N-CSR 1 a_vtglobalassetalloc.htm PUTNAM VARIABLE TRUST a_vtglobalassetalloc.htm


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: (811-05346)
Exact name of registrant as specified in charter: Putnam Variable Trust
Address of principal executive offices: One Post Office Square, Boston, Massachusetts 02109
Name and address of agent for service: Robert T. Burns, Vice President
One Post Office Square
Boston, Massachusetts 02109
Copy to:         Bryan Chegwidden, Esq.
Ropes & Gray LLP
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10036
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (617) 292-1000
Date of fiscal year end: December 31, 2015
Date of reporting period : January 1, 2015 — December 31, 2015



Item 1. Report to Stockholders:

The following is a copy of the report transmitted to stockholders pursuant to Rule 30e-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940:



Message from the Trustees

Dear Shareholder:

As 2016 gets under way, a number of factors in today’s markets stand out. Last year, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a liftoff in short-term interest rates. The first increase took place in December, but the Fed has said that future hikes will likely occur at a gradual pace. Meanwhile, central banks in Europe and Japan continue to run accommodative monetary policies. China’s economy, the world’s second largest, is slowing, with global ramifications. In addition, the price of a barrel of oil is testing multi-year lows.

This combination of factors tempered the performance of stocks in 2015 after a string of solid annual gains over the previous three years. Should the economy continue to grow, stocks could rise, but it would be prudent to be prepared for bouts of volatility in the months ahead.

Managing downside risk while pursuing returns in today’s investing environment poses a challenge. Putnam’s experienced portfolio managers are constantly seeking innovative ways to maneuver in today’s markets, relying on a proprietary global research framework to guide their investment decisions. The interview on the following pages provides an overview of your fund’s performance for the reporting period ended December 31, 2015, as well as an outlook for the coming months.

We also encourage you to consult your financial advisor to ensure that your portfolio is in line with your investment goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance.

As always, thank you for investing with Putnam.



Performance summary (as of 12/31/15)

Investment objective

Long-term return consistent with preservation of capital

Net asset value December 31, 2015

Class IA: $17.06  Class IB: $17.21 

 

Total return at net asset value

 

        Putnam 
        Balanced 
      Russell 3000  Blended 
(as of 12/31/15)  Class IA shares*  Class IB shares†  Index  Benchmark 
1 year  0.42%  0.17%  0.48%  0.35% 
5 years  50.85  48.95  77.64  46.95 
Annualized  8.57  8.29  12.18  8.00 
10 years  82.94  78.91  103.33  83.40 
Annualized  6.23  5.99  7.35  6.25 
Life  687.36  651.95  1,415.68  — 
Annualized  7.67  7.50  10.23  — 

 

For a portion of the periods, the fund had expense limitations, without which returns would have been lower.

* Class inception date: February 1, 1988.

† Class inception date: April 30, 1998.


The Russell 3000 Index is an unmanaged index of the 3,000 largest U.S. companies.

The Putnam Balanced Blended Benchmark is an unmanaged index administered by Putnam Investment Management, LLC, 50% of which is the Russell 3000 Index, 35% of which is the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, 10% of which is the MSCI EAFE Index (ND), and 5% of which is the JPMorgan Developed High Yield Index.

Data represent past performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. More recent returns may be less or more than those shown. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate, and you may have a gain or a loss when you sell your shares. Performance information does not reflect any deduction for taxes a shareholder may owe on fund distributions or on the redemption of fund shares. All total return figures are at net asset value and exclude contract charges and expenses, which are added to the variable annuity contracts to determine total return at unit value. Had these charges and expenses been reflected, performance would have been lower. Performance of class IB shares before their inception is derived from the historical performance of class IA shares, adjusted to reflect the higher operating expenses applicable to such shares. For more recent performance, contact your variable annuity provider who can provide you with performance that reflects the charges and expenses at your contract level.


Allocations are shown as a percentage of the fund’s net assets. Cash and net other assets, if any, represent the market value weights of cash, derivatives, short-term securities, and other unclassified assets in the portfolio. Summary information may differ from the portfolio schedule included in the financial statements due to the inclusion of derivative securities, any interest accruals, the exclusion of as-of trades, if any, and the use of different classifications of securities for presentation purposes. Holdings and allocations may vary over time.

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   1 

 


Report from your fund’s managers

How would you describe the global investment environment for the 12-month reporting period ended December 31, 2015?

U.S. markets began 2015 strongly, benefiting from the positive momentum coming out of 2014, with low interest rates and negligible inflation supporting solid advances in both the equity and bond markets. The S&P 500 Index, a performance bellwether for the broad U.S. stock market, reached a record-high close in late May. The early part of the period was not without its setbacks, however. The strengthening of the U.S. dollar weighed on the competitiveness of U.S. exporters. Commodity price weakness — notably the precipitous decline in oil prices — dampened the growth of many energy companies, as well as those of businesses supporting the energy industry, even though lower energy prices did have a positive effect on U.S. consumers. Macroeconomic worries surrounding the Greek debt crisis and, later, the ongoing deceleration of the Chinese economy also proved to be weighty influences on the markets. Turbulence peaked in late August, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged by 1,000 points. Although stocks recovered from their August lows, by the final quarter of 2015, U.S. equities were enduring significant volatility, mainly on the back of deepening concerns about the contracting Chinese economy and the extreme measures the Chinese government was taking to re-stimulate growth. For the period as a whole, amid periods of extreme volatility, the U.S. equity markets ended the year roughly where they began it, with the S&P 500 Index producing a basically flat 1.38% annual return.

The environment for U.S. bonds was no less challenging during the past 12 months. After a generally positive start to the period, bond investors, too, succumbed to a variety of risk-aversion concerns. Chief among them was anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate hike, which had a significant dampening effect on market sentiment. In mid-December, the much-anticipated Fed rate-hike announcement came in the form of a one-quarter point increase in the federal funds rate, thus ending the Fed’s nearly seven-year zero-interest-rate policy. Overall, higher-quality bonds faced fewer challenges during the period. For the period as a whole, the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index managed a scant 0.55% annual return, while international bonds returned –3.57%, as measured by the Citibank World Government Bond Index. In the credit-sensitive side of the bond market, high-yield bonds produced among the markets’ most negative results. High-yields fell by around 4.5% as represented by the JPMorgan Developed High-Yield Index, as their yield spreads over U.S. Treasuries widened, pushing high-yield bond prices lower. The high-yield market — a substantial portion of which is represented by companies in the energy and commodities industries — also was affected by the ongoing weaknesses in those sectors.

Global equities faced mostly negative returns in 2015. The MSCI World Index was down by nearly 1% for the 12 months. Developed world equities as represented by the MSCI EAFE Index fell by 0.81%, while emerging-market stocks were off by nearly 15%, as measured by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index [ND]. Japanese stocks, as represented by the TOPIX Index, were among the best performers, increasing by about 11.5% during the year, while those in Europe produced significantly lower returns, with the MSCI Europe Index falling by nearly 3%.

How did Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund perform during the reporting period?

For the 12-month reporting period ended December 31, 2015, the fund’s class IA shares returned 0.42%, compared with 0.35% for its custom, blended benchmark. We seek to outperform our benchmark by way of two management approaches: 1) active decisions about how to weight the fund’s allocations to its multiple asset classes relative to the benchmark; and 2) active implementation and security-selection decisions within each asset class. During the past 12 months, the fund’s asset allocations were kept fairly close to level with the allocations within its individual custom benchmark, and thus the fund’s contribution from dynamic asset allocation decisions was minimal.

Within security selection, however, the fund benefited from good stock picking among U.S. large-capitalization companies, using a quantitative methodology that helped identify some of the best performers in that space. Solid security selection within the high-yield bond universe also benefited the fund, despite the sub-par performance of that asset class as a whole during the 12-month period. The hedging of international currency exposure was also a notable benefit, particularly in the first half of the year as the U.S. dollar strengthened.

How did the portfolio use derivatives during the reporting period?

We used futures, forward currency contracts, and various swap mechanisms to manage exposure to various market risks. It is our view that the prudent use of such derivative instruments, together with strong management controls, can help to more efficiently manage portfolio risks.

What is your investment outlook as we move into 2016?

We expect to enter 2016 in a similar strategic stance to where we left off in 2015. This is to say that given the current state of the global capital markets, we anticipate keeping the fund’s asset allocation levels in line with their respective benchmarks. We are choosing to pursue this approach because of uncertainties with respect to China’s economic growth prospects and the path and pace of the Fed’s interest-rate tightening policies. While we are not overly concerned about either of these issues, we expect our near-term approach to be more tactical within both the equity and fixed-income sleeves of our portfolio, and will tend to express our investment convictions more on the basis of individual security selection decisions within the portfolio’s different asset classes.

Entering 2016, we believe there will be better growth opportunities in the United States than in the emerging markets, and we are also becoming more optimistic in the growth prospects for stocks in Europe and Japan. In the fixed-income arena, we believe that interest rates will slowly move higher on the long end of the yield

2   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


curve and expect to take advantage of tactical opportunities as they emerge.

The views expressed in this report are exclusively those of Putnam Management and are subject to change. They are not meant as investment advice. Please note that the holdings discussed in this report may not have been held by the fund for the entire period. Portfolio composition is subject to review in accordance with the fund’s investment strategy and may vary in the future.

Consider these risks before investing: International investing involves currency, economic, and political risks. Emerging-market securities have illiquidity and volatility risks. Investments in small and/or midsize companies increase the risk of greater price fluctuations. Lower-rated bonds may offer higher yields in return for more risk. Funds that invest in government securities are not guaranteed. Mortgage-backed securities are subject to prepayment risk and the risk that they may increase in value less when interest rates decline and decline in value more when interest rates rise. Our allocation of assets among permitted asset categories may hurt performance. Growth stocks may be more susceptible to earnings disappointments, and value stocks may fail to rebound. Bond investments are subject to interest-rate risk (the risk of bond prices falling if interest rates rise) and credit risk (the risk of an issuer defaulting on interest or principal payments). Interest-rate risk is greater for longer-term bonds, and credit risk is greater for below-investment-grade bonds. Risks associated with derivatives include increased investment exposure (which may be considered leverage) and, in the case of over-the-counter instruments, the potential inability to terminate or sell derivatives positions and the potential failure of the other party to the instrument to meet its obligations. Unlike bonds, funds that invest in bonds have fees and expenses. Bond prices may fall or fail to rise over time for several reasons, including general financial market conditions, changing market perceptions of the risk of default, changes in government intervention, and factors related to a specific issuer or industry. These factors may also lead to periods of high volatility and reduced liquidity in the bond markets. You can lose money by investing in the fund.

Your fund’s managers


Portfolio Manager James A. Fetch is Co-Head of Global Asset Allocation at Putnam. He has been in the investment industry since he joined Putnam in 1994.

In addition to James, your fund’s managers are Robert J. Kea, CFA, Robert J. Schoen, and Jason R. Vaillancourt, CFA.

Your fund’s managers may also manage other accounts advised by Putnam Management or an affiliate, including retail mutual fund counterparts to the funds in Putnam Variable Trust.

ABOUT DERIVATIVES

Derivatives are an increasingly common type of investment instrument, the performance of which is derived from an underlying security, index, currency, or other area of the capital markets. Derivatives employed by the fund’s managers generally serve one of two main purposes: to implement a strategy that may be difficult or more expensive to invest in through traditional securities, or to hedge unwanted risk associated with a particular position.

For example, the fund’s managers might use currency forward contracts to capitalize on an anticipated change in exchange rates between two currencies. This approach would require a significantly smaller outlay of capital than purchasing traditional bonds denominated in the underlying currencies. In another example, the managers may identify a bond that they believe is undervalued relative to its risk of default, but may seek to reduce the interest-rate risk of that bond by using interest-rate swaps, a derivative through which two parties “swap” payments based on the movement of certain rates. In other examples, the managers may use options and futures contracts to hedge against a variety of risks by establishing a combination of long and short exposures to specific equity markets or sectors.

Like any other investment, derivatives may not appreciate in value and may lose money. Derivatives may amplify traditional investment risks through the creation of leverage and may be less liquid than traditional securities. And because derivatives typically represent contractual agreements between two financial institutions, derivatives entail “counterparty risk,” which is the risk that the other party is unable or unwilling to pay. Putnam monitors the counterparty risks we assume. For example, Putnam often enters into collateral agreements that require the counterparties to post collateral on a regular basis to cover their obligations to the fund. Counterparty risk for exchange-traded futures and centrally cleared swaps is mitigated by the daily exchange of margin and other safeguards against default through their respective clearinghouses.

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   3 

 


Understanding your fund’s expenses

As an investor in a variable annuity product that invests in a registered investment company, you pay ongoing expenses, such as management fees, distribution fees (12b-1 fees), and other expenses. Using the following information, you can estimate how these expenses affect your investment and compare them with the expenses of other funds. You may also pay one-time transaction expenses, which are not shown in this section and would result in higher total expenses. Charges and expenses at the insurance company separate account level are not reflected. For more information, see your fund’s prospectus or talk to your financial representative.

Review your fund’s expenses

The two left-hand columns of the Expenses per $1,000 table show the expenses you would have paid on a $1,000 investment in your fund from 7/1/15 to 12/31/15. They also show how much a $1,000 investment would be worth at the close of the period, assuming actual returns and expenses. To estimate the ongoing expenses you paid over the period, divide your account value by $1,000, then multiply the result by the number in the first line for the class of shares you own.

Compare your fund’s expenses with those of other funds

The two right-hand columns of the Expenses per $1,000 table show your fund’s expenses based on a $1,000 investment, assuming a hypothetical 5% annualized return. You can use this information to compare the ongoing expenses (but not transaction expenses or total costs) of investing in the fund with those of other funds. All shareholder reports of mutual funds and funds serving as variable annuity vehicles will provide this information to help you make this comparison. Please note that you cannot use this information to estimate your actual ending account balance and expenses paid during the period.

