and/or

limit

the

decline

in

net

assets

over

various

periods

of

time.

In

the

event

of

default

or

early

termination,

the

ISDA

master

agreement

gives

the

non-defaulting

party

the

right

to

net

and

close-out

all

transactions

traded,

whether

or

not

arising

under

the

ISDA

agreement,

to

one

net

amount

payable

by

one

counterparty

to

the

other.

However,

absent

an

event

of

default

or

early

termination,

OTC

derivative

assets

and

liabilities

are

presented

gross

and

not

offset

in

the

Statement

of

Assets

and

Liabilities.

Early

termination

by

the

counterparty

may

result

in

an

immediate

payment

by

the

Fund

of

any

net

liability

owed

to

that

counterparty

under

the

ISDA

agreement.

At

January

31,

2026,

the

Fund

had

OTC

1. #### Organization

#### and

#### Significant

#### Accounting

#### Policies
(continued)

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

derivatives

in

a

net

liability

position

of

$887,081

and

the

aggregate

value

of

collateral

pledged

for

such

contracts

was

$756,447.

Collateral

requirements

differ

by

type

of

derivative.

Collateral

or

initial

margin

requirements

are

set

by

the

broker

or

exchange

clearing

house

for

exchange

traded

and

centrally

cleared

derivatives.

Initial

margin

deposited

is

held

at

the

exchange

or

at

the

broker and

can

be

in

the

form

of

cash

and/or

securities.

For

OTC

derivatives

traded

under

an

ISDA

master

agreement,

posting

of

collateral

is

required

by

either

the

Fund

or

the

applicable

counterparty

if

the

total

net

exposure

of

all

OTC

derivatives

with

the

applicable

counterparty

exceeds

the

minimum

transfer

amount,

which

typically

ranges

from

$100,000

to

$250,000,

and

can

vary

depending

on

the

counterparty

and

the

type

of agreement.

Generally,

collateral

is

determined

at

the

close

of

Fund

business

each

day

and

any

additional

collateral

required

due

to

changes

in

derivative

values

may

be

delivered

by

the

Fund

or

the

counterparty

the

next

business

day,

or

within

a

few

business

days.

Collateral

pledged

and/or

received

by

the

Fund

for

OTC

derivatives,

if

any,

is

held

in

segregated

accounts

with

the

Fund's

custodian/counterparty

broker

and

can

be

in

the

form

of

cash

and/or

securities.

Unrestricted

cash

may

be

invested

according

to

the

Fund's

investment

objectives.

To

the

extent

that

the

amounts

due

to

the

Fund

from

its

counterparties

are

not

subject

to

collateralization

or

are

not

fully

collateralized,

the

Fund

bears

the

risk

of

loss

from

counterparty

non-performance.

The

Fund entered

into

OTC

forward

exchange

contracts

primarily

to

manage

and/or

gain exposure

to

certain

foreign

currencies.

A

forward

exchange

contract

is

an

agreement

between

the

Fund

and

a

counterparty

to

buy

or

sell

a

foreign

currency at

a

specific

exchange

rate

on

a

future

date.

Forward

exchange

contracts

outstanding

at

period

end,

if

any,

are

listed

in

the

Fund's

Schedule

of

Investments.

The

Fund

purchased

or

wrote

exchange

traded

option

contracts

primarily

to

manage

and/or

gain exposure

to

equity

price

risk.

An

option

is

a

contract

entitling

the

holder

to

purchase

or

sell

a

specific

amount

of

shares

or

units

of

an

asset

or

notional

amount

of

a

swap

(swaption),

at

a

specified

price.

When

an

option

is

purchased

or

written,

an

amount

equal

to

the

premium

paid

or

received

is

recorded

as

an

asset

or

liability,

respectively.

Upon

exercise

of

an

option,

the

acquisition

cost

or

sales

proceeds

of

the

underlying

investment

is

adjusted

by

any

premium

received

or

paid.

Upon

expiration

of

an

option,

any

premium

received

or

paid

is

recorded

as

a

realized

gain

or

loss.

Upon

closing

an

option

other

than

through

expiration

or

exercise,

the

difference

between

the

premium

received

or

paid

and

the

cost

to

close

the

position

is

recorded

as

a

realized

gain

or

loss.

Option contracts

outstanding

at

period

end,

if

any,

are

listed

in

the

Fund's

Schedule

of

Investments.

The

Fund entered

into

exchange

traded

futures

contracts

primarily

to

manage

and/or

gain

exposure

to equity

price

risk.

A

futures

contract

is

an

agreement

between

the

Fund

and

a

counterparty

to

buy

or

sell

an

asset

at

a

specified

price

on

a

future

date.

Required

initial

margins

are

pledged

by

the

Fund,

and

the

daily

change

in

fair

value

is

accounted

for

as

a

variation

margin

payable

or

receivable

in

the

Statement

of

Assets

and

Liabilities.

Futures

contracts

outstanding

at

period

end,

if

any,

are

listed

in

the

Fund's

Schedule

of

Investments.

See

Note

regarding

other

derivative

information.

f. #### Securities

#### Lending
The

Fund

participates

in

an

agency

based

securities

lending

program

to

earn

additional

income.

The

Fund

receives

collateral

in

the

form

of

cash

and/or

U.S.

Government

and

Agency

securities

against

the

loaned

securities

in

an

amount

equal

to

at

least

102%

of

the

fair

value

of

the

loaned

securities.

Collateral

is

maintained

over

the

life

of

the

loan

in

an

amount

not

less

than

100%

of

the

fair

value

of

loaned

securities,

as

determined

at

the

close

of

Fund

business

each

day;

any

additional

collateral

required

due

to

changes

in

security

values

is

delivered

to

the

Fund

on

the

next

business

day.

Any

cash

collateral

received

is

deposited

into

a

joint

cash

account

with

other

funds

and

is

used

to

invest

in

the

Putnam

Cash

Collateral

Pool,

LLC,

a

limited

liability

company,

an

affiliate

of

Putnam

Management. The

Fund

may

receive

income

from

the

investment

of

cash

collateral,

in

addition

to

lending

fees paid

by

the

borrower.

Income

from

securities

loaned,

net

of

fees

paid

to

the

securities

lending

agent

and/or

third-party

vendor,

is

reported

separately

in

the Statement of

Operations.

The

Fund

bears

the

market

risk

with

respect

to

any

cash

collateral

investment,

securities

loaned,

and

the

risk

that

the

agent

may

default

on

its

obligations

to

the

Fund.

If

the

borrower

defaults

on

its

obligation

to

return

the

securities

loaned,

the

Fund

has

the

right

to

repurchase

the

securities

in

the

open

market

using

the

collateral

received.

The

securities

lending

agent

has

1. #### Organization

#### and

#### Significant

#### Accounting

#### Policies
(continued)

e. #### Derivative

#### Financial

#### Instruments
(continued)

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

agreed

to

indemnify

the

Fund

in

the

event

of

default

by

a

third

party

borrower.

Securities

on

loan

outstanding

at

period

end,

if

any,

are

listed

in

the

Fund's

Schedule

of

Investments.

g. #### Income

#### and

#### Deferred

#### Taxes
It

is the Fund's

policy

to

qualify

as

a

regulated

investment

company

under

the

Internal

Revenue

Code. The Fund

intends

to

distribute

to

shareholders

substantially

all

of

its

taxable

income

and

net

realized

gains

to

relieve

it

from

federal

income

and if

applicable,

excise

taxes.

As

a

result,

no

provision

for

U.S.

federal

income

taxes

is

required.

The Fund

may

be

subject

to

foreign

taxation

related

to

income

received,

capital

gains

on

the

sale

of

securities

and

certain

foreign

currency

transactions

in

the

foreign

jurisdictions

in

which

it

invests.

Foreign

taxes,

if

any,

are

recorded

based

on

the

tax

regulations

and

rates

that

exist

in

the

foreign

markets

in

which

the

Fund

invests.

In

some

cases,

the

Fund

may

be

entitled

to

reclaim

all

or

a

portion

of

such

taxes,

and

such

reclaim

amounts,

if

any,

are

reflected

as

a

dividend

receivable

in

the

Statement

of

Assets

and

Liabilities

and

dividend

income

in

the

Statement

of

Operations.

In

many

cases,

however,

the

Fund

may

not

receive

such

amounts

for

an

extended

period

of

time,

depending

on

the

country

of

investment.

When

a

capital

gain

tax

is

determined

to

apply,

the

Fund

records

an

estimated

deferred

tax

liability

in

an

amount

that

would

be

payable

if

the

securities

were

disposed

of

on

the

valuation

date.

The

Fund

may

recognize

an

income

tax

liability

related

to

its

uncertain

tax

positions

under

U.S.

GAAP

when

the

uncertain

tax

position

has

a

less

than

50%

probability

that

it

will

be

sustained

upon

examination

by

the

tax

authorities

based

on

its

technical

merits.

As

of

January

31,

2026, the

Fund

has

determined

that

no

tax

liability

is

required

in

its

financial

statements

related

to

uncertain

tax

positions

for

any

open

tax

years

(or

expected

to

be

taken

in

future

tax

years).

Open

tax

years

are

those

that

remain

subject

to

examination

and

are

based

on

the

statute

of

limitations

in

each

jurisdiction

in

which

the

Master

Fund

invests.

h. #### Security

#### Transactions,

#### Investment

#### Income,

#### Expenses

#### and

#### Distributions
Security

transactions

are

accounted

for

on

trade

date.

Realized

gains

and

losses

on

security

transactions

are

determined

on

a

specific

identification basis.

Interest

income

(including

interest

income

from

payment-in-kind

securities,

if

any)

and

estimated

expenses

are

accrued

daily.

Amortization

of

premium

and

accretion

of

discount

on

debt

securities

are

included

in

interest

income.

Paydown

gains

and

losses

are

recorded

as

an

adjustment

to

interest

income.

Dividend

income

is recorded

on

the

ex-dividend

date

except

for

certain

dividends

from

securities

where

the

dividend

rate

is

not available.

In

such

cases,

the

dividend

is

recorded

as

soon

as

the

information

is

received

by

the Fund.

Distributions

to

shareholders

are

recorded

on

the

ex-dividend

date.

Distributable

earnings are

determined

according

to

income

tax

regulations

(tax

basis)

and

may

differ

from

earnings recorded

in

accordance

with

U.S.

GAAP.

These

differences

may

be

permanent

or

temporary.

Permanent differences

are

reclassified

among

capital

accounts

to

reflect

their

tax

character.

These reclassifications

have

no

impact

on

net

assets

or

the

results

of

operations.

Temporary

differences are

not

reclassified,

as

they

may

reverse

in

subsequent

periods.

Realized

and

unrealized

gains

and

losses

and

net

investment

income,

excluding

class

specific

expenses,

are

allocated

daily

to

each

class

of

shares

based

upon

the

relative

proportion

of

net

assets

of

each

class.

Differences

in

per

share

distributions

by

class

are

generally

due

to

differences

in

class

specific

expenses.

i. #### Accounting

#### Estimates
The

preparation

of

financial

statements

in

accordance

with

U.S.

GAAP

requires

management

to

make

estimates

and

assumptions

that

affect

the

reported

amounts

of

assets

and

liabilities

at

the

date

of

the

financial

statements

and

the

amounts

of

income

and

expenses

during

the

reporting

period.

Actual

results

could

differ

from

those

estimates.

1. #### Organization

#### and

#### Significant

#### Accounting

#### Policies
(continued)

f. #### Securities

#### Lending
(continued)

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

j. #### Guarantees

#### and

#### Indemnifications
Under

the

Fund's

organizational

documents,

its

officers

and

trustees

are

indemnified

by

the

Fund

against

certain

liabilities

arising

out

of

the

performance

of

their

duties

to

the

Fund

.

Additionally,

in

the

normal

course

of

business,

the

Fund

enters

into

contracts

with

service

providers

that

contain

general

indemnification

clauses.

The

Fund's

maximum

exposure

under

these

arrangements

is

unknown

as

this

would

involve

future

claims

that

may

be

made

against

the

Fund

that

have

not

yet

occurred.

Currently,

the

Fund

expects

the

risk

of

loss

to

be

remote.

2. #### Shares

#### of

#### Beneficial

#### Interest
At

January

31,

2026,

there

were

an

unlimited

number

of

shares

authorized

(without

par

value).

Transactions

in

the

Fund's

shares

were

as

follows:

#### Six

#### Months

#### Ended

#### January

#### 31,

#### 2026

#### Year

#### Ended

#### July

#### 31,

#### 2025

#### Shares

#### Amount

#### Shares

#### Amount

#### Class

#### A

#### Shares:
Shares

sold

a

...................................