Expense ratios

  Class IA  Class IB 
Total annual operating expenses for the fiscal year     
ended 12/31/14*  0.84%  1.09% 
Annualized expense ratio for the six-month period     
ended 12/31/15†  0.85%  1.10% 

 

Fiscal-year expense information in this table is taken from the most recent prospectus, is subject to change, and may differ from that shown for the annualized expense ratio and in the financial highlights of this report.

Expenses are shown as a percentage of average net assets.

*Restated to reflect current fees.

†For the fund’s most recent fiscal half year; may differ from expense ratios based on one-year data in the financial highlights.

Expenses per $1,000

  Expenses and value for a  Expenses and value for a 
  $1,000 investment, assuming  $1,000 investment, assuming a 
  actual returns for the 6 months  hypothetical 5% annualized return 
  ended 12/31/15    for the 6 months ended 12/31/15 
  Class IA  Class IB  Class IA  Class IB 
Expenses paid         
per $1,000*†  $4.24  $5.48  $4.33  $5.60 
Ending value         
(after expenses)  $978.20  $977.30  $1,020.92  $1,019.66 

 

*Expenses for each share class are calculated using the fund’s annualized expense ratio for each class, which represents the ongoing expenses as a percentage of average net assets for the six months ended 12/31/15. The expense ratio may differ for each share class.

†Expenses based on actual returns are calculated by multiplying the expense ratio by the average account value for the period; then multiplying the result by the number of days in the period; and then dividing that result by the number of days in the year. Expenses based on a hypothetical 5% return are calculated by multiplying the expense ratio by the average account value for the six-month period; then multiplying the result by the number of days in the six-month period; and then dividing that result by the number of days in the year.

4   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Trustees of Putnam Variable Trust and Shareholders of
Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund:

In our opinion, the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities, including the portfolio, and the related statements of operations and of changes in net assets and the financial highlights present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund (the “fund”) at December 31, 2015, and the results of its operations, the changes in its net assets and the financial highlights for each of the periods indicated, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These financial statements and financial highlights (hereafter referred to as “financial statements”) are the responsibility of the fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits of these financial statements in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits, which included confirmation of investments owned at December 31, 2015 by correspondence with the custodian, brokers, and transfer agent, provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Boston, Massachusetts
February 12, 2016

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   5 

 


The fund’s portfolio 12/31/15

COMMON STOCKS (58.0%)*   Shares   Value 
 
Basic materials (2.2%)     
Aceto Corp.   483   $13,031 
Agrihold ASA (Norway)   331   14,256 
Akzo Nobel NV (Netherlands)   605   40,410 
Amcor, Ltd. (Australia)   5,474   53,257 
American Vanguard Corp.   1,981   27,754 
Andersons, Inc. (The)   452   14,297 
ArcelorMittal SA (France)   4,094   17,106 
Asahi Kasei Corp. (Japan)   2,000   13,536 
BASF SE (Germany)   2,161   165,208 
Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. †   829   34,138 
Cabot Corp.   324   13,245 
Cambrex Corp. †   678   31,927 
CF Industries Holdings, Inc.   431   17,589 
Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. NV S   657   25,616 
Compagnie De Saint-Gobain (France)   227   9,765 
Continental Building Products, Inc. †   1,785   31,166 
CRH PLC (Ireland)   322   9,307 
Domtar Corp. (Canada)   586   21,653 
Dow Chemical Co. (The)   513   26,409 
EMS-Chemie Holding AG (Switzerland)   112   49,042 
EVA Precision Industrial Holdings, Ltd. (China)   46,000   8,132 
Evonik Industries AG (Germany)   1,259   41,779 
Fortescue Metals Group, Ltd. (Australia) S   25,207   33,998 
Glencore PLC (United Kingdom)   23,325   31,036 
Graphic Packaging Holding Co.   11,100   142,413 
Incitec Pivot, Ltd. (Australia)   12,415   35,499 
Innophos Holdings, Inc.   404   11,708 
Innospec, Inc.   545   29,599 
KapStone Paper and Packaging Corp.   1,237   27,944 
Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc. †   512   8,504 
Kuraray Co., Ltd. (Japan)   2,000   24,184 
LSB Industries, Inc. †   787   5,706 
LyondellBasell Industries NV Class A   6,900   599,610 
Minerals Technologies, Inc.   548   25,131 
Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co., Inc. (Japan)   3,000   15,328 
Mitsubishi Materials Corp. (Japan)   15,000   47,177 
Mondi PLC (South Africa)   1,235   24,085 
Mota-Engil SGPS SA (Portugal) S   4,779   9,977 
Newcrest Mining, Ltd. (Australia) †   4,435   41,924 
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. (Japan)   1,100   21,781 
Nitto Denko Corp. (Japan)   800   58,356 
NN, Inc.   1,404   22,380 
Orion Engineered Carbons SA (Luxembourg)   1,195   15,057 
Patrick Industries, Inc. †   907   39,455 
Rio Tinto PLC (United Kingdom)   2,162   63,006 
Royal Boskalis Westminster NV (Netherlands)   774   31,531 
Sealed Air Corp.   6,600   294,360 
Sherwin-Williams Co. (The)   2,800   726,880 
Smurfit Kappa Group PLC (Ireland)   524   13,373 
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. (Japan)   3,000   36,260 
ThyssenKrupp AG (Germany)   2,425   48,090 
Trex Co., Inc. †   198   7,532 
UPM-Kymmene OYJ (Finland)   3,575   66,212 
US Concrete, Inc. †   501   26,383 

 

COMMON STOCKS (58.0%)* cont.   Shares   Value 
 
Basic materials cont.     
voestalpine AG (Austria)   755   $23,106 
Weyerhaeuser Co. R   1,600   47,968 
    3,334,176 
Capital goods (3.9%)     
ABB, Ltd. (Switzerland)   2,987   53,019 
ACS Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA (Spain)   1,376   40,088 
AGCO Corp.   3,200   145,248 
Airbus Group SE (France)   795   53,379 
Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc.   12,800   331,392 
Altra Industrial Motion Corp.   806   20,214 
American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. †   1,519   28,770 
Argan, Inc.   958   31,039 
Avery Dennison Corp.   2,200   137,852 
AZZ, Inc.   317   17,616 
BAE Systems PLC (United Kingdom)   3,162   23,272 
Boer Power Holdings, Ltd. (China)   6,000   10,775 
Bombardier, Inc. Class B (Canada) †   5,582   5,406 
Carlisle Cos., Inc.   1,000   88,690 
Chase Corp.   256   10,427 
Cooper-Standard Holding, Inc. †   464   36,002 
Crown Holdings, Inc. †   10,900   552,630 
Cubic Corp.   825   38,981 
dorma + kaba Holding AG Class B (Switzerland)   46   31,211 
Douglas Dynamics, Inc.   413   8,702 
Embraer SA ADR (Brazil)   404   11,934 
General Dynamics Corp.   7,500   1,030,200 
Greenbrier Cos., Inc. (The)   495   16,147 
Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc.   218   11,434 
IDEX Corp.   2,800   214,508 
Ingersoll-Rand PLC   3,700   204,573 
JTEKT Corp (Japan)   1,300   21,277 
Kadant, Inc.   615   24,975 
KBR, Inc.   12,300   208,116 
Leggett & Platt, Inc.   3,600   151,272 
MasTec, Inc. †   2,645   45,970 
Matrix Service Co. †   1,370   28,140 
Miller Industries, Inc.   694   15,115 
Mitsubishi Electric Corp. (Japan)   8,000   83,876 
Mobileye NV (Israel) †   331   13,995 
MSA Safety, Inc.   273   11,867 
Northrop Grumman Corp.   5,300   1,000,693 
Orbital ATK, Inc.   1,022   91,305 
OSRAM Licht AG (Germany)   882   37,113 
Roper Technologies, Inc.   3,800   721,202 
Safran SA (France)   486   33,284 
Sandvik AB (Sweden)   1,296   11,225 
Sound Global, Ltd. (China) † F   9,000   6,514 
Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. Class A †   3,400   170,238 
Standex International Corp.   315   26,192 
Stoneridge, Inc. †   1,538   22,762 
Tetra Tech, Inc.   1,630   42,413 
Thales SA (France)   159   11,914 
Trinseo SA † S   1,914   53,975 
Vinci SA (France)   1,665   106,775 
Wabash National Corp. †   2,820   33,361 
WorleyParsons, Ltd. (Australia)   2,747   9,140 
    6,136,218 

 

6   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


COMMON STOCKS (58.0%)* cont.   Shares   Value 
 
Communication services (2.1%)     
BCE, Inc. (Canada)   247   $9,543 
Bharti Infratel, Ltd. (India)   3,663   23,602 
BT Group PLC (United Kingdom)   14,489   100,137 
CalAmp Corp. †   1,536   30,612 
Cellnex Telecom SAU 144A (Spain)   1,068   19,912 
China Mobile, Ltd. (China)   1,000   11,207 
Cincinnati Bell, Inc. †   7,084   25,502 
Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc.   632   21,924 
Com Hem Holding AB (Sweden)   4,421   39,955 
Deutsche Telekom AG (Germany)   4,785   86,579 
Frontier Communications Corp.   4,476   20,903 
IDT Corp. Class B   648   7,556 
Inteliquent, Inc.   1,260   22,390 
InterXion Holding NV (Netherlands) †   338   10,191 
Iridium Communications, Inc. †   1,606   13,506 
Juniper Networks, Inc.   22,400   618,240 
KDDI Corp. (Japan)   4,200   108,725 
Liberty Global PLC Ser. C (United Kingdom) †   316   12,883 
NeuStar, Inc. Class A †   671   16,084 
Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (Japan)   2,300   91,314 
NTT DoCoMo, Inc. (Japan)   3,900   79,933 
Numericable-SFR (France)   717   26,033 
Orange SA (France)   5,548   93,075 
Quebecor, Inc. Class B (Canada)   738   18,070 
SBA Communications Corp. Class A †   4,200   441,294 
ShoreTel, Inc. †   1,706   15,098 
Sky PLC (United Kingdom)   7,802   127,648 
Spark New Zealand, Ltd. (New Zealand)   5,716   12,883 
Spok Holdings, Inc.   815   14,931 
Telecom Italia SpA RSP (Italy)   46,236   47,291 
Telenor ASA (Norway)   2,393   39,811 
Telstra Corp., Ltd. (Australia)   15,555   63,115 
Ubiquiti Networks, Inc. †   308   9,761 
Verizon Communications, Inc.   19,021   879,151 
Vodafone Group PLC (United Kingdom)   22,578   73,029 
    3,231,888 
Conglomerates (0.1%)     
Mitsubishi Corp. (Japan)   1,500   24,920 
Orkla ASA (Norway)   2,542   20,061 
Siemens AG (Germany)   755   73,251 
Tyco International PLC   525   16,742 
    134,974 
Consumer cyclicals (8.8%)     
Accor SA (France)   186   8,023 
Adecco SA (Switzerland)   1,132   77,727 
Amazon.com, Inc. †   800   540,712 
Aristocrat Leisure, Ltd. (Australia)   5,040   37,247 
Ascena Retail Group, Inc. †   1,823   17,957 
Atresmedia Corporacion de Medios de Comunicacion     
SA (Spain)   506   5,363 
Big Lots, Inc.   474   18,268 
Brunswick Corp.   534   26,972 
CaesarStone Sdot-Yam, Ltd. (Israel) †   831   36,016 
Caleres, Inc.   991   26,579 
Carmike Cinemas, Inc. †   1,152   26,427 
Carter’s, Inc.   3,600   320,508 
CEB, Inc.   196   12,032 
Cedar Fair LP   486   27,138 

 

COMMON STOCKS (58.0%)* cont.   Shares   Value 
 
Consumer cyclicals cont.     
Children’s Place, Inc. (The)   356   $19,651 
Cie Generale des Etablissements Michelin (France)   900   85,453 
Coach, Inc.   658   21,536 
Compass Group PLC (United Kingdom)   3,265   56,510 
Conn’s, Inc. †   721   16,922 
Continental AG (Germany)   593   143,930 
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.   968   36,639 
Ctrip.com International, Ltd. ADR (China) †   330   15,289 
Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (Japan)   12,000   118,636 
Daimler AG (Registered Shares) (Germany)   219   18,280 
Dalata Hotel Group PLC (Ireland) †   4,317   25,885 
Deluxe Corp.   977   53,286 
Discovery Communications, Inc. Class A †   34,303   915,204 
DSW, Inc. Class A   781   18,635 
Ennis, Inc.   843   16,228 
Equifax, Inc.   2,000   222,740 
Ethan Allen Interiors, Inc.   1,412   39,282 
Everi Holdings, Inc. †   1,865   8,187 
Express, Inc. †   1,498   25,885 
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (United Kingdom) †   5,433   74,810 
Flight Centre Travel Group, Ltd. (Australia)   1,445   41,642 
Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Japan)   3,200   131,547 
G&K Services, Inc. Class A   382   24,028 
Galaxy Entertainment Group, Ltd. (Hong Kong)   4,000   12,472 
GNC Holdings, Inc. Class A   650   20,163 
Gray Television, Inc. †   2,526   41,174 
Harvey Norman Holdings, Ltd. (Australia)   14,221   42,976 
Heartland Payment Systems, Inc.   242   22,946 
Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc.   27,100   579,940 
Home Depot, Inc. (The)   13,200   1,745,700 
Industria de Diseno Textil SA (Inditex) (Spain)   1,790   61,426 
Industrivarden AB Class A (Sweden)   3,432   64,018 
ITV PLC (United Kingdom)   38,940   158,669 
KAR Auction Services, Inc.   4,995   184,965 
Kia Motors Corp. (South Korea)   702   31,271 
Kimberly-Clark Corp.   6,600   840,180 
Kingfisher PLC (United Kingdom)   21,922   106,149 
Lagardere SCA (France)   2,819   83,874 
Landauer, Inc.   741   24,394 
Lear Corp.   3,800   466,754 
Liberty Interactive Corp. Class A †   8,800   240,416 
Liberty Media Corp. Class A †   3,900   153,075 
LifeLock, Inc. † S   677   9,715 
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.   1,109   35,921 
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. †   1,062   26,093 
LIXIL Group Corp. (Japan)   1,500   33,291 
Lowe’s Cos., Inc.   13,500   1,026,540 
Luxottica Group SpA (Italy)   473   30,835 
Macy’s, Inc.   6,600   230,868 
Malibu Boats, Inc. Class A †   1,314   21,510 
Marcus Corp. (The)   830   15,745 
Marks & Spencer Group PLC (United Kingdom)   11,227   74,607 
Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp.   349   19,876 
Mazda Motor Corp. (Japan)   2,800   57,601 
MCBC Holdings, Inc. †   1,116   15,289 
Mediaset SpA (Italy)   4,322   17,900 
Men’s Wearhouse, Inc. (The)   681   9,997 