2,020,992

$56,471,394

4,003,500

$103,363,673

Shares

issued

in

reinvestment

of

distributions

..........

3,872,503

104,840,670

2,431,783

63,534,808

Shares

redeemed

...............................

(3,787,621)

(105,932,178)

(6,565,590)

(169,226,408)

Net

increase

(decrease)

..........................

2,105,874

$55,379,886

(130,307)

$(2,327,927)

#### Class

#### B

#### Shares:

#### \*
Shares

issued

in

reinvestment

of

distributions

..........

—

$—

$1,043

Shares

redeemed

...............................

—

—

(56,791)

(1,424,217)

Net

increase

(decrease)

..........................

—

$—

(56,750)

$(1,423,174)

#### Class

#### C

#### Shares:
Shares

sold

...................................

448,145

$12,329,272

1,017,116

$26,025,918

Shares

issued

in

reinvestment

of

distributions

..........

341,317

9,103,294

182,250

4,698,621

Shares

redeemed

a

..............................

(621,681)

(16,998,949)

(1,078,787)

(27,436,795)

Net

increase

(decrease)

..........................

167,781

$4,433,617

120,579

$3,287,744

#### Class

#### M

#### Shares:
Shares

sold

...................................

80,121

$2,211,629

259,627

$6,603,258

Shares

issued

in

reinvestment

of

distributions

..........

164,204

4,349,597

99,149

2,539,549

Shares

redeemed

...............................

(274,710)

(7,391,186)

(494,956)

(12,518,259)

Net

increase

(decrease)

..........................

(30,385)

$(829,960)

(136,180)

$(3,375,452)

#### Class

#### R

#### Shares:
Shares

sold

...................................

37,083

$1,044,592

19,483

$505,331

Shares

issued

in

reinvestment

of

distributions

..........

5,983

160,971

2,613

67,929

Shares

redeemed

...............................

(1,743)

(48,283)

(26,393)

(675,583)

Net

increase

(decrease)

..........................

41,323

$1,157,280

(4,297)

$(102,323)

#### Class

#### R6

#### Shares:
Shares

sold

...................................

328,434

$9,266,783

818,467

$21,253,251

Shares

issued

in

reinvestment

of

distributions

..........

259,661

7,076,057

174,790

4,592,182

Shares

redeemed

...............................

(369,750)

(10,407,585)

(1,124,172)

(29,197,493)

Net

increase

(decrease)

..........................

218,345

$5,935,255

(130,915)

$(3,352,060)

1. #### Organization

#### and

#### Significant

#### Accounting

#### Policies
(continued)

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

3. #### Transactions

#### with

#### Affiliates
Franklin

Resources,

Inc.

is

the

holding

company

for

various

subsidiaries

that

together

are

referred

to

as

Franklin

Templeton.

Certain

officers

and trustees

of

the Fund are

also

officers

and/or directors

of

the

following

subsidiaries:

a. #### Management

#### Fees
The

Fund

pays

Putnam

Management

a

management

fee

(based

on

the

Fund's

average

net

assets

and

computed

and

paid

monthly)

at

annual

rates

that

may

vary

based

on

the

average

of

the

aggregate

net

assets

of

all

open-end

mutual

funds

sponsored

by

Putnam

Management

(including

open-end

funds

managed

by

affiliates

of

Putnam

Management

that

have

been

deemed

to

be

sponsored

by

Putnam

Management

for

this

purpose)

(excluding

net

assets

of

such

funds

that

are

invested

in,

or

that

are

invested

in

by,

other

such

funds

to

the

extent

necessary

to

avoid

"double

counting"

of

those

assets).

Such

annual

rates

may

vary

as

follows:

For

the

period

ended

January

31,

2026,

the

annualized

gross

effective

investment

management

fee

rate

was 0.478%

of

the

Fund's

average daily

net

assets.

#### Six

#### Months

#### Ended

#### January

#### 31,

#### 2026

#### Year

#### Ended

#### July

#### 31,

#### 2025

#### Shares

#### Amount

#### Shares

#### Amount

#### Class

#### Y

#### Shares:
Shares

sold

...................................

1,794,914

$50,382,655

5,359,371

$138,178,286

Shares

issued

in

reinvestment

of

distributions

..........

1,149,408

31,316,349

709,074

18,631,423

Shares

redeemed

...............................

(3,094,785)

(87,261,178)

(3,418,443)

(87,985,662)

Net

increase

(decrease)

..........................

(150,463)

$(5,562,174)

2,650,002

$68,824,047

\*

Effective

September

5,

2024,

the

Fund

has

terminated

its

Class

B

shares.

a

May

include

a

portion

of

Class

C

shares

that

were

automatically

converted

to

Class

A. #### Subsidiary

#### Affiliation
Putnam

Investment

Management,

LLC

(Putnam

Management)

Investment

manager

Franklin

Advisers,

Inc.

(Advisers)

Subadvisor

Franklin

Templeton

Investment

Management

Limited

(FTIML)

Subadvisor

Franklin

Templeton

Services,

LLC

(FT

Services)

Administrative

manager

Franklin

Distributors,

LLC

(Distributors)

Principal

underwriter

Putnam

Investor

Services,

Inc.

(PSERV)

Transfer

agent

#### Annualized

#### Fee

#### Rate

#### Net

#### Assets
0.680%

of

the

first

$5

billion,

0.630%

of

the

next

$5

billion,

0.580%

of

the

next

$10

billion,

0.530%

of

the

next

$10

billion,

0.480%

of

the

next

$50

billion,

0.460%

of

the

next

$50

billion,

0.450%

of

the

next

$100

billion

and

0.445%

of

any

excess

thereafter.

2. #### Shares

#### of

#### Beneficial

#### Interest
(continued)

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

Under

a

subadvisory

agreement,

Advisers

provides

portfolio

management

and

certain

other

advisory

and

related

services

to

the

Fund.

With

respect

to

the

portfolio

management

services,

Putnam

Management

pays

a

fee

to

Advisers

equal

to

35%

of

the

net

investment

advisory

fee

payable

by

the

Fund

to

Putnam

Management

and

with

respect

to

the

other

advisory

and

related

services, Putnam

Management

pays

a

fee

to

Advisers

based

on

the

costs

of

Advisers

in

providing

these

services

to

the

Fund.

These

fees

are

not

an

additional

expense

to

the

Fund.

Under

a

subadvisory

agreement,

FTIML

provides

subadvisory

services

to

the

Fund.

The

subadvisory

fee

is

paid by Putnam

Management

based

on

the

average

net

assets

managed

by

FTIML,

and

is

not

an

additional

expense

of

the

Fund.

b. #### Administrative

#### Fees
Under

an

agreement

with

Putnam

Management,

FT

Services

provides

administrative

services

to

the

Fund.

The

fee

is

paid

by Putnam

Management

based

on

the Fund's

average

daily

net

assets,

and

is

not

an

additional

expense

of

the

Fund.

The

Fund

reimburses

Putnam

Management

an

allocated

amount

for

the

compensation

and

related

expenses

of

certain

officers

of

the

Fund

and

their

staff

who

provide

administrative

services

to

the

Fund.

The

aggregate

amount

of

all

such

reimbursements

is

determined

annually

by

the

Trustees.

c. #### Distribution

#### Fees
The

Fund

has

adopted

distribution

plans

(the

Plans)

with

respect

to

the

following

share

classes

pursuant

to

Rule

12b–1

under

the

1940

Act.

The

purpose

of

the

Plans

is

to

compensate

Distributors

for

services

provided

and

expenses

incurred

in

distributing

shares

of

the

Fund.

The

Plans

provide

payments

by

the

Fund

to

Distributors

at

an

annual

rate

of

up

to

the

following

amounts

(Maximum

%)

of

the

average

net

assets

attributable

to

each

class.

The

Trustees

have

approved

payment

by

the

Fund

at

the

following

annual

rate

(Approved

%)

of

the

average

net

assets

attributable

to

each

class.

d. #### Sales

#### Charges/Underwriting

#### Agreements
Front-end

sales

charges

and

contingent

deferred

sales

charges

(CDSC)

do

not

represent

expenses

of

the

Fund.

These

charges

are

deducted

from

the

proceeds

of

sales

of

fund

shares

prior

to

investment

or

from

redemption

proceeds

prior

to

remittance,

as

applicable.

Distributors

has

advised

the

Fund

of

the

following

commission

transactions

related

to

the

sales

and

redemptions

of

the

Fund's

shares

for

the

period:

e. #### Transfer

#### Agent

#### Fees
PSERV,

an

affiliate

of

Advisers,

provides

investor

servicing

agent

functions

to

the

Fund.

PSERV

received

fees

for

investor

servicing

for

Class

A,

Class

C,

Class

M,

Class

R

and

Class

Y shares

that

included

(1) a

per

account

fee

for

each

direct

and

underlying

non-defined

contribution

account

(retail

account)

of

the

Fund;

(2) a

specified

rate

of

the

Fund's

assets

attributable

#### Maximum

#### %

#### Approved

#### %
Class

A

...................................................................

0.35%

0.25%

Class

C

...................................................................

1.00%

1.00%

Class

M

..................................................................

1.00%

7.50%

Class

R

...................................................................

1.00%

0.50%

Sales

charges

retained

net

of

commissions

paid

to

unaffiliated

brokers/dealers

..............................

$95,276

CDSC

retained

..............................................................................

$12,000

3. #### Transactions

#### with

#### Affiliates
(continued)

a. #### Management

#### Fees
(continued)

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

to

defined

contribution

plan

accounts;

and

(3) a

specified

rate

based

on

the

average

net

assets

in

retail

accounts.

PSERV

has

agreed

that

the

aggregate

investor

servicing

fees

for

each

Fund's

retail

and

defined

contribution

accounts

for

these

share

classes

will

not

exceed

an

annual

rate

of

0.25%

of

the

Fund's

average

assets

attributable

to

such

accounts.

Class R5

shares

paid

a

monthly

fee

based

on

the

average

net

assets

of

Class R5

shares

at

an

annual

rate

of

0.15%.

Class R6

shares

paid

a

monthly

fee

based

on

the

average

net

assets

of

Class R6

shares

at

an

annual

rate

of

0.05%.

f. #### Trustee

#### Fees
The

Fund

has

adopted

a

Trustee

Fee

Deferral

Plan

(the

Deferral

Plan)

which

allows

the

Trustees to

defer

the

receipt

of

all

or

a

portion

of

Trustees'

fees

payable

from

July

1,

1995

through

December

31,

2023. The

deferred

fees

remain

invested

in

certain

Putnam

funds

until

distribution

in

accordance

with

the

Deferral

Plan.

The

Fund

has

adopted

an

unfunded

noncontributory

defined

benefit

pension

plan

(the

Pension

Plan)

covering

all

Trustees

of

the

Fund

who

have

served

as

a

Trustee

for

at

least

five

years

and

were

first

elected

prior

to

2004. Benefits

under

the

Pension

Plan

are

equal

to

50%

of

the

Trustee's

average

annual

attendance

and

retainer

fees

for

the

three

years

ended

December

31,

2005. The

retirement

benefit

is

payable

during

a

Trustee's

lifetime,

beginning

the

year

following

retirement,

for

the

number

of

years

of

service

through

December

31,

2006. Pension

expense

for

the

Fund

is

included

in

the

Trustees' fees

and

expenses

in

the

Statement

of

Operations.

Accrued

pension

liability

is

included

in

Payable

for

Trustees' fees

and

expenses

in

the

Statement

of

Assets

and

Liabilities.

The

Trustees

have

terminated

the

Pension

Plan

with

respect

to

any

Trustee

first

elected

after

2003. g. #### Investments

#### in

#### Affiliated

#### Management

#### Investment

#### Companies
The

Fund

invests

in

one

or

more

affiliated

management

investment

companies.

As

defined

in

the

1940

Act,

an

investment

is

deemed

to

be

a

"Controlled

Affiliate"

of

a

fund

when

a

fund

owns,

either

directly

or

indirectly,

25%

or

more

of

the

affiliated

fund's

outstanding

shares

or

has

the

power

to

exercise

control

over

management

or

policies

of

such

fund.

The

Fund

does

not

invest

for

purposes

of

exercising

a

controlling

influence

over

the

management

or

policies.

Management

fees

paid

by

the

Fund

are

waived

on

assets

invested

in

the

affiliated

management

investment

companies,

as

noted

in

the

Statement

of

Operations,

in

an

amount

not

to

exceed

the

management

and

administrative

fees,

if

applicable, paid

directly

or

indirectly

by

each

affiliate.