 

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   7 

 


COMMON STOCKS (58.0%)* cont.   Shares   Value 
 
Consumer cyclicals cont.     
National CineMedia, Inc.   1,791   $28,137 
News Corp. Class A   7,900   105,544 
Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. Class A   298   17,493 
Next PLC (United Kingdom)   183   19,617 
NIKE, Inc. Class B   16,400   1,025,000 
Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Japan)   300   41,299 
Nippon Television Holdings, Inc. (Japan) UR   1,200   21,839 
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (Japan)   2,700   28,277 
Oxford Industries, Inc.   300   19,146 
Panasonic Corp. (Japan)   3,100   31,462 
Penn National Gaming, Inc. †   1,341   21,483 
Peugeot SA (France) †   3,149   55,214 
PGT, Inc. †   3,743   42,633 
Pitney Bowes, Inc.   875   18,069 
ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (Germany)   491   24,837 
Publicis Groupe SA (France)   368   24,407 
RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. Class A   1,071   39,948 
Regal Entertainment Group Class A S   1,762   33,249 
Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. (The) Class A   589   37,996 
Securitas AB Class B (Sweden)   4,097   62,407 
ServiceMaster Global Holdings, Inc. †   2,600   102,024 
Shimamura Co., Ltd. (Japan)   300   35,064 
Sirius XM Holdings, Inc. †   95,500   388,685 
Six Flags Entertainment Corp.   2,600   142,844 
SJM Holdings, Ltd. (Hong Kong)   26,000   18,479 
Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. †   2,074   45,587 
Sohgo Security Services Co., Ltd. (Japan)   500   23,399 
Sony Corp. (Japan)   1,000   24,498 
Sports Direct International PLC (United Kingdom) †   2,209   18,730 
Steven Madden, Ltd. †   348   10,517 
Suzuki Motor Corp. (Japan)   400   12,143 
TABCORP Holdings, Ltd. (Australia)   3,549   12,103 
Tata Motors, Ltd. (India) †   3,450   20,288 
Taylor Wimpey PLC (United Kingdom)   13,986   41,765 
Thor Industries, Inc.   900   50,535 
TiVo, Inc. †   2,091   18,045 
Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. (Japan)   6,000   55,247 
Toyota Industries Corp. (Japan)   400   21,377 
Toyota Motor Corp. (Japan)   1,000   61,380 
TUI AG (London Exchange) (Germany)   1,792   31,793 
Tumi Holdings, Inc. †   726   12,073 
Valeo SA (France)   349   53,880 
Verisk Analytics, Inc. Class A †   2,600   199,888 
Viacom, Inc. Class B   8,700   358,092 
Vista Outdoor, Inc. †   241   10,727 
Visteon Corp. †   346   39,617 
Welspun India, Ltd. (India)   875   12,011 
Wolters Kluwer NV (Netherlands)   1,409   47,210 
Wolverine World Wide, Inc.   946   15,808 
WPP PLC (United Kingdom)   2,644   60,859 
Wyndham Worldwide Corp.   2,700   196,155 
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (Japan)   2,100   47,058 
Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings, Ltd. (Hong Kong)   4,500   15,288 
Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Ltd. (India)   3,095   20,380 
    13,739,130 

 

COMMON STOCKS (58.0%)* cont.   Shares   Value 
 
Consumer staples (5.0%)     
Altria Group, Inc.   2,900   $168,809 
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (Belgium)   743   91,779 
Ashtead Group PLC (United Kingdom)   2,141   35,229 
Associated British Foods PLC (United Kingdom)   936   46,073 
Avis Budget Group, Inc. † S   837   30,375 
Avon Products, Inc.   1,337   5,415 
Barrett Business Services, Inc.   199   8,664 
Barry Callebaut AG (Switzerland)   29   31,628 
Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Inc. †   341   22,779 
Brinker International, Inc.   620   29,729 
British American Tobacco PLC (United Kingdom)   1,050   58,316 
Bunge, Ltd.   10,900   744,252 
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. S   497   23,031 
Coca-Cola Amatil, Ltd. (Australia)   7,781   52,442 
Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc.   5,300   260,972 
Colgate-Palmolive Co.   1,800   119,916 
ConAgra Foods, Inc.   8,000   337,280 
Coty, Inc. Class A   2,162   55,412 
CVS Health Corp.   13,200   1,290,564 
Delivery Hero Holding GmbH (acquired 6/12/15,     
cost $15,404) (Private) (Germany) † ∆∆ F   2   13,387 
Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Inc.   9,200   857,440 
Farmer Bros. Co. †   352   11,359 
Geo Group, Inc. (The) R   2,545   73,576 
Grand Canyon Education, Inc. †   775   31,093 
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (Preference) (Germany)   364   40,576 
Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (United Kingdom)   1,733   91,148 
ITOCHU Corp. (Japan)   3,900   45,973 
ITT Educational Services, Inc. † S   444   1,656 
J Sainsbury PLC (United Kingdom)   11,559   44,046 
Japan Tobacco, Inc. (Japan)   2,000   73,434 
John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc.   863   46,628 
Kao Corp. (Japan)   2,000   102,633 
Kerry Group PLC Class A (Ireland)   839   69,431 
Kforce, Inc.   1,226   30,993 
Koninklijke Ahold NV (Netherlands)   5,706   120,471 
Korn/Ferry International   657   21,799 
Kroger Co. (The)   11,600   485,228 
Liberty Ventures Ser. A †   5,900   266,149 
METRO AG (Germany)   869   27,736 
Molson Coors Brewing Co. Class B   271   25,452 
Mondelez International, Inc. Class A   3,600   161,424 
Monster Worldwide, Inc. †   6,038   34,598 
Nestle SA (Switzerland)   2,080   154,177 
Nomad Foods, Ltd. (United Kingdom) †   1,069   12,619 
Nutraceutical International Corp. †   457   11,800 
On Assignment, Inc. †   516   23,194 
Papa John’s International, Inc.   300   16,761 
Paylocity Holding Corp. †   251   10,178 
PepsiCo, Inc.   6,500   649,480 
Philip Morris International, Inc.   257   22,593 
Pinnacle Foods, Inc.   4,276   181,559 
Rakuten, Inc. (Japan)   800   9,219 
Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (United Kingdom)   597   54,953 
SABMiller PLC (United Kingdom)   313   18,749 
Sanderson Farms, Inc. S   452   35,039 
Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. (Japan)   300   13,679 

 

8   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


COMMON STOCKS (58.0%)* cont.   Shares   Value 
 
Consumer staples cont.     
Shiseido Co., Ltd. (Japan)   500   $10,347 
Shutterfly, Inc. †   144   6,417 
Sonic Corp.   967   31,244 
SpartanNash Co.   989   21,402 
Svenska Cellulosa AB SCA Class B (Sweden)   647   18,789 
Swedish Match AB (Sweden)   2,041   72,210 
Team Health Holdings, Inc. †   202   8,866 
TrueBlue, Inc. †   556   14,323 
Uni-President Enterprises Corp. (Taiwan)   13,000   21,660 
Unilever NV ADR (Netherlands)   1,737   75,257 
Unilever PLC (United Kingdom)   1,055   45,173 
WH Group, Ltd. 144A (Hong Kong) †   98,996   54,870 
Wolseley PLC (United Kingdom)   677   36,801 
Woolworths, Ltd. (Australia)   1,453   25,713 
X5 Retail Group NV GDR (Russia) †   686   13,003 
    7,758,970 
Energy (3.8%)     
BG Group PLC (United Kingdom)   1,266   18,359 
BP PLC (United Kingdom)   26,511   138,147 
Callon Petroleum Co. †   4,318   36,012 
Cameron International Corp. †   9,000   568,800 
Connacher Oil and Gas, Ltd. (Canada) †   501   46 
CVR Energy, Inc. S   2,000   78,700 
Delek US Holdings, Inc.   707   17,392 
Diamondback Energy, Inc. †   136   9,098 
EnCana Corp. (Canada)   1,138   5,782 
EP Energy Corp. Class A † S   1,575   6,899 
Exxon Mobil Corp.   504   39,287 
Ezion Holdings, Ltd. (Singapore)   35,380   15,075 
Genel Energy PLC (United Kingdom) †   2,472   6,127 
Gulfport Energy Corp. †   421   10,344 
Hess Corp.   600   29,088 
Lone Pine Resources Canada, Ltd. (Canada) † F   2,494   25 
Lone Pine Resources, Inc. Class A (Canada) † F   2,494   25 
Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. †   2,501   9,654 
Occidental Petroleum Corp.   16,600   1,122,326 
OMV AG (Austria)   4,695   131,801 
Pacific Ethanol, Inc. †   1,826   8,728 
Questar Corp.   2,300   44,804 
Repsol SA (Rights) (Spain) †   3,631   1,811 
Repsol YPF SA (Spain)   3,631   39,531 
Royal Dutch Shell PLC Class A (United Kingdom)   4,438   99,706 
Royal Dutch Shell PLC Class A (United Kingdom)   2,012   46,092 
Royal Dutch Shell PLC Class B (United Kingdom)   3,082   70,375 
Schlumberger, Ltd. S   16,900   1,178,775 
SM Energy Co.   404   7,943 
Statoil ASA (Norway)   8,316   116,310 
Stone Energy Corp. †   658   2,823 
Suncor Energy, Inc. (Canada)   1,755   45,305 
Superior Energy Services, Inc.   15,100   203,397 
Tesoro Corp.   2,200   231,814 
Total SA (France)   2,478   110,360 
Valero Energy Corp.   17,900   1,265,709 
Vestas Wind Systems A/S (Denmark)   1,897   132,444 
Whiting Petroleum Corp. †   296   2,794 
Woodside Petroleum, Ltd. (Australia)   2,237   46,917 
    5,898,625 

 

COMMON STOCKS (58.0%)* cont.   Shares   Value 
 
Financials (10.8%)     
3i Group PLC (United Kingdom)   14,737   $103,872 
Access National Corp.   548   11,212 
ACE, Ltd.   144   16,826 
Admiral Group PLC (United Kingdom)   854   20,772 
AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. R   332   4,263 
Ageas (Belgium)   481   22,295 
Agree Realty Corp. R   553   18,796 
AIA Group, Ltd. (Hong Kong)   12,200   72,682 
Allianz SE (Germany)   694   122,946 
Allied World Assurance Co. Holdings AG   2,827   105,136 
Allstate Corp. (The)   9,300   577,437 
American Capital Agency Corp. R   7,500   130,050 
American Equity Investment Life Holding Co.   1,296   31,143 
American Financial Group, Inc.   800   57,664 
American International Group, Inc.   700   43,379 
Amtrust Financial Services, Inc.   733   45,138 
Annaly Capital Management, Inc. R   26,200   245,756 
Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. R   837   14,422 
Apollo Residential Mortgage, Inc. R   1,398   16,706 
Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. R   3,267   23,359 
Arlington Asset Investment Corp. Class A   382   5,054 
ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. R   220   4,787 
Ashford Hospitality Prime, Inc. R   85   1,233 
Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. R   2,062   13,011 
Aspen Insurance Holdings, Ltd.   1,200   57,960 
AXA SA (France)   4,528   123,789 
Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior SA     
Class E (Panama)   1,236   32,049 
Banco Santander SA (Spain)   8,788   43,145 
Bank Hapoalim BM (Israel)   7,545   38,967 
Bank of America Corp.   93,500   1,573,605 
Bank of Ireland (Ireland) †   105,629   38,713 
Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (The)   15,400   634,788 
Bank of Queensland, Ltd. (Australia)   2,381   23,989 
Barclays PLC (United Kingdom)   9,268   29,998 
BNP Paribas SA/New York, NY (France)   2,833   160,359 
BofI Holding, Inc. † S   1,297   27,302 
Brandywine Realty Trust R   1,217   16,624 
Brixmor Property Group, Inc. R   2,600   67,132 
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.   1,600   85,968 
Campus Crest Communities, Inc. R   2,594   17,639 
Cardinal Financial Corp.   1,078   24,525 
Cardtronics, Inc. †   702   23,622 
CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. R   736   9,104 
CBRE Group, Inc. Class A †   22,400   774,592 
Challenger, Ltd. (Australia)   6,621   41,739 
Chimera Investment Corp. R   4,100   55,924 
Citizens & Northern Corp.   698   14,658 
CNO Financial Group, Inc.   1,371   26,172 
CNP Assurances (France)   5,287   71,210 
Communications Sales & Leasing, Inc. R   1,992   37,230 
Community Healthcare Trust, Inc. R   882   16,255 
CoreLogic, Inc. †   1,800   60,948 
Credicorp, Ltd. (Peru)   88   8,564 
Credit Agricole SA (France)   5,663   66,714 
Credit Suisse Group AG (Switzerland)   2,638   57,016 
Customers Bancorp, Inc. †   1,426   38,816 

 

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   9 

 


COMMON STOCKS (58.0%)* cont.   Shares   Value 
 
Financials cont.     
CYS Investments, Inc. R   1,049   $7,479 
Daiwa Securities Group, Inc. (Japan)   2,000   12,228 
Danske Bank A/S (Denmark)   403   10,766 
Delta Lloyd NV (Netherlands)   1,674   9,834 
Dexus Property Group (Australia) R   8,758   47,490 
DNB ASA (Norway)   572   7,040 
Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC (United Arab Emirates)   5,239   8,763 
East West Bancorp, Inc.   382   15,876 
Employers Holdings, Inc.   1,724   47,065 
Encore Capital Group, Inc. † S   458   13,319 
EPR Properties R   313   18,295 
Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. R   900   60,003 
Essent Group, Ltd. †   476   10,420 
Eurazeo SA (France)   414   28,492 
Farmers Capital Bank Corp. †   499   13,528 
FCB Financial Holdings, Inc. Class A †   1,048   37,508 
Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. Class C   497   15,690 
Federated National Holding Co.   1,655   48,922 
Financial Institutions, Inc.   720   20,160 
First BanCorp. (Puerto Rico) †   10,052   32,669 
First Community Bancshares, Inc.   683   12,724 
First Industrial Realty Trust R   663   14,672 
First NBC Bank Holding Co. †   768   28,716 
FirstMerit Corp.   846   15,778 
Flushing Financial Corp.   702   15,191 
Foxtons Group PLC (United Kingdom)   7,672   21,205 
General Growth Properties R   22,900   623,109 
Genworth Financial, Inc. Class A †   26,812   100,009 
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)   400   72,092 
Grupo Financiero Banorte SAB de CV (Mexico)   3,564   19,604 
Hang Lung Group, Ltd. (Hong Kong)   3,000   9,727 
Hanmi Financial Corp.   1,419   33,659 
HCI Group, Inc.   732   25,510 
Heartland Financial USA, Inc.   486   15,241 
Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. †   1,673   36,505 
Hersha Hospitality Trust R   555   12,077 
Hibernia REIT PLC (Ireland) R   34,833   53,325 
Horizon Bancorp   533   14,903 
HSBC Holdings PLC (United Kingdom)   16,195   127,802 
ING Groep NV GDR (Netherlands)   4,807   64,707 
Intact Financial Corp. (Canada)   187   11,985 
Invesco Mortgage Capital, Inc. R   533   6,604 
Investor AB Class B (Sweden)   2,587   95,181 
Investors Real Estate Trust R   1,495   10,390 
Japan Hotel REIT Investment Corp (Japan) R   55   40,653 
Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc.   2,000   319,720 
JPMorgan Chase & Co.   27,543   1,818,664 
Kennedy-Wilson Holdings, Inc.   817   19,673 
Kerry Properties, Ltd. (Hong Kong)   14,500   39,474 
KKR & Co. LP   832   12,971 
Lazard, Ltd. Class A   715   32,182 
Lexington Realty Trust R S   2,892   23,136 
Lloyds Banking Group PLC (United Kingdom)   8,678   9,340 
LTC Properties, Inc. R   776   33,477 
Maiden Holdings, Ltd. (Bermuda)   1,188   17,713 
MainSource Financial Group, Inc.   1,067   24,413 
Meta Financial Group, Inc.   395   18,142 

 

COMMON STOCKS (58.0%)* cont.   Shares   Value 
 
Financials cont.     
Metro Bank PLC (acquired 1/15/14,     
cost $19,115) (Private) (United Kingdom) † ∆∆ F   898   $27,569 
MFA Financial, Inc. R   13,361   88,183 
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (Japan)   21,800   134,918 
Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Co., Ltd. (Japan)   12,600   64,907 
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. (Japan)   1,000   25,057 
Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (Japan)   84,600   168,881 
Morgan Stanley   25,900   823,879 
Muenchener Rueckversicherungs-Gesellschaft AG in     
Muenchen (Germany)   213   42,658 
National Health Investors, Inc. R   719   43,766 
Natixis SA (France)   4,693   26,527 
Nelnet, Inc. Class A   799   26,822 
New World Development Co., Ltd. (Hong Kong)   61,000   59,855 
NN Group NV (Netherlands)   1,446   50,849 
Nomura Holdings, Inc. (Japan)   7,400   41,127 
Nomura Real Estate Holdings, Inc. (Japan)   600   11,114 
One Liberty Properties, Inc. R   724   15,537 
Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc. Class A   718   12,479 
Opus Bank   620   22,921 
ORIX Corp. (Japan)   6,200   86,975 
Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. †   664   14,110 
PacWest Bancorp   283   12,197 
Peoples Bancorp, Inc.   665   12,529 
Permanent TSB Group Holdings PLC (Ireland) †   9,546   47,670 
Persimmon PLC (United Kingdom)   2,486   74,242 
Popular, Inc. (Puerto Rico)   4,562   129,287 
Post Properties, Inc. R   257   15,204 
PRA Group, Inc. †   402   13,945 
Prudential Financial, Inc.   11,100   903,651 
Prudential PLC (United Kingdom)   3,716   83,193 
Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust R   838   13,919 
Regions Financial Corp.   38,500   369,600 
Regus PLC (United Kingdom)   6,446   31,481 
Reinsurance Group of America, Inc.   900   76,995 
Renasant Corp.   636   21,885 
Republic Bancorp, Inc. Class A   434   11,462 
Resona Holdings, Inc. (Japan)   24,500   118,920 
RMR Group, Inc. (The) Class A †   9   130 
SBI Holdings, Inc. (Japan)   4,200   45,337 
SCOR SE (France)   423   15,824 
Select Income REIT R   543   10,762 
Shinsei Bank, Ltd. (Japan)   18,000   33,112 
Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (Sweden)   981   10,257 
Societe Generale SA (France)   1,625   74,957 
St James’s Place PLC (United Kingdom)   1,422   20,974 
State Street Corp.   14,800   982,128 
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (Japan)   4,500   169,750 
Sumitomo Warehouse Co., Ltd. (The) (Japan)   6,000   31,712 
Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. R   1,865   22,287 
Sun Hung Kai Properties, Ltd. (Hong Kong)   1,000   12,002 
Swiss Life Holding AG (Switzerland)   224   60,117 
Swiss Re AG (Switzerland)   1,655   160,995 
Talmer Bancorp, Inc. Class A   1,144   20,718 
Two Harbors Investment Corp. R   17,400   140,940 
UBS Group AG (Switzerland)   1,534   29,520 
Unifin Financiera SAPI de CV SOFOM ENR (Mexico) †   5,451   16,883 

 

10   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


COMMON STOCKS (58.0%)* cont.   Shares   Value 
 
Financials cont.     
United Community Banks, Inc.   702   $13,682 
United Insurance Holdings Corp.   2,428   41,519 
Universal Health Realty Income Trust R   186   9,302 
Validus Holdings, Ltd.   1,400   64,806 
Virgin Money Holdings UK PLC (United Kingdom)   6,784   38,038 
Voya Financial, Inc.   5,200   191,932 
WageWorks, Inc. †   203   9,210 
Wells Fargo & Co.   7,785   423,193 
Wheelock and Co., Ltd. (Hong Kong)   20,000   83,911 
Woori Bank (South Korea)   1,446   10,825 
Worldpay Group PLC (United Kingdom) †   6,486   29,409 
    16,821,422 
Health care (8.3%)     
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. †   555   19,786 
Accuray, Inc. †   1,516   10,233 
Aetna, Inc.   3,000   324,360 
AIN Holdings, Inc.   300   14,291 
Akorn, Inc. †   396   14,775 
Alere, Inc. †   1,303   50,934 
Allergan PLC †   121   37,813 
AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. †   2,435   73,513 
AmerisourceBergen Corp.   10,100   1,047,471 
Amgen, Inc.   6,500   1,055,145 
AmSurg Corp. †   507   38,532 
Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. †   120   13,556 
Anthem, Inc.   6,600   920,304 
Applied Genetic Technologies Corp. †   652   13,301 
Ardelyx, Inc. † S   1,313   23,792 
ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. †   1,327   8,294 
Asaleo Care, Ltd. (Australia)   3,282   3,796 
Astellas Pharma, Inc. (Japan)   10,300   146,303 
AstraZeneca PLC (United Kingdom)   2,764   186,871 
AtriCure, Inc. †   645   14,474 
Aurobindo Pharma, Ltd. (India)   1,435   18,915 
Bayer AG (Germany)   233   29,232 
Biogen, Inc. †   1,600   490,160 
Biospecifics Technologies Corp. †   294   12,633 
C.R. Bard, Inc.   2,400   454,656 
Cardinal Health, Inc.   6,600   589,182 
Cardiome Pharma Corp. (Canada) †   5,700   46,227 
Catalent, Inc. †   467   11,689 
Celgene Corp. †   140   16,766 
Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. †   573   8,985 
Centene Corp. †   5,808   382,224 
Cepheid †   161   5,881 
Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. †   1,877   150,892 
Chemed Corp.   553   82,839 
China Biologic Products, Inc. (China) †   77   10,969 
Conmed Corp.   533   23,479 
Depomed, Inc. †   407   7,379 
DexCom, Inc. †   358   29,320 
Dynavax Technologies Corp. †   932   22,517 
Eagle Pharmaceuticals, Inc. †   188   16,670 
Emergent BioSolutions, Inc. †   874   34,969 
Entellus Medical, Inc. †   384   6,474 
FivePrime Therapeutics, Inc. †   424   17,596 
Gilead Sciences, Inc.   13,845   1,400,976 
GlaxoSmithKline PLC (United Kingdom)   4,918   99,334 

 

COMMON STOCKS (58.0%)* cont.   Shares   Value 
 
Health care cont.     
Globus Medical, Inc. Class A †   665   $18,500 
Greatbatch, Inc. †   799   41,948 
Grifols SA ADR (Spain)   609   19,732 
Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. †   677   11,732 
Health Net, Inc. †   666   45,594 
HealthEquity, Inc. †   287   7,195 
HealthSouth Corp.   873   30,389 
Hologic, Inc. †   1,900   73,511 
Hua Han Bio-Pharmaceutical Holdings, Ltd. (China) S   102,000   14,142 
ICU Medical, Inc. †   594   66,991 
Immune Design Corp. †   424   8,514 
Impax Laboratories, Inc. †   187   7,996 
Inotek Pharmaceuticals Corp. †   641   7,263 
Insulet Corp. †   471   17,809 
Insys Therapeutics, Inc. † S   581   16,634 
Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. †   163   10,095 
Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC †   739   103,874 
Kindred Healthcare, Inc.   882   10,505 
Lannett Co., Inc. † S   1,111   44,573 
Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc. †   129   13,986 
Medicines Co. (The) †   206   7,692 
Medipal Holdings Corp. (Japan)   6,400   108,978 
Merck KGaA (Germany)   461   44,778 
Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. †   1,577   12,458 
MiMedx Group, Inc. †   1,424   13,343 
Molina Healthcare, Inc. †   96   5,772 
Myriad Genetics, Inc. †   271   11,696 
Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. †   639   36,148 
Novartis AG (Switzerland)   2,604   222,581 
Novavax, Inc. †   766   6,427 
Novo Nordisk A/S Class B (Denmark)   1,938   111,397 
Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. R   1,130   39,527 
OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. †   322   7,258 
Ophthotech Corp. †   354   27,800 
OPKO Health, Inc. † S   15,200   152,760 
OraSure Technologies, Inc. †   4,141   26,668 
Otsuka Holdings Company, Ltd. (Japan)   400   14,151 
Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. † S   340   26,109 
Pfizer, Inc.   49,623   1,601,830 
Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. †   196   10,084 
POZEN, Inc. †   3,861   26,371 
Prestige Brands Holdings, Inc. †   422   21,725 
Prothena Corp. PLC (Ireland) †   659   44,884 
Providence Service Corp. (The) †   507   23,788 
PTC Therapeutics, Inc. †   479   15,520 
RadNet, Inc. †   2,006   12,397 
Repligen Corp. †   884   25,008 
Roche Holding AG (Switzerland)   599   165,077 
Rockwell Medical, Inc. †   2,593   26,552 
Sage Therapeutics, Inc. †   162   9,445 
Sanofi (France)   2,920   249,151 
Select Medical Holdings Corp.   2,211   26,333 
Shionogi & Co., Ltd. (Japan)   1,200   54,250 
Shire PLC (United Kingdom)   1,274   87,312 
Spectranetics Corp. (The) †   678   10,211 
STAAR Surgical Co. †   1,135   8,104 
STERIS PLC (United Kingdom)   196   14,767 

 

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   11 

 