During

the

period

ended

January

31,

2026,

the

Fund

held

investments

in

affiliated

management

investment

companies

as

follows:

#### &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;aa

#### Value

#### at

#### Beginning

#### of

#### Period

#### Purchases

#### Sales

#### Realized

#### Gain
(Loss)

#### Net

#### Change

#### in

#### Unrealized

#### Appreciation
(Depreciation)

#### Value

#### at

#### End

#### of

#### Period

#### Number

#### of

#### Shares

#### Held

#### at

#### End

#### of

#### Period

#### Investment

#### Income

#### a&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

#### a

#### George

#### Putnam

#### Balanced

#### Fund

#### Non-Controlled

#### Affiliates
Dividends

Putnam

Short

Term

Investment

Fund,

Class

P,

3.863%

......

$86,907,631

$589,813,477

$(562,744,599)

$—

$—

$113,976,509

113,976,509

$2,025,458

3. #### Transactions

#### with

#### Affiliates
(continued)

e. #### Transfer

#### Agent

#### Fees
(continued)

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

h. #### Waiver

#### and

#### Expense

#### Reimbursements
Putnam

Management has

contractually

agreed,

through

December

30,

2026,

to

waive

fees

and/or

reimburse

the

Fund's

expenses

to

the

extent

necessary

to

limit

the

cumulative

expenses

of

the

Fund,

exclusive

of

brokerage,

interest,

taxes,

investment-related

expenses,

extraordinary

expenses,

acquired

fund

fees

and

expenses

and

payments

under

the

Fund's

investor

servicing

contract,

investment

management

contract

and

distribution

plans,

on

a

fiscal

year-to-date

basis

to

an

annual

rate

of

0.20%

of

the

Fund's

average

net

assets

over

such

fiscal

year-to-date

period.

4. #### Expense

#### Offset

#### Arrangement
The Fund has entered

into an

arrangement

with PSERV

whereby

credits

realized

as

a

result

of

uninvested

cash

balances

are

used

to

reduce

a

portion

of

the

Fund's

transfer

agent

fees.

During

the

period

ended

January

31,

2026,

the

fees

were

reduced

as

noted

in

the

Statement

of

Operations.

5. #### Income

#### Taxes
At

January

31,

2026,

the

cost

of

investments

and

net

unrealized

appreciation

(depreciation) for

income

tax

purposes

were

as

follows:

Differences

between

income

and/or

capital

gains

as

determined

on

a

book

basis

and

a

tax

basis

are

primarily

due

to

differing

treatments

of

foreign

currency

transactions

and

wash

sales.

6. #### Investment

#### Transactions
Purchases

and

sales

of

investments (excluding

short

term

securities) for

the

period

ended

January

31,

2026,

aggregated

$908,227,287 and

$1,065,792,421,

respectively.

#### &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;aa

#### Value

#### at

#### Beginning

#### of

#### Period

#### Purchases

#### Sales

#### Realized

#### Gain
(Loss)

#### Net

#### Change

#### in

#### Unrealized

#### Appreciation
(Depreciation)

#### Value

#### at

#### End

#### of

#### Period

#### Number

#### of

#### Shares

#### Held

#### at

#### End

#### of

#### Period

#### Investment

#### Income

#### a&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

#### a

#### George

#### Putnam

#### Balanced

#### Fund
(continued)

#### Non-Controlled

#### Affiliates
Income

from

securities

loaned

Putnam

Cash

Collateral

Pool,

LLC,

3.878%

.............

$1,690,925

$61,409,654

$(53,898,504)

$—

$—

$9,202,075

9,202,075

$144,873

#### Total

#### Affiliated

#### Securities

#### ...
$88,598,556

$651,223,131

$(616,643,103)

$—

$—

$123,178,584

$2,170,331

Cost

of

investments

..........................................................................

$1,746,179,171

Unrealized

appreciation

........................................................................

$686,488,461

Unrealized

depreciation

........................................................................

(53,853,653)

Net

unrealized

appreciation

(depreciation)

..........................................................

$632,634,808

3. #### Transactions

#### with

#### Affiliates
(continued)

g. #### Investments

#### in

#### Affiliated

#### Management

#### Investment

#### Companies
(continued)

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

At

January

31,

2026,

in

connection

with

securities

lending

transactions,

the

Fund

loaned

equity

investments

and

received

$9,202,075

of

cash

collateral.

The

gross

amount

of

recognized

liability

for

such

transactions

is

included

in

payable

upon

return

of

securities

loaned

in

the

Statement

of

Assets

and

Liabilities.

The

agreements

can

be

terminated

at

any

time.

7. #### Defaulted

#### Securities
The

Fund held

a defaulted

security

and/or

other

securities

for

which

the

income

has

been

deemed

uncollectible.

At

January

31,

2026,

the

value

of

this

security represents less

than

0.1%

of

the

Fund's net

assets.

The

Fund

discontinues

accruing

income

on

securities

for

which

income

has

been

deemed

uncollectible

and

provides

an

estimate

for

losses

on

interest

receivable.

The

security

has

been

identified

in

the

accompanying

Schedule

of

Investments.

8. #### Other

#### Derivative

#### Information
At

January

31,

2026,

investments

in

derivative

contracts

are

reflected

in

the Statement of

Assets

and

Liabilities

as

follows:

#### Asset

#### Derivatives

#### Liability

#### Derivatives

#### Derivative

#### Contracts

#### Not

#### Accounted

#### for

#### as

#### Hedging

#### Instruments

#### Statement

#### of

#### Assets

#### and

#### Liabilities

#### Location

#### Fair

#### Value

#### Statement

#### of

#### Assets

#### and

#### Liabilities

#### Location

#### Fair

#### Value

#### George

#### Putnam

#### Balanced

#### Fund
Foreign

exchange

contracts

..

Unrealized

appreciation

on

OTC

forward

exchange

contracts

$

164,396

Unrealized

depreciation

on

OTC

forward

exchange

contracts

$

1,030,010

Equity

contracts

...........

Variation

margin

on

futures

contracts

664

a

Variation

margin

on

futures

contracts

—

Total

....................

$165,060

$1,030,010

a

This

amount

reflects

the

cumulative

appreciation

(depreciation)

of

futures

contracts

as

reported

in

the

Schedule

of

Investments.

Only

the

variation

margin

receivable/payable

at

period

end

is

separately

reported

within

the

Statement

of

Assets

and

Liabilities.