COMMON STOCKS (58.0%)* cont.   Shares   Value 
 
Health care cont.     
Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Class A †   1,143   $19,762 
Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. †   624   8,387 
Surgical Care Affiliates, Inc. †   945   37,620 
Suzuken Co., Ltd. (Japan)   2,100   80,045 
TESARO, Inc. †   543   28,410 
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. ADR (Israel)   956   62,752 
Tokai Pharmaceuticals, Inc. †   391   3,410 
TransEnterix, Inc. †   4,176   10,356 
Trevena, Inc. †   868   9,114 
Triple-S Management Corp. Class B (Puerto Rico) †   605   14,466 
UCB SA (Belgium)   334   30,064 
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Inc. †   79   8,862 
uniQure NV (Netherlands) †   418   6,914 
United Therapeutics Corp. †   1,800   281,898 
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. †   137   10,715 
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.   699   42,094 
Zeltiq Aesthetics, Inc. †   700   19,971 
Zoetis, Inc.   9,600   460,032 
    13,001,715 
Technology (9.4%)     
2U, Inc. †   610   17,068 
A10 Networks, Inc. †   3,072   20,152 
Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. †   1,304   36,812 
Agilent Technologies, Inc.   10,300   430,643 
Alcatel-Lucent (France) †   12,984   51,503 
Alphabet, Inc. Class A †   2,491   1,938,023 
Ambarella, Inc. †   249   13,879 
Amdocs, Ltd.   5,900   321,963 
Analog Devices, Inc.   5,800   320,856 
Apigee Corp. †   1,264   10,150 
Apple, Inc.   28,104   2,958,227 
Applied Micro Circuits Corp. †   3,062   19,505 
Aspen Technology, Inc. †   411   15,519 
AtoS SE (France)   234   19,653 
AVG Technologies NV (Netherlands) †   1,385   27,769 
Barracuda Networks, Inc. †   527   9,844 
Blackbaud, Inc.   364   23,973 
Brother Industries, Ltd. (Japan)   1,000   11,467 
CACI International, Inc. Class A †   173   16,051 
Casetek Holdings, Ltd. (Taiwan)   6,000   24,328 
Cavium, Inc. †   246   16,165 
CEVA, Inc. †   1,091   25,486 
Ciena Corp. †   261   5,400 
Cirrus Logic, Inc. †   682   20,139 
Computer Sciences Corp.   8,500   277,780 
Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc. †   404   13,950 
CSG Systems International, Inc. S   928   33,389 
CSRA, Inc. †   8,500   255,000 
Cypress Semiconductor Corp. † S   3,996   39,201 
DSP Group, Inc. †   2,532   23,902 
Dun & Bradstreet Corp. (The)   300   31,179 
eBay, Inc. †   40,900   1,123,932 
EMC Corp.   21,500   552,120 
EnerSys   812   45,415 
Engility Holdings, Inc.   979   31,798 
Fortinet, Inc. †   700   21,819 
Fujitsu, Ltd. (Japan)   4,000   19,909 

 

COMMON STOCKS (58.0%)* cont.   Shares   Value 
 
Technology cont.     
Genpact, Ltd. †   1,500   $37,470 
Gigamon, Inc. †   242   6,430 
GungHo Online Entertainment, Inc. (Japan) S   15,900   43,283 
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (Taiwan)   17,000   41,579 
Hoya Corp. (Japan)   2,900   118,229 
Imprivata, Inc. †   1,283   14,498 
inContact, Inc. †   1,985   18,937 
Infinera Corp. †   648   11,742 
Integrated Device Technology, Inc. †   416   10,962 
Intersil Corp. Class A   1,353   17,264 
IntraLinks Holdings, Inc. †   874   7,927 
Intuit, Inc.   5,700   550,050 
Ixia †   1,744   21,678 
Jabil Circuit, Inc.   1,078   25,107 
Japan Display, Inc. (Japan) †   2,500   7,228 
L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc.   5,200   621,452 
Lattice Semiconductor Corp. †   5,908   38,225 
Leidos Holdings, Inc.   6,500   365,690 
Lenovo Group, Ltd. (China)   26,000   26,200 
Lexmark International, Inc. Class A   350   11,358 
Manhattan Associates, Inc. †   300   19,851 
Maxim Integrated Products, Inc.   9,700   368,600 
MAXIMUS, Inc.   264   14,850 
Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. (Israel) †   365   15,381 
Mentor Graphics Corp.   1,810   33,340 
Microsemi Corp. †   449   14,633 
Microsoft Corp.   4,511   250,270 
MobileIron, Inc. †   2,119   7,650 
Monolithic Power Systems, Inc.   247   15,736 
MTS Systems Corp.   180   11,414 
Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Japan)   600   86,116 
Netscout Systems, Inc. †   155   4,759 
Nexon Co., Ltd. (Japan)   1,900   30,842 
ON Semiconductor Corp. †   3,106   30,439 
Oracle Corp.   25,682   938,163 
Otsuka Corp. (Japan)   300   14,712 
Perficient, Inc. †   1,044   17,873 
Plexus Corp. †   795   27,761 
Power Integrations, Inc.   306   14,881 
Proofpoint, Inc. †   381   24,769 
PROS Holdings, Inc. †   452   10,414 
QAD, Inc. Class A   805   16,519 
Qlik Technologies, Inc. †   329   10,416 
QLogic Corp. †   3,649   44,518 
Qualys, Inc. †   215   7,114 
Quantum Corp. †   8,434   7,844 
RIB Software AG (Germany) S   1,176   14,383 
Rovi Corp. †   867   14,444 
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (South Korea)   43   45,917 
Sanmina Corp. †   755   15,538 
Sartorius AG (Preference) (Germany)   68   17,754 
Semtech Corp. †   450   8,514 
Silergy Corp. (China)   2,198   22,586 
Silicon Laboratories, Inc. †   161   7,815 
SK Hynix, Inc. (South Korea)   596   15,387 
Skyworth Digital Holdings, Ltd. (China)   30,668   19,835 
SolarWinds, Inc. †   5,400   318,060 

 

12   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


COMMON STOCKS (58.0%)* cont.   Shares   Value 
 
Technology cont.     
Symantec Corp.   19,500   $409,500 
Synaptics, Inc. †   427   34,305 
Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. †   376   13,246 
SYNNEX Corp.   332   29,857 
Tech Data Corp. †   211   14,006 
Tencent Holdings, Ltd. (China)   1,500   29,262 
Teradyne, Inc.   11,800   243,906 
Tyler Technologies, Inc. †   151   26,322 
Veeva Systems, Inc. Class A †   610   17,599 
VeriFone Systems, Inc. †   490   13,730 
Verint Systems, Inc. †   389   15,778 
Web.com Group, Inc. †   1,478   29,575 
Woodward, Inc.   891   44,247 
Xerox Corp.   42,600   452,838 
    14,732,547 
Transportation (1.8%)     
Aegean Marine Petroleum Network, Inc. (Greece)   2,601   21,744 
Aena SA (Spain) †   115   13,102 
ANA Holdings, Inc. (Japan)   32,000   92,347 
AP Moeller - Maersk A/S (Denmark)   64   83,104 
Aurizon Holdings, Ltd. (Australia)   6,928   22,033 
Central Japan Railway Co. (Japan)   400   70,856 
ComfortDelgro Corp., Ltd. (Singapore)   30,200   64,597 
Delta Air Lines, Inc.   20,200   1,023,938 
Deutsche Post AG (Germany)   1,643   46,269 
DHT Holdings, Inc. (Bermuda)   1,652   13,365 
easyJet PLC (United Kingdom)   477   12,210 
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (Spain)   6,215   55,403 
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (Spain)   3,622   32,326 
Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. (Japan)   1,100   39,393 
Matson, Inc.   283   12,064 
Qantas Airways, Ltd. (Australia)   10,136   30,058 
Royal Mail PLC (United Kingdom)   7,867   51,192 
Ryanair Holdings PLC ADR (Ireland)   1,293   111,793 
Scorpio Tankers, Inc.   2,277   18,262 
United Parcel Service, Inc. Class B   9,700   933,431 
Universal Truckload Services, Inc.   87   1,221 
Virgin America, Inc. † S   915   32,949 
XPO Logistics, Inc. †   375   10,219 
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings, Ltd. (China)   124,700   96,282 
    2,888,158 
Utilities and power (1.8%)     
AES Corp.   10,300   98,571 
AGL Resources, Inc.   1,600   102,096 
American Electric Power Co., Inc.   13,500   786,645 
Centrica PLC (United Kingdom)   14,387   46,211 
China Resources Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (China)   33   64 
Concord New Energy Group, Ltd. (China)   170,000   10,124 
E.ON SE (Germany)   5,307   51,360 
Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. (Japan)   500   17,793 
Endesa SA (Spain)   2,215   44,377 
Enel SpA (Italy)   13,916   58,208 
ENI SpA (Italy)   5,299   78,500 
Entergy Corp.   12,600   861,336 
Iberdrola SA (Spain)   16,445   116,584 
Korea Electric Power Corp. (South Korea)   386   16,390 
RWE AG (Germany)   3,646   46,474 
SSE PLC (United Kingdom)   670   15,003 

 

COMMON STOCKS (58.0%)* cont.     Shares   Value 
 
Utilities and power cont.       
Talen Energy Corp. †     1,763   $10,983 
Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. (Japan) †     5,000   28,758 
UGI Corp.     10,900   367,984 
Veolia Environnement SA (France)     2,378   56,366 
      2,813,827 
 
Total common stocks (cost $81,514,778)       $90,491,650 
 
CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)*   Principal amount   Value 
 
Basic materials (1.2%)       
A Schulman, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 6 7/8s, 2023     $30,000   $28,725 
Agrium, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 3 3/8s, 2025 (Canada)   40,000   36,599 
Agrium, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. 5 1/4s, 2045 (Canada)   20,000   18,643 
Allegheny Technologies, Inc. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5.95s, 2021     15,000   8,850 
ArcelorMittal SA sr. unsec. unsub. bonds 10.85s,       
2019 (France)     142,000   134,368 
ArcelorMittal SA sr. unsec. unsub. bonds 6 1/8s,       
2025 (France)     10,000   7,200 
ArcelorMittal SA sr. unsec. unsub. notes 8s,       
2039 (France)     7,000   4,778 
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. sr. unsec.       
notes 5.45s, 2018     102,000   110,223 
Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6 3/8s, 2023     20,000   20,375 
Blue Cube Spinco, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 9 3/4s, 2023     20,000   21,575 
Boise Cascade Co. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 6 3/8s, 2020     15,000   15,450 
Builders FirstSource, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 10 3/4s, 2023     30,000   29,775 
Celanese US Holdings, LLC company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 7/8s, 2021 (Germany)   25,000   26,375 
CF Industries, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 5 3/8s, 2044     6,000   5,237 
CF Industries, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 5.15s, 2034     8,000   7,059 
Chemours Co. (The) 144A sr. unsec. notes 7s, 2025   5,000   3,413 
Chemours Co. (The) 144A sr. unsec. notes 6 5/8s, 2023   15,000   10,500 
Compass Minerals International, Inc. 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 4 7/8s, 2024     25,000   23,813 
CPG Merger Sub, LLC 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 8s, 2021     12,000   11,760 
E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. sr. unsec.       
notes 3 5/8s, 2021     95,000   97,916 
Eastman Chemical Co. sr. unsec. notes 3.8s, 2025   35,000   33,876 
Eldorado Gold Corp. 144A sr. unsec. notes 6 1/8s,     
2020 (Canada)     4,000   3,480 
First Quantum Minerals, Ltd. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 7s, 2021 (Canada)     40,000   25,100 
Glencore Funding, LLC 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4 5/8s, 2024     94,000   68,075 
Glencore Funding, LLC 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4s, 2025     64,000   44,480 
Glencore Funding, LLC 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 2 7/8s, 2020     42,000   32,760 
HD Supply, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 11 1/2s, 2020     13,000   14,398 
HD Supply, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 7 1/2s, 2020     23,000   23,920 

 

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   13 

 


CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Basic materials cont.       
HD Supply, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. notes 5 1/4s, 2021     $15,000   $15,300 
HudBay Minerals, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
notes 9 1/2s, 2020 (Canada)     35,000   25,638 
Huntsman International, LLC company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4 7/8s, 2020     20,000   18,250 
Huntsman International, LLC 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 1/8s, 2022     5,000   4,500 
JMC Steel Group, Inc. 144A sr. unsec.       
notes 8 1/4s, 2018     10,000   6,656 
Louisiana-Pacific Corp. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 7 1/2s, 2020     20,000   20,750 
Lubrizol Corp. (The) sr. unsec. notes 8 7/8s, 2019     50,000   59,721 
LyondellBasell Industries NV sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 4 5/8s, 2055     30,000   24,329 
MeadWestvaco Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 8.2s, 2030     35,000   45,354 
MeadWestvaco Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 7.95s, 2031     10,000   12,339 
Mercer International, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 7 3/4s, 2022 (Canada)     15,000   15,150 
Methanex Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5.65s,       
2044 (Canada)     45,000   36,441 
Methanex Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 3 1/4s,       
2019 (Canada)     6,000   5,737 
Momentive Performance Materials, Inc. escrow       
company guaranty sr. notes 8 7/8s, 2020 F     15,000   — 
Mosaic Co. (The) sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 5/8s, 2043   3,000   2,880 
Mosaic Co. (The) sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5.45s, 2033   2,000   2,041 
New Gold, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 7s, 2020 (Canada)     25,000   22,500 
New Gold, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 6 1/4s, 2022 (Canada)     10,000   7,963 
Norbord, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. notes 6 1/4s, 2023 (Canada)     25,000   24,625 
Novelis, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 8 3/4s, 2020     35,000   32,113 
Novelis, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 8 3/8s, 2017     5,000   4,863 
Packaging Corp. of America sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 4 1/2s, 2023     45,000   47,066 
Pactiv, LLC sr. unsec. unsub. notes 7.95s, 2025     10,000   9,300 
PQ Corp. 144A company guaranty sub. notes 8 3/4s, 2018   17,000   16,490 
Rio Tinto Finance USA PLC company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 1 5/8s, 2017       
(United Kingdom)     130,000   128,135 
Rio Tinto Finance USA, Ltd. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 9s,       
2019 (Australia)     62,000   72,379 
Ryerson, Inc./Joseph T Ryerson & Son, Inc.       
company guaranty sr. sub. notes 9s, 2017     19,000   14,630 
Sealed Air Corp. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.     
notes 6 7/8s, 2033     10,000   10,225 
Sealed Air Corp. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.     
notes 6 1/2s, 2020     9,000   9,923 
Sealed Air Corp. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.     
notes 5 1/4s, 2023     14,000   14,280 
Sealed Air Corp. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.     
notes 5 1/8s, 2024     5,000   5,000 
Sealed Air Corp. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.     
notes 4 7/8s, 2022     5,000   5,013 

 

CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Basic materials cont.       
Sealed Air Corp. 144A sr. unsec. bonds 5 1/2s, 2025   $5,000   $5,100 
Smurfit Kappa Treasury Funding, Ltd. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 7 1/2s, 2025 (Ireland)   10,000   11,500 
Steel Dynamics, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 6 3/8s, 2022     18,000   17,280 
Steel Dynamics, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 6 1/8s, 2019     4,000   4,030 
Steel Dynamics, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 1/2s, 2024     20,000   18,250 
Steel Dynamics, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 1/4s, 2023     3,000   2,738 
Steel Dynamics, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 1/8s, 2021     5,000   4,625 
TMS International Corp. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 7 5/8s, 2021     20,000   15,450 
Univar, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 6 3/4s, 2023     15,000   13,688 
USG Corp. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 5 7/8s, 2021     3,000   3,116 
USG Corp. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 5 1/2s, 2025     10,000   10,150 
Weekley Homes, LLC/Weekley Finance Corp.       
sr. unsec. notes 6s, 2023     10,000   9,400 
Westrock (RKT) Co. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 4.45s, 2019     38,000   39,664 
Weyerhaeuser Co. sr. unsec. unsub. notes       
7 3/8s, 2032 R     60,000   71,399 
WR Grace & Co.- Conn. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 5/8s, 2024     20,000   20,200 
WR Grace & Co.- Conn. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 1/8s, 2021     20,000   20,200 
      1,855,104 
Capital goods (0.8%)       
ADS Waste Holdings, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 8 1/4s, 2020     43,000   43,323 
American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 7 3/4s, 2019     32,000   35,360 
Amstead Industries, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 5 3/8s, 2024     10,000   9,800 
Amstead Industries, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 5s, 2022     15,000   15,000 
ATS Automation Tooling Systems, Inc. 144A       
sr. unsec. notes 6 1/2s, 2023 (Canada)     10,000   10,150 
Belden, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 5 1/2s, 2022     10,000   9,625 
Belden, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 5 1/4s, 2024     10,000   9,200 
Berry Plastics Corp. company       
guaranty notes 5 1/2s, 2022     10,000   9,963 
Berry Plastics Corp. company       
guaranty unsub. notes 5 1/8s, 2023     10,000   9,725 
Berry Plastics Corp. 144A company       
guaranty notes 6s, 2022     5,000   5,088 
Boeing Capital Corp. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 4.7s, 2019     40,000   43,896 
Bombardier, Inc. 144A sr. unsec. notes 7 3/4s,       
2020 (Canada)     10,000   8,075 
Bombardier, Inc. 144A sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 4 3/4s, 2019 (Canada)     5,000   4,113 
Briggs & Stratton Corp. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 7/8s, 2020     45,000   48,825 

 

14   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Capital goods cont.       
Covidien International Finance SA company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6s, 2017 (Luxembourg)   $130,000   $140,034 
Crown Cork & Seal Co., Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. bonds 7 3/8s, 2026     10,000   10,750 
Delphi Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 5s, 2023     45,000   47,610 
DH Services Luxembourg Sarl 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 7 3/4s, 2020 (Luxembourg)   8,000   8,040 
Gates Global, LLC/Gates Global Co. 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6s, 2022     15,000   10,800 
General Dynamics Corp. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 3.6s, 2042     60,000   55,795 
General Dynamics Corp. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 2 1/4s, 2022     30,000   28,840 
Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5s, 2021     10,000   10,188 
KLX, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 5 7/8s, 2022     25,000   23,750 
Legrand France SA sr. unsec. unsub. notes 8 1/2s,     
2025 (France)     114,000   151,341 
Manitowoc Co., Inc. (The) company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 8 1/2s, 2020     15,000   15,525 
Manitowoc Co., Inc. (The) company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 7/8s, 2022     25,000   25,813 
MasTec, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 4 7/8s, 2023     20,000   17,300 
Medtronic, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 4 3/8s, 2035     28,000   28,304 
Medtronic, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 3 1/2s, 2025     27,000   27,221 
Moog, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 5 1/4s, 2022     20,000   20,200 
Omega US Sub, LLC 144A sr. unsec. notes 8 3/4s, 2023   25,000   23,063 
Oshkosh Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 5 3/8s, 2025     20,000   19,600 
Oshkosh Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 5 3/8s, 2022     15,000   15,000 
Raytheon Co. sr. unsec. notes 4 7/8s, 2040     20,000   21,937 
Tenneco, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 3/8s, 2024     15,000   15,225 
Terex Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6s, 2021   24,000   22,080 
TransDigm, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 7 1/2s, 2021     20,000   20,700 
TransDigm, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 5 1/2s, 2020     5,000   4,838 
TransDigm, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 6 1/2s, 2024     13,000   12,929 
United Technologies Corp. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 3/8s, 2017     107,000   114,984 
      1,154,010 
Communication services (1.5%)       
American Tower Corp. sr. unsec. notes 4s, 2025 R     100,000   98,295 
AT&T, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4 3/4s, 2046     77,000   70,501 
Cablevision Systems Corp. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 8 5/8s, 2017     40,000   42,100 
Cablevision Systems Corp. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 8s, 2020     7,000   6,825 
Cablevision Systems Corp. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 7 3/4s, 2018     10,000   10,400 
CCO Holdings, LLC/CCO Holdings Capital Corp.       
company guaranty sr. unsec. bonds 5 1/8s, 2023   7,000   7,000 

 

CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Communication services cont.       
CCO Holdings, LLC/CCO Holdings Capital Corp.       
company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 5/8s, 2022     $13,000   $13,699 
CCO Holdings, LLC/CCO Holdings Capital Corp.       
company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 1/2s, 2021     9,000   9,338 
CCO Holdings, LLC/CCO Holdings Capital Corp.       
company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 1/4s, 2022     7,000   7,061 
CCO Safari II, LLC 144A company       
guaranty sr. notes 6.484s, 2045     17,000   17,028 
CCO Safari II, LLC 144A company       
guaranty sr. notes 4.908s, 2025     8,000   7,992 
CCOH Safari, LLC 144A sr. unsec. notes 5 3/4s, 2026   10,000   10,025 
CenturyLink, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6 3/4s, 2023   14,000   13,125 
CenturyLink, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 5/8s, 2020   4,000   3,955 
Cequel Communications Holdings I, LLC/Cequel       
Capital Corp. 144A sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 1/8s, 2021     15,000   13,500 
Cequel Communications Holdings I, LLC/Cequel       
Capital Corp. 144A sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 1/8s, 2021     10,000   9,000 
Comcast Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. bonds 6 1/2s, 2017     55,000   57,894 
Comcast Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 6.95s, 2037     64,000   83,512 
Comcast Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 6 1/2s, 2035     17,000   21,356 
Crown Castle International Corp. sr. unsec.       
notes 5 1/4s, 2023 R     39,000   40,999 
Crown Castle International Corp. sr. unsec.       
notes 4 7/8s, 2022 R     7,000   7,254 
Crown Castle Towers, LLC 144A company       
guaranty sr. notes 4.883s, 2020     15,000   16,035 
CSC Holdings, LLC sr. unsec. unsub. bonds 5 1/4s, 2024   8,000   7,020 
CSC Holdings, LLC sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6 3/4s, 2021   26,000   24,960 
Deutsche Telekom International Finance BV       
company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. bonds 8 3/4s,     
2030 (Netherlands)     73,000   101,210 
DISH DBS Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 7/8s, 2024     15,000   13,350 
Frontier Communications Corp. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 7 5/8s, 2024     4,000   3,360 
Frontier Communications Corp. 144A sr. unsec.       
notes 11s, 2025     10,000   9,900 
Frontier Communications Corp. 144A sr. unsec.       
notes 10 1/2s, 2022     5,000   4,981 
Frontier Communications Corp. 144A sr. unsec.       
notes 8 7/8s, 2020     5,000   5,063 
Intelsat Jackson Holdings SA company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 7 1/2s, 2021 (Bermuda)   17,000   14,790 
Intelsat Jackson Holdings SA company guaranty       
sr. unsec. unsub. bonds 6 5/8s, 2022 (Bermuda)     7,000   4,463 
Intelsat Luxembourg SA company guaranty       
sr. unsec. bonds 7 3/4s, 2021 (Luxembourg)     5,000   2,338 
Intelsat Luxembourg SA company guaranty       
sr. unsec. sub. bonds 8 1/8s, 2023 (Luxembourg)   8,000   3,620 
Koninklijke KPN NV sr. unsec.       
unsub. bonds 8 3/8s, 2030 (Netherlands)     30,000   39,307 
Level 3 Communications, Inc. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 3/4s, 2022     5,000   5,113 
Level 3 Financing, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6 1/8s, 2021     5,000   5,175 

 

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   15 

 


CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Communication services cont.       
Level 3 Financing, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 3/8s, 2022     $15,000   $15,225 
Level 3 Financing, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 3/8s, 2024     5,000   5,025 
Orange SA sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4 1/8s, 2021 (France)   46,000   48,677 
Quebecor Media, Inc. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 3/4s, 2023 (Canada)     13,000   12,935 
Rogers Communications, Inc. company guaranty       
sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4 1/2s, 2043 (Canada)     85,000   79,521 
SBA Communications Corp. sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 4 7/8s, 2022     10,000   9,850 
SBA Telecommunications, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 3/4s, 2020     4,000   4,160 
SES SA 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 3.6s, 2023 (France)     42,000   40,938 
Sprint Capital Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 6 7/8s, 2028     85,000   59,288 
Sprint Communications, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 7s, 2020   5,000   3,863 
Sprint Communications, Inc. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 8 3/8s, 2017     17,000   16,728 
Sprint Communications, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 9s, 2018     15,000   15,788 
Sprint Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 7 7/8s, 2023     48,000   36,048 
Sprint Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 7 1/4s, 2021     17,000   12,830 
T-Mobile USA, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 6 5/8s, 2023     13,000   13,244 
T-Mobile USA, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 6 3/8s, 2025     10,000   10,100 
T-Mobile USA, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 6 1/4s, 2021     20,000   20,625 
T-Mobile USA, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 6s, 2023     5,000   5,063 
T-Mobile USA, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 6.836s, 2023     3,000   3,101 
T-Mobile USA, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 6.633s, 2021     7,000   7,280 
T-Mobile USA, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 6.464s, 2019     7,000   7,209 
T-Mobile USA, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 6 1/8s, 2022     17,000   17,446 
TCI Communications, Inc. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 7 1/8s, 2028     65,000   84,056 
Telefonica Emisiones SAU company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 4.57s, 2023 (Spain)     150,000   157,249 
Verizon Communications, Inc. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 6.4s, 2033     8,000   9,114 
Verizon Communications, Inc. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 4.522s, 2048     315,000   281,704 
Verizon Communications, Inc. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 4.4s, 2034     65,000   59,971 
Verizon New Jersey, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. bonds 8s, 2022     45,000   54,732 
Verizon New York, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes Ser. B, 7 3/8s, 2032     65,000   73,378 
Verizon Pennsylvania, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. bonds 8.35s, 2030     50,000   59,720 
Videotron, Ltd. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5s, 2022 (Canada)     20,000   19,950 

 

CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Communication services cont.     
Vodafone Group PLC sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 1 1/4s, 2017 (United Kingdom)   $225,000   $222,837 
West Corp. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.     
sub. notes 5 3/8s, 2022   25,000   21,563 
WideOpenWest Finance, LLC/WideOpenWest     
Capital Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
sub. notes 10 1/4s, 2019   24,000   22,662 
Windstream Services, LLC company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 7 3/4s, 2021   14,000   11,016 
Windstream Services, LLC company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 3/8s, 2023   25,000   18,000 
    2,352,440 
Consumer cyclicals (2.2%)     
21st Century Fox America, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 7 3/4s, 2024   50,000   61,875 
21st Century Fox America, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 7 3/4s, 2045   150,000   195,492 
Amazon.com, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 1.2s, 2017   128,000   127,604 
AMC Entertainment, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 5 7/8s, 2022   10,000   10,150 
AMC Entertainment, Inc. 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 5 3/4s, 2025   10,000   10,050 
American Builders & Contractors Supply Co., Inc.     
144A sr. unsec. notes 5 3/4s, 2023   15,000   15,113 
American Tire Distributors, Inc. 144A sr. unsec.     
sub. notes 10 1/4s, 2022   25,000   22,875 
Autonation, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 5 1/2s, 2020   78,000   84,518 
Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. sr. unsec.     
sub. notes 5.165s, 2044   60,000   50,821 
Bon-Ton Department Stores, Inc. (The) company     
guaranty notes 10 5/8s, 2017   35,000   24,500 
Bon-Ton Department Stores, Inc. (The) company     
guaranty notes 8s, 2021   14,000   4,620 
Boyd Gaming Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
sub. notes 6 7/8s, 2023   10,000   10,275 
Brookfield Residential Properties, Inc. 144A     
company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 1/2s,     
2020 (Canada)   33,000   31,804 
Brookfield Residential     
Properties, Inc./Brookfield Residential US Corp.     
144A company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 1/8s,     
2022 (Canada)   10,000   9,163 
Building Materials Corp. of America 144A     
sr. unsec. notes 5 3/8s, 2024   30,000   29,925 
CalAtlantic Group, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 6 1/4s, 2021   24,000   25,590 
CalAtlantic Group, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 5 7/8s, 2024   5,000   5,225 
CBS Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
debs. 7 7/8s, 2030   57,000   72,658 
CBS Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4 1/2s, 2021   70,000   72,276 
CCM Merger, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.     
notes 9 1/8s, 2019   14,000   14,630 
Cedar Fair LP/Canada’s Wonderland Co./Magnum     
Management Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
notes 5 3/8s, 2024   4,000   4,040 
Cedar Fair LP/Canada’s Wonderland Co./Magnum     
Management Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
notes 5 1/4s, 2021   13,000   13,390 
Cinemark USA, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
notes 5 1/8s, 2022   3,000   2,978 