Prior

variation

margin

movements

were

recorded

to

cash

upon

receipt

or

payment.

6. #### Investment

#### Transactions
(continued)

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

For

the

period

ended

January

31,

2026,

the

effect

of

derivative

contracts

in

the Statement

of

Operations

was

as

follows:

For

the

period

ended

January

31,

2026,

the

average

month

end

notional

amount

of

futures

contracts

and

options

represented

$5,785,220

and

$10,321,351,

respectively. The

average

month

end

contract

value

of

forward

exchange

contracts

was

$63,694,922.

See

Note

1(e) regarding

derivative

financial

instruments.

See

Abbreviations

on

.

9. #### Credit

#### Facility
The

Fund,

together

with

other

U.S.

registered

and

foreign

investment

funds

(collectively,

Borrowers),

managed

by

Franklin

Templeton,

are

borrowers

in

a

joint

syndicated

senior

unsecured

credit

facility

totaling

$2.995

billion

(Global

Credit

Facility)

which

matures

on

January

29,

2027. This

Global

Credit

Facility

provides

a

source

of

funds

to

the

Borrowers

for

temporary

and

emergency

purposes,

including

the

ability

to

meet

future

unanticipated

or

unusually

large

redemption

requests.

Under

the

terms

of

the

Global

Credit

Facility,

the

Fund

may,

in

addition

to

interest

charged

on

any

borrowings

made

by

the

Fund

and

other

costs

incurred

by

the

Fund,

pay

its

share

of

fees

and

expenses

incurred

in

connection

with

the

implementation

and

maintenance

of

the

Global

Credit

Facility,

based

upon

its

relative

share

of

the

aggregate

net

assets

of

all

of

the

Borrowers,

including

an

annual

commitment

fee

of

0.15%

based

upon

the

unused

portion

of

the

Global

Credit

Facility.

These

fees

are

reflected

in

other

expenses

in

the

Statement

of

Operations.

During

the

period

ended

January

31,

2026,

the Fund

did

not

use

the

Global

Credit

Facility.

10. #### Fair

#### Value

#### Measurements
The

Fund

follows

a

fair

value

hierarchy

that

distinguishes

between

market

data

obtained

from

independent

sources

(observable

inputs)

and

the Fund's

own

market

assumptions

(unobservable

inputs).

These

inputs

are

used

in

determining

the

value

of

the

Fund's financial

instruments

and

are

summarized

in

the

following

fair

value

hierarchy:

#### Derivative

#### Contracts

#### Not

#### Accounted

#### for

#### as

#### Hedging

#### Instruments

#### Statement

#### of

#### Operations

#### Location

#### Net

#### Realized

#### Gain
(Loss)

#### for

#### the

#### Period

#### Statement

#### of

#### Operations

#### Location

#### Net

#### Change

#### in

#### Unrealized

#### Appreciation
(Depreciation)

#### for

#### the

#### Period

#### George

#### Putnam

#### Balanced

#### Fund
Net

realized

gain

(loss)

from:

Net

change

in

unrealized

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;appreciation

(depreciation)

on:

Foreign

exchange

contracts

.....

Forward

exchange

contracts

$227,428

Forward

exchange

contracts

$(1,583,464)

Equity

contracts

..............

Investments

7,532,681

a

Investments

(8,375,267)

a

Written

options

(6,141,735)

Written

options

6,868,045

Futures

contracts

580,948

Futures

contracts

664

Total

.......................

$2,199,322

$(3,090,022)

a

Purchased

option

contracts

are

included

in

net

realized

gain

(loss)

from

investments

and

net

change

in

unrealized

appreciation

(depreciation)

on

investments

in

the

Statement

of

Operations.

8. #### Other

#### Derivative

#### Information
(continued)

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

Level

–

quoted

prices

in

active

markets

for

identical

financial

instruments

Level

–

other

significant

observable

inputs

(including

quoted

prices

for

similar

financial

instruments,

interest

rates,

prepayment

speed,

credit

risk,

etc.)

Level

–

significant

unobservable

inputs

(including

the

Fund's

own

assumptions

in

determining

the

fair

value

of

financial

instruments)

The

input

levels

are

not

necessarily

an

indication

of

the

risk

or

liquidity

associated

with

financial

instruments

at

that

level.

A

summary

of

inputs

used

as

of

January

31,

2026,

in

valuing

the

Fund's assets

and

liabilities carried

at

fair

value,

is

as

follows:

#### Level

#### 1

#### Level

#### 2

#### Level

#### 3

#### Total

#### George

#### Putnam

#### Balanced

#### Fund

#### Assets:
Investments

in

Securities:

a

Common

Stocks

:

Aerospace

&

Defense

...................

$

18,710,046

$

6,606,353

$

—

$

25,316,399

Air

Freight

&

Logistics

...................

13,732,361

—

—

13,732,361

Automobiles

..........................

29,802,741

—

—

29,802,741

Banks

...............................

34,775,625

—

—

34,775,625

Beverages

...........................

20,493,565

—

—

20,493,565

Biotechnology

.........................

28,587,479

—

—

28,587,479

Broadline

Retail

.......................

66,284,425

—

—

66,284,425

Building

Products

......................

5,767,414

—

—

5,767,414

Capital

Markets

........................

34,274,544

—

—

34,274,544

Chemicals

...........................

15,826,877

—

—

15,826,877

Commercial

Services

&

Supplies

...........

7,905,685

—

—

7,905,685

Communications

Equipment

..............

31,128,676

—

—

31,128,676

Construction

Materials

..................

10,016,565

—

—

10,016,565

Consumer

Finance

.....................

14,718,883

—

—

14,718,883

Consumer

Staples

Distribution

&

Retail

......

31,872,370

—

—

31,872,370

Electric

Utilities

........................

24,290,273

—

—

24,290,273

Electrical

Equipment

....................

8,586,420

—

—

8,586,420

Energy

Equipment

&

Services

.............

955,892

—

—

955,892

Entertainment

.........................

47,369,024

—

—

47,369,024

Financial

Services

......................

57,493,645

—

—

57,493,645

Food

Products

........................

2,623,257

—

—

2,623,257

Ground

Transportation

..................

7,062,874

—

—

7,062,874

Health

Care

Equipment

&

Supplies

.........

27,610,051

—

—

27,610,051

Health

Care

Providers

&

Services

..........

25,798,349

—

—

25,798,349

Health

Care

REITs

.....................