 

16   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Consumer cyclicals cont.       
Cinemark USA, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
sub. notes 7 3/8s, 2021     $5,000   $5,263 
Cinemark USA, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
sub. notes 4 7/8s, 2023     4,000   3,900 
Clear Channel Worldwide Holdings, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 7 5/8s, 2020   20,000   18,500 
Clear Channel Worldwide Holdings, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6 1/2s, 2022   14,000   13,650 
Cumulus Media Holdings, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 7 3/4s, 2019     9,000   3,038 
Dana Holding Corp. sr. unsec. notes 6s, 2023   17,000   17,043 
Dollar General Corp. sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 3 1/4s, 2023     75,000   71,425 
Eldorado Resorts, Inc. 144A sr. unsec. notes 7s, 2023   15,000   14,700 
Entercom Radio, LLC company guaranty sr. unsec.     
notes 10 1/2s, 2019     20,000   20,700 
Expedia, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5.95s, 2020     90,000   98,200 
Expedia, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 5s, 2026     25,000   24,520 
Family Tree Escrow, LLC 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 3/4s, 2023   5,000   5,175 
Family Tree Escrow, LLC 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 1/4s, 2020   5,000   5,163 
Ford Motor Co. sr. unsec. unsub. bonds 7.7s, 2097   24,000   28,213 
Ford Motor Co. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 9.98s, 2047   25,000   34,697 
Ford Motor Co. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 7.45s, 2031   35,000   43,190 
Ford Motor Co. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 7.4s, 2046   40,000   48,891 
Ford Motor Credit Co., LLC sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 8 1/8s, 2020     140,000   164,926 
Garda World Security Corp. 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 7 1/4s, 2021 (Canada)   5,000   4,300 
General Motors Co. sr. unsec. notes 5.2s, 2045   25,000   23,443 
General Motors Financial Co., Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 3s, 2017     39,000   39,133 
General Motors Financial Co., Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4.3s, 2025   22,000   21,333 
General Motors Financial Co., Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4s, 2025     10,000   9,488 
General Motors Financial Co., Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 3.45s, 2022   95,000   91,130 
Gibson Brands, Inc. 144A sr. notes 8 7/8s, 2018   10,000   5,813 
GLP Capital LP/GLP Financing II, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 4 7/8s, 2020   17,000   16,660 
GLP Capital LP/GLP Financing II, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 4 3/8s, 2018   34,000   33,660 
Gray Television, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
sub. notes 7 1/2s, 2020     23,000   23,633 
Great Canadian Gaming Corp. 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 5/8s,       
2022 (Canada)   CAD   27,000   19,318 
Historic TW, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. bonds 9.15s, 2023     $40,000   51,898 
Home Depot, Inc. (The) sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5.4s, 2016     65,000   65,457 
Host Hotels & Resorts LP sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 6s, 2021 R     31,000   34,307 
Host Hotels & Resorts LP sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 1/4s, 2022 R     44,000   47,231 
Howard Hughes Corp. (The) 144A sr. unsec.     
notes 6 7/8s, 2021     30,000   30,600 

 

CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Consumer cyclicals cont.       
Hyatt Hotels Corp. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 3 3/8s, 2023     $15,000   $14,260 
iHeartCommunications, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. notes 9s, 2019     20,000   14,600 
Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 7/8s, 2021     7,000   7,140 
JC Penney Corp, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
bonds 8 1/8s, 2019     10,000   9,050 
JC Penney Corp, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 5.65s, 2020     25,000   20,000 
Jo-Ann Stores Holdings, Inc. 144A sr. unsec.       
notes 9 3/4s, 2019 ‡‡     15,000   8,250 
Jo-Ann Stores, Inc. 144A sr. unsec. notes 8 1/8s, 2019   30,000   24,000 
Johnson Controls, Inc. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 4.95s, 2064     65,000   52,796 
L Brands, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 6 5/8s, 2021     13,000   14,365 
L Brands, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 5 5/8s, 2022     7,000   7,420 
Lamar Media Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 5 7/8s, 2022     14,000   14,700 
Lamar Media Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 5 3/8s, 2024     15,000   15,450 
Lennar Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 4 1/2s, 2019     7,000   7,118 
Lennar Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 4 3/4s, 2022     22,000   21,813 
LIN Television Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 7/8s, 2022     5,000   4,975 
Macy’s Retail Holdings, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6.9s, 2029     34,000   38,314 
Macy’s Retail Holdings, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 1/8s, 2042     5,000   4,374 
Macy’s Retail Holdings, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 4.3s, 2043     95,000   72,930 
Masonite International Corp. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 5/8s, 2023     15,000   15,488 
Mattamy Group Corp. 144A sr. unsec. notes 6 1/2s,     
2020 (Canada)     20,000   19,000 
MGM Resorts International company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 3/4s, 2020     35,000   35,963 
MGM Resorts International company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 1/4s, 2020     35,000   34,650 
MGM Resorts International company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 8 5/8s, 2019     10,000   11,078 
MGM Resorts International company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6 5/8s, 2021     15,000   15,300 
Navistar International Corp. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 8 1/4s, 2021     19,000   12,635 
Neiman Marcus Group, LLC (The) company       
guaranty sr. notes 7 1/8s, 2028     45,000   42,975 
Neiman Marcus Group, Ltd. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 8 3/4s, 2021 ‡‡     25,000   15,500 
Neiman Marcus Group, Ltd. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 8s, 2021     10,000   7,400 
Nielsen Co. Luxembourg Sarl (The) 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 5 1/2s, 2021       
(Luxembourg)     15,000   15,413 
Nordstrom, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 5s, 2044     30,000   31,007 
Nordstrom, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6.95s, 2028   85,000   103,931 
Nortek, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 8 1/2s, 2021     20,000   20,752 

 

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   17 

 


CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Consumer cyclicals cont.       
O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 3.85s, 2023     $20,000   $20,226 
Outfront Media Capital, LLC/Outfront Media       
Capital Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 5 7/8s, 2025     10,000   10,150 
Outfront Media Capital, LLC/Outfront Media       
Capital Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 5 5/8s, 2024     7,000   7,210 
Owens Corning company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 9s, 2019     9,000   10,431 
Penn National Gaming, Inc. sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 5 7/8s, 2021     23,000   22,310 
Penske Automotive Group, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 5 3/4s, 2022     14,000   14,385 
Penske Automotive Group, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 5 3/8s, 2024     10,000   10,100 
Priceline Group, Inc. (The) sr. unsec.       
notes 3.65s, 2025     46,000   44,770 
PulteGroup, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 7 7/8s, 2032     20,000   22,650 
Regal Entertainment Group sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 5 3/4s, 2023     9,000   8,966 
Regal Entertainment Group sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 5 3/4s, 2022     13,000   13,000 
Rivers Pittsburgh Borrower LP/Rivers Pittsburgh       
Finance Corp. 144A sr. notes 9 1/2s, 2019     22,000   22,770 
ROC Finance, LLC/ROC Finance 1 Corp. 144A       
notes 12 1/8s, 2018     24,000   25,080 
Sabre GLBL, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. notes 5 3/8s, 2023     15,000   14,925 
Scientific Games Corp. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 8 1/8s, 2018     5,000   3,650 
Scientific Games International, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 10s, 2022     50,000   35,500 
Scientific Games International, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 6 1/4s, 2020     5,000   2,350 
Scientific Games International, Inc. 144A company     
guaranty sr. notes 7s, 2022     15,000   14,325 
Sinclair Television Group, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 6 3/8s, 2021     13,000   13,390 
Sinclair Television Group, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 5 3/8s, 2021     7,000   7,018 
Sinclair Television Group, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 5 5/8s, 2024     5,000   4,863 
Sirius XM Radio, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 6s, 2024     13,000   13,569 
Sirius XM Radio, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 7/8s, 2020     13,000   13,601 
Six Flags Entertainment Corp. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 1/4s, 2021     27,000   27,338 
Spectrum Brands, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
sub. notes 6 3/8s, 2020     3,000   3,188 
Spectrum Brands, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 3/4s, 2025     10,000   10,250 
Spectrum Brands, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6 1/8s, 2024     10,000   10,400 
SugarHouse HSP Gaming Prop. Mezz LP/SugarHouse     
HSP Gaming Finance Corp. 144A sr. notes 6 3/8s, 2021   12,000   11,160 
Taylor Morrison Communities, Inc./Monarch       
Communities, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 1/4s, 2021     7,000   7,000 

 

CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Consumer cyclicals cont.     
Taylor Morrison Communities, Inc./Monarch     
Communities, Inc. 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 5 5/8s, 2024   $7,000   $6,711 
Taylor Morrison Communities, Inc./Monarch     
Communities, Inc. 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 7/8s, 2023   5,000   4,938 
TEGNA, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
bonds 5 1/8s, 2020   10,000   10,375 
TEGNA, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
bonds 5 1/8s, 2019   3,000   3,105 
TEGNA, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 4 7/8s, 2021   15,000   15,038 
Tiffany & Co. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4.9s, 2044   55,000   50,901 
Townsquare Media, Inc. 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 1/2s, 2023   5,000   4,575 
Tribune Media Co. 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 7/8s, 2022   10,000   10,000 
TRW Automotive, Inc. 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 4 1/2s, 2021   4,000   4,095 
Univision Communications, Inc. 144A company     
guaranty sr. sub. notes 5 1/8s, 2025   5,000   4,750 
Univision Communications, Inc. 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 8 1/2s, 2021   20,000   20,450 
Vulcan Materials Co. sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 4 1/2s, 2025   10,000   9,888 
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 6 1/2s, 2037   67,000   86,540 
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5s, 2040   10,000   11,001 
Walt Disney Co. (The) sr. unsec. notes 2 3/4s, 2021   30,000   30,519 
Walt Disney Co. (The) sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 4 3/8s, 2041   10,000   10,370 
    3,478,648 
Consumer staples (1.2%)     
Altria Group, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
notes 9 1/4s, 2019   2,000   2,448 
Altria Group, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 4s, 2024   24,000   24,894 
Altria Group, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 2.85s, 2022   95,000   92,899 
Anheuser-Busch InBev Finance, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 1 1/4s, 2018   130,000   128,783 
Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 8.2s, 2039   80,000   115,316 
Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 2 1/2s, 2022   60,000   57,725 
Avis Budget Car Rental, LLC/Avis Budget     
Finance, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 5 1/2s, 2023   17,000   17,043 
BC ULC/New Red Finance, Inc. 144A company     
guaranty notes 6s, 2022 (Canada)   30,000   30,900 
BC ULC/New Red Finance, Inc. 144A company     
guaranty sr. notes 4 5/8s, 2022 (Canada)   5,000   5,000 
BlueLine Rental Finance Corp. 144A notes 7s, 2019   38,000   34,200 
Bunge, Ltd. Finance Corp. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 8 1/2s, 2019   4,000   4,630 
Bunge, Ltd. Finance Corp. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4.1s, 2016   41,000   41,212 
Cargill, Inc. 144A sr. unsec. notes 4.1s, 2042   65,000   59,650 
CEC Entertainment, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 8s, 2022   20,000   18,900 
ConAgra Foods, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 7s, 2019   115,000   129,277 

 

18   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Consumer staples cont.     
Constellation Brands, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 4 1/4s, 2023   $4,000   $3,985 
Constellation Brands, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 7 1/4s, 2016   20,000   20,700 
Constellation Brands, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6s, 2022   10,000   11,000 
Corrections Corp. of America company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 4 5/8s, 2023 R   24,000   23,160 
Corrections Corp. of America company     
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 4 1/8s, 2020 R   4,000   3,960 
CVS Health Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 2 1/4s, 2018   130,000   130,627 
CVS Health Corp. 144A sr. unsec.     
sub. notes 4 3/4s, 2022   40,000   42,860 
CVS Pass-Through Trust sr. notes 6.036s, 2028   3,686   4,062 
CVS Pass-Through Trust 144A sr. mtge.     
notes 4.704s, 2036   47,398   47,889 
Dean Foods Co. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.     
notes 6 1/2s, 2023   15,000   15,563 
Diageo Capital PLC company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 1 1/2s, 2017 (United Kingdom)   29,000   28,985 
Diageo Investment Corp. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 8s, 2022   40,000   50,717 
Elizabeth Arden, Inc. sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 7 3/8s, 2021   28,000   17,920 
ERAC USA Finance, LLC 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 7s, 2037   50,000   60,935 
ERAC USA Finance, LLC 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 5/8s, 2042   60,000   64,395 
ERAC USA Finance, LLC 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 3.85s, 2024   23,000   23,009 
JBS USA, LLC/JBS USA Finance, Inc. 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 7 1/4s, 2021 (Brazil)   10,000   9,925 
JBS USA, LLC/JBS USA Finance, Inc. 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 7 1/4s, 2021 (Brazil)   5,000   4,963 
JBS USA, LLC/JBS USA Finance, Inc. 144A     
sr. unsec. notes 8 1/4s, 2020 (Brazil)   7,000   7,000 
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes Ser. 144A, 6 7/8s, 2039   15,000   17,778 
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6 1/2s, 2040   70,000   81,253 
Kroger Co. (The) company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 6.9s, 2038   85,000   105,022 
Landry’s Holdings II, Inc. 144A sr. unsec.     
notes 10 1/4s, 2018   5,000   4,988 
Landry’s, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.     
sub. notes 9 3/8s, 2020   32,000   33,680 
McDonald’s Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6.3s, 2037   51,000   60,038 
McDonald’s Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5.7s, 2039   59,000   64,163 
PepsiCo, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 7.9s, 2018   58,000   67,962 
Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 3/4s, 2025   10,000   9,725 
Prestige Brands, Inc. 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 3/8s, 2021   12,000   11,490 
Revlon Consumer Products Corp. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 5 3/4s, 2021   23,000   22,253 
Rite Aid Corp. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 6 1/8s, 2023   20,000   20,700 
United Rentals North America, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 7 5/8s, 2022   12,000   12,824 
United Rentals North America, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6 1/8s, 2023   12,000   12,270 