7,109,648

—

—

7,109,648

Hotels,

Restaurants

&

Leisure

.............

9,713,407

—

—

9,713,407

Household

Products

....................

9,539,352

—

—

9,539,352

Industrial

Conglomerates

................

12,070,391

—

—

12,070,391

Industrial

REITs

.......................

7,440,745

—

—

7,440,745

Insurance

............................

31,427,770

6,877,208

—

38,304,978

Interactive

Media

&

Services

..............

124,953,393

—

—

124,953,393

Life

Sciences

Tools

&

Services

............

22,604,624

—

—

22,604,624

Machinery

............................

20,062,044

—

—

20,062,044

Metals

&

Mining

.......................

3,556,830

7,192,134

—

10,748,964

Multi-Utilities

..........................

9,685,750

—

—

9,685,750

Oil,

Gas

&

Consumable

Fuels

.............

46,072,825

9,275,636

—

55,348,461

Passenger

Airlines

.....................

4,743,019

—

—

4,743,019

Pharmaceuticals

.......................

48,981,039

—

—

48,981,039

Real

Estate

Management

&

Development

....

2,622,060

—

—

2,622,060

Semiconductors

&

Semiconductor

Equipment

.

238,045,681

—

—

238,045,681

10. #### Fair

#### Value

#### Measurements
(continued)

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

11. #### Operating

#### Segments
The Fund operates

as

a

single

operating

segment,

which

is

an

investment

portfolio.

A

management

group

of

the

Fund's

Investment

manager serves

as

the

Chief

Operating

Decision

Maker

("CODM")

and

is

responsible

for

evaluating

the

Fund's

operating

results

and

allocating

resources

in

accordance

with

the

Fund's

investment

strategy.

Internal

reporting

provided

to

the

CODM

aligns

with

the

accounting

policies

and

measurement

principles

used

in

the financial

statements.

For

information

regarding

segment

assets,

segment

profit

or

loss,

and

significant

expenses,

refer

to

the Statement

of

Assets

and

Liabilities

and

the Statement

of

Operations,

along

with

the

related

notes

to

the financial

statements.

The Schedule

of

Investments

provides

details

of

the Fund's investments

that

generate

returns

such

as

interest,

dividends,

and

realized

and

unrealized

gains

or

losses.

Performance

metrics,

including

portfolio

turnover

and

expense

ratios,

are

disclosed

in

the Financial

Highlights.

12. #### Subsequent

#### Events
The

Fund

has

evaluated

subsequent

events

through

the

issuance

of

the

financial

statements

and

determined

that

no

events

have

occurred

that

require

disclosure.

#### Level

#### 1

#### Level

#### 2

#### Level

#### 3

#### Total

#### George

#### Putnam

#### Balanced

#### Fund
(continued)

#### Assets:
(continued)

Investments

in

Securities:

a

(continued)

Common

Stocks:

(continued)

Software

.............................

$

111,816,973

$

—

$

—

$

111,816,973

Specialized

REITs

......................

14,419,311

—

—

14,419,311

Specialty

Retail

........................

17,707,205

—

—

17,707,205

Technology

Hardware,

Storage

&

Peripherals

.

81,278,073

—

—

81,278,073

Textiles,

Apparel

&

Luxury

Goods

..........

3,818,715

—

—

3,818,715

Tobacco

.............................

9,797,245

—

—

9,797,245

Trading

Companies

&

Distributors

..........

5,298,456

—

—

5,298,456

Corporate

Bonds

........................

—

280,584,155

—

280,584,155

U.S.

Government

and

Agency

Securities

.......

—

337,194,785

—

337,194,785

Asset-Backed

Securities

...................

—

739,325

—

739,325

Commercial

Mortgage-Backed

Securities

......

—

2,303,785

—

2,303,785

Mortgage-Backed

Securities

................

—

213,101,436

—

213,101,436

Residential

Mortgage-Backed

Securities

.......

—

51,848

—

51,848

Municipal

Bonds

.........................

—

1,302,937

—

1,302,937

Short

Term

Investments

...................

113,976,509

9,202,075

—

123,178,584

Total

Investments

in

Securities

...........

$1,522,428,106

$874,431,677

b

$—

$2,396,859,783

Other

Financial

Instruments:

Forward

Exchange

Contracts

...............

$—

$164,396

$—

$164,396

Futures

Contracts

.......................

664

—

—

664

Total

Other

Financial

Instruments

.........

$664

$164,396

$—

$165,060

#### Liabilities:
Other

Financial

Instruments:

TBA

Sale

Commitments

...................

$

—

$

17,180,854

$

—

$

17,180,854

Forward

Exchange

Contracts

...............

—

1,030,010

—

1,030,010

Total

Other

Financial

Instruments

.........

$—

$18,210,864

$—

$18,210,864

a

For

detailed

categories,

see

the

accompanying

Schedule

of

Investments.

b

Includes

foreign

securities

valued

at

$29,951,331,

which

were

categorized

as

Level

as

a

result

of

the

application

of

market

level

fair

value

procedures.

See

the

Financial

Instrument

Valuation

note

for

more

information.

10. #### Fair

#### Value

#### Measurements
(continued)

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

#### Abbreviations

#### Counterparty

#### BOFA
Bank

of

America

NA

#### BZWS
Barclays

Bank

plc

#### CITI
Citibank

NA

#### GSCO
Goldman

Sachs

Group,

Inc.

#### HSBK
HSBC

Bank

plc

#### JPHQ
JPMorgan

Chase

Bank

NA

#### MSCO
Morgan

Stanley

#### SSBT
State

Street

Bank

and

Trust

Co.

#### TDOM
Toronto

Dominion

Bank

#### UBSW
UBS

AG

#### WPAC
Westpac

Banking

Corp.

#### Selected

#### Portfolio

#### CMT
Constant

Monthly

U.S.

Treasury

Securities

Yield

Curve

Rate

Index

#### FHLMC
Federal

Home

Loan

Mortgage

Corp.

#### FNMA
Federal

National

Mortgage

Association

#### FRN
Floating

Rate

Note

#### GNMA
Government

National

Mortgage

Association

#### GO
General

Obligation

#### ICE
Intercontinental

Exchange

#### IO
Interest

Only

#### NATL
National

Reinsurance

Corp.

#### REIT
Real

Estate

Investment

Trust

#### SOFR
Secured

Overnight

Financing

Rate

#### T-Note
Treasury

Note

George

Putnam

Balanced

Fund

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

#### Changes

#### In

#### and

#### Disagreements

#### with

#### Accountants
For

the

period

covered

by

this

report

Not

applicable.

#### Results

#### of

#### Meeting(s)

#### of

#### Shareholders
For

the

period

covered

by

this

report

Not

applicable.

#### Remuneration

#### Paid

#### to

#### Directors,

#### Officers

#### and

#### Others
For

the

period

covered

by

this

report

Refer

to

the

financial

statements

included

herein.

Remuneration

to

officers

is

paid

by

the

Fund's

investment

manager

according

to

the

terms

of

the

agreement.

#### Board

#### Approval

#### of

#### Management

#### and

#### Subadvisory

#### Agreements
For

the

period

covered

by

this

report

Not

applicable.

38900-SFSOI

03/26©

2026

Franklin

Templeton.

All

rights

reserved.

ITEM 8. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS FOR OPEN-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

The information is disclosed as part of the Financial Statements included in Item 7 of this Form N-CSR.

ITEM 9. PROXY DISCLOSURES FOR OPEN-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

The information is disclosed as part of the Financial Statements included in Item 7 of this Form N-CSR.

ITEM 10. REMUNERATION PAID TO DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, AND OTHERS OF OPEN-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

The information is disclosed as part of the Financial Statements included in Item 7 of this Form N-CSR.

ITEM 11. STATEMENT REGARDING BASIS FOR APPROVAL OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY CONTRACT.

The information is disclosed as part of the Financial Statements included in Item 7 of this Form N-CSR, as applicable.

ITEM 12. DISCLOSURE OF PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

Not applicable.

ITEM 13. PORTFOLIO MANAGERS OF CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

Not applicable.

ITEM 14. PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS.

Not applicable.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| ITEM 15. | SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS. |

---

There have been no changes to the procedures by which shareholders may recommend nominees to the Registrant's Board of Trustees that would require disclosure herein.

ITEM 16. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) The Registrant's principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that the Registrant's disclosure
 controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"))
 are effective as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report that includes the disclosure required by this paragraph, based
 on their evaluation of the disclosure controls and procedures required by Rule 30a-3(b) under the 1940 Act and 15d-15(b) under the Securities
 Exchange Act of 1934.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) During the period covered by this report, the Registrant transitioned to a new third-party service provider who performs certain accounting
 and administrative services for the Registrant that are subject to Franklin Templeton's oversight.

ITEM 17. DISCLOSURE OF SECURITIES LENDING ACTIVITIES FOR CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

Not applicable.

ITEM 18. RECOVERY OF ERRONEOUSLY AWARDED COMPENSATION.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) Not applicable.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) Not applicable.

ITEM 19. EXHIBITS.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) (1) Not applicable.

Exhibit 99.CODE ETH

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[(a) (3) Certifications pursuant to section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 attached hereto.](gpbf-efp23274_ex99cert.htm)

Exhibit 99.CERT

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[(b) Certifications pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 attached hereto.](gpbf-efp23274_ex99906cert.htm)

Exhibit 99.906CERT

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, there unto duly authorized.

**George Putnam Balanced Fund**

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| By: | /s/ Jonathan S. Horwitz |
|  | Jonathan S. Horwitz |
|  | Principal Executive Officer |
| Date: | March 26, 2026 |

---

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| By: | /s/ Jonathan S. Horwitz |
|  | Jonathan S. Horwitz |
|  | Principal Executive Officer |
| Date: | March 26, 2026 |
| By: | /s/ Jeffrey White |
|  | Jeffrey White |
|  | Principal Financial Officer |
| Date: | March 26, 2026 |

---

## Ex-99.Cert

CERTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO SECTION 302

EX-99.CERT

**<u>CERTIFICATIONS</u>**

I, Jonathan S. Horwitz, certify that:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1. I have reviewed this report on Form N-CSR of **George Putnam Balanced Fund**;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary
to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period
covered by this report;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material
respects the financial condition, results of operations, changes in net assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required
to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4. The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures
(as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule
30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the registrant and have:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to
be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries,
is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial
reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the
preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented
in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date within 90 days prior to
the filing date of this report based on such evaluation; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting
that occurred during the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the
registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed to the registrant's auditors
and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over
financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize, and
report financial information; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant
role in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| Date: | March 26, 2026 |
| /s/ Jonathan S. Horwitz | /s/ Jonathan S. Horwitz |
| Jonathan S. Horwitz | Jonathan S. Horwitz |
| Principal Executive Officer | Principal Executive Officer |

---

**<u>CERTIFICATIONS</u>**

I, Jeffrey White, certify that:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1. I have reviewed this report on Form N-CSR of **George Putnam Balanced Fund**;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to
state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not
misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3. Based on my knowledge, the financial information included in this report, and the financial statements
on which the financial information is based, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations, changes
in net assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of,
and for, the periods presented in this report;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4. The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining
disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal control over financial
reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the registrant and have:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision,
to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others
within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under
our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements
for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions
about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this report
based on such evaluation; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period
covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control
over financial reporting; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed to the registrant's auditors
and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over
financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize, and
report financial information; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant
role in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| Date: | March 26, 2026 |
| /s/ Jeffrey White | /s/ Jeffrey White |
| Jeffrey White | Jeffrey White |
| Principal Financial Officer | Principal Financial Officer |

---

## Exhibit 99.906

CERTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO SECTION 906

EX-99.906CERT

**CERTIFICATION**

**Jonathan S. Horwitz,** Principal Executive Officer, and **Jeffrey White,** Principal Financial Officer of **George Putnam Balanced Fund** (the "Registrant"), each certify to the best of their knowledge that:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1. The Registrant's periodic report on Form N-CSR for the period ended **January 31, 2026** (the "Form N-CSR") fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d), as applicable, of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2. The information contained in the Form N-CSR fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Registrant.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Principal Executive Officer** | **Principal Financial Officer** |
| George Putnam Balanced Fund | George Putnam Balanced Fund |
| /s/ Jonathan S. Horwitz | /s/ Jeffrey White |
| Jonathan S. Horwitz | Jeffrey White |
| Date: March 26, 2026 | Date: March 26, 2026 |

---

This certification is being furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission solely pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350 and is not being filed as part of the Form N-CSR with the Commission.