 

CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Consumer staples cont.       
Vander Intermediate Holding II Corp. 144A       
sr. unsec. notes 9 3/4s, 2019 ‡‡     $15,000   $9,750 
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 3.3s, 2021     60,000   58,779 
WhiteWave Foods Co. (The) company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 3/8s, 2022     5,000   5,288 
      1,932,495 
Energy (1.2%)       
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. sr. unsec. notes 6.45s, 2036   10,000   9,639 
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. sr. unsec. notes 5.95s, 2016   11,000   11,267 
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. sr. unsec.       
unsub. bonds 6.95s, 2019     30,000   32,770 
Antero Resources Corp. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 5 1/8s, 2022     13,000   9,880 
Antero Resources Corp. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 5/8s, 2023     10,000   7,800 
Antero Resources Finance Corp. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 5 3/8s, 2021     13,000   10,400 
Apache Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5.1s, 2040     5,000   4,271 
Apache Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 3 1/4s, 2022   44,000   41,907 
Archrock Partners, LP/Archrock Partners       
Finance Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 6s, 2022     27,000   22,005 
Baytex Energy Corp. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 5 5/8s, 2024       
(Canada)     10,000   6,700 
BP Capital Markets PLC company guaranty       
sr. unsec. unsub. notes 3.2s, 2016 (United Kingdom)   145,000   145,657 
BP Capital Markets PLC company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 1.846s, 2017       
(United Kingdom)     130,000   130,623 
California Resources Corp. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 6s, 2024     9,000   2,745 
California Resources Corp. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 5s, 2020     5,000   1,781 
California Resources Corp. 144A company       
guaranty notes 8s, 2022     32,000   16,840 
Canadian Natural Resources, Ltd. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5.7s, 2017 (Canada)     235,000   240,019 
Chesapeake Energy Corp. 144A company       
guaranty notes 8s, 2022     15,000   7,350 
Chesapeake Oilfield Operating, LLC/Chesapeake       
Oilfield Finance, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6 5/8s, 2019     20,000   7,000 
Concho Resources, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 1/2s, 2022     23,000   21,850 
Concho Resources, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 1/2s, 2023     17,000   15,598 
Concho Resources, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 1/2s, 2022     10,000   9,100 
ConocoPhillips Co. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 1.05s, 2017     130,000   127,643 
CONSOL Energy, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
notes 5 7/8s, 2022     10,000   6,200 
DCP Midstream Operating LP company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 2.7s, 2019     10,000   8,101 
Denbury Resources, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 6 3/8s, 2021     4,000   1,440 
Denbury Resources, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 5 1/2s, 2022     5,000   1,650 
Ecopetrol SA sr. unsec. unsub. bonds 4 1/8s,       
2025 (Colombia)     25,000   20,000 

 

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   19 

 


CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Energy cont.       
EQT Midstream Partners LP company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 4s, 2024     $10,000   $8,244 
EXCO Resources, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
notes 7 1/2s, 2018     10,000   2,800 
Freeport-McMoran Oil & Gas, LLC/FCX Oil &       
Gas, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 6 3/4s, 2022     15,000   9,225 
Freeport-McMoran Oil & Gas, LLC/FCX Oil &       
Gas, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 6 7/8s, 2023     9,000   5,670 
Gulfport Energy Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 6 5/8s, 2023     10,000   8,350 
Halcon Resources Corp. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 9 3/4s, 2020     4,000   1,160 
Halcon Resources Corp. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 8 7/8s, 2021     38,000   11,020 
Halcon Resources Corp. 144A company       
guaranty notes 8 5/8s, 2020     10,000   6,850 
Hess Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 7.3s, 2031     30,000   29,785 
Hiland Partners LP/Hiland Partners Finance Corp.       
144A company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 7 1/4s, 2020   14,000   14,140 
Hiland Partners LP/Hiland Partners Finance Corp.       
144A company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 5 1/2s, 2022     4,000   3,810 
Hilcorp Energy I LP/Hilcorp Finance Co. 144A       
sr. unsec. notes 5s, 2024     5,000   4,150 
Kerr-McGee Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 7 7/8s, 2031     10,000   10,789 
Key Energy Services, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6 3/4s, 2021     24,000   6,030 
Lightstream Resources, Ltd. 144A sr. unsec.       
notes 8 5/8s, 2020 (Canada)     18,000   4,050 
Linn Energy, LLC/Linn Energy Finance Corp.       
company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 1/2s, 2021     10,000   1,350 
Linn Energy, LLC/Linn Energy Finance Corp.       
company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 1/4s, 2019     6,000   990 
Linn Energy, LLC/Linn Energy Finance Corp. 144A     
company guaranty notes 12s, 2020     15,000   7,500 
Lone Pine Resources Canada, Ltd. escrow company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 10 3/8s, 2017 (Canada) F   20,000   1 
Marathon Petroleum Corp. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 6 1/2s, 2041     25,000   25,014 
Milagro Oil & Gas, Inc. company       
guaranty notes 10 1/2s, 2016 (In default) †     45,000   13,725 
Motiva Enterprises, LLC 144A sr. unsec.       
notes 5 3/4s, 2020     55,000   59,208 
Newfield Exploration Co. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 3/4s, 2022     35,000   30,800 
Newfield Exploration Co. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 3/8s, 2026     10,000   8,275 
Noble Holding International, Ltd. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6.05s, 2041     85,000   50,814 
Oasis Petroleum, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
sub. notes 6 7/8s, 2023     10,000   6,200 
Oasis Petroleum, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 6 7/8s, 2022     30,000   19,200 
Petroleos de Venezuela SA sr. unsec.       
notes 5 1/8s, 2016 (Venezuela)     25,000   17,125 
Petroleos de Venezuela SA 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 8 1/2s, 2017 (Venezuela)   82,000   42,845 
Petroleos de Venezuela SA 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6s, 2026 (Venezuela)     40,000   14,700 

 

CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Energy cont.       
Petroleos Mexicanos company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 6 3/8s, 2045 (Mexico)     $80,000   $67,710 
Petroleos Mexicanos company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 4 7/8s, 2024 (Mexico)     80,000   74,600 
Petroleos Mexicanos 144A company guaranty       
sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 5/8s, 2046 (Mexico)     25,000   19,163 
Petroleos Mexicanos 144A company guaranty       
sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4 1/2s, 2026 (Mexico)     10,000   8,856 
Rose Rock Midstream LP/Rose Rock Finance Corp.     
company guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 5 5/8s, 2022   5,000   3,550 
Rose Rock Midstream LP/Rose Rock Finance Corp.     
144A company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 5/8s, 2023   10,000   7,100 
Sabine Pass LNG LP company       
guaranty sr. sub. notes 6 1/2s, 2020     7,000   6,790 
Samson Investment Co. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
notes 9 3/4s, 2020 (In default) †     43,000   86 
SandRidge Energy, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty notes 8 3/4s, 2020     20,000   6,075 
Seven Generations Energy, Ltd. 144A sr. unsec.       
bonds 6 3/4s, 2023 (Canada)     10,000   8,400 
Seven Generations Energy, Ltd. 144A sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 8 1/4s, 2020 (Canada)     19,000   17,100 
Seventy Seven Energy, Inc. sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 6 1/2s, 2022     5,000   775 
Shell International Finance BV company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5.2s,       
2017 (Netherlands)     105,000   109,978 
SM Energy Co. sr. unsec. notes 6 1/2s, 2021     7,000   5,215 
SM Energy Co. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6 1/2s, 2023   3,000   2,198 
Statoil ASA company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 5.1s, 2040 (Norway)     40,000   42,212 
Tervita Corp. 144A sr. unsec. notes 10 7/8s,       
2018 (Canada)     4,000   940 
Triangle USA Petroleum Corp. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 3/4s, 2022     5,000   1,525 
Unit Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 6 5/8s, 2021     14,000   10,045 
Whiting Petroleum Corp. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 3/4s, 2021     34,000   24,820 
Williams Cos., Inc. (The) sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 4.55s, 2024     45,000   31,256 
Williams Cos., Inc. (The) sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 7 7/8s, 2021     3,000   2,700 
Williams Cos., Inc. (The) sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 7 3/4s, 2031     1,000   708 
Williams Partners LP sr. unsec. sub. notes 5.4s, 2044   15,000   10,065 
Williams Partners LP sr. unsec. sub. notes 4.3s, 2024   15,000   11,892 
Williams Partners LP/ACMP Finance Corp. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6 1/8s, 2022     7,000   6,622 
Williams Partners LP/ACMP Finance Corp.       
sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4 7/8s, 2023     22,000   17,710 
WPX Energy, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6s, 2022   7,000   4,900 
      1,847,047 
Financials (4.9%)       
Abbey National Treasury Services PLC/United       
Kingdom company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 1 3/8s, 2017 (United Kingdom)     140,000   139,363 
Aflac, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6.9s, 2039     45,000   58,140 
Air Lease Corp. sr. unsec. notes 3 3/4s, 2022     10,000   9,822 
Alliance Data Systems Corp. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 3/8s, 2022     15,000   14,288 

 

20   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Financials cont.       
Ally Financial, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 8s, 2031     $24,000   $27,720 
Ally Financial, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 8s, 2020     13,000   14,820 
Ally Financial, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 7 1/2s, 2020     10,000   11,313 
Ally Financial, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 6 1/4s, 2017     17,000   17,829 
Ally Financial, Inc. sub. unsec. notes 5 3/4s, 2025     20,000   20,250 
Ally Financial, Inc. unsec. sub. notes 8s, 2018     14,000   15,330 
American Express Co. jr. unsec. sub. FRN Ser. C,       
4.9s, perpetual maturity     10,000   9,501 
American Express Co. sr. unsec. notes 7s, 2018     83,000   92,046 
American Express Co. sr. unsec. notes 6.15s, 2017   49,000   52,460 
American International Group, Inc. jr. unsec.       
sub. FRB 8.175s, 2058     56,000   73,640 
ARC Properties Operating Partnership LP/Clark       
Acquisition, LLC company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 4.6s, 2024 R     50,000   47,375 
AXA SA 144A jr. unsec. sub. FRN 6.463s, perpetual     
maturity (France)     85,000   86,870 
Bank of America Corp. jr. unsec. sub. FRN       
Ser. AA, 6.1s, perpetual maturity     95,000   95,475 
Bank of America Corp. jr. unsec. sub. FRN Ser. Z,       
6 1/2s, perpetual maturity     5,000   5,269 
Bank of America Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 2s, 2018   128,000   127,837 
Bank of Montreal sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes Ser. MTN, 2 1/2s, 2017 (Canada)     128,000   129,526 
Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (The) sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 1.969s, 2017     105,000   105,838 
Bank of Nova Scotia (The) sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 1 3/8s, 2017 (Canada)     130,000   129,376 
Barclays Bank PLC 144A unsec. sub. notes 10.179s,     
2021 (United Kingdom)     95,000   123,157 
BBVA International Preferred SAU company       
guaranty jr. unsec. sub. FRB 5.919s, perpetual       
maturity (Spain)     95,000   95,950 
Bear Stearns Cos., LLC (The) sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 7 1/4s, 2018     22,000   24,268 
Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corp. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 4.3s, 2043     29,000   28,453 
BNP Paribas SA company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. bonds Ser. MTN, 1 3/8s, 2017 (France)     140,000   139,770 
BNP Paribas SA sr. unsec. notes Ser. MTN, 2 3/8s,       
2017 (France)     40,000   40,411 
Camden Property Trust sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 4 7/8s, 2023 R     65,000   70,016 
Cantor Fitzgerald LP 144A unsec. notes 6 1/2s, 2022   55,000   57,226 
CBRE Services, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 5 1/4s, 2025     5,000   5,065 
CBRE Services, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5s, 2023     13,000   13,066 
CIT Group, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 3 7/8s, 2019     7,000   6,965 
CIT Group, Inc. sr. unsec. sub. notes 5s, 2023     10,000   10,150 
CIT Group, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 3/8s, 2020   14,000   14,665 
CIT Group, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 1/4s, 2018   13,000   13,423 
CIT Group, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5s, 2022     17,000   17,457 
CIT Group, Inc. 144A sr. unsec. notes 6 5/8s, 2018   24,000   25,320 
CIT Group, Inc. 144A sr. unsec. notes 5 1/2s, 2019   17,000   17,765 
Citigroup, Inc. jr. unsec. sub. FRB Ser. P,       
5.95s, perpetual maturity     20,000   19,250 

 

CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Financials cont.     
Citigroup, Inc. jr. unsec. sub. FRN 5 7/8s,     
perpetual maturity   $9,000   $8,921 
CNO Financial Group, Inc. sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 5 1/4s, 2025   30,000   30,525 
CNO Financial Group, Inc. sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 4 1/2s, 2020   10,000   10,200 
Community Choice Financial, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. sub. notes 10 3/4s, 2019   10,000   2,625 
Cooperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank     
BA/Netherlands (Rabobank Nederland) company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 3 3/8s, 2017 (Netherlands)   116,000   118,579 
Credit Acceptance Corp. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 1/8s, 2021   13,000   12,740 
Credit Acceptance Corp. 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 7 3/8s, 2023   5,000   4,975 
DDR Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 7 7/8s, 2020 R   25,000   29,921 
Deutsche Bank AG/London sr. unsec. notes 6s, 2017     
(United Kingdom)   128,000   135,575 
DFC Finance Corp. 144A company     
guaranty sr. notes 10 1/2s, 2020   15,000   8,850 
Duke Realty LP company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 4 3/8s, 2022 R   32,000   32,976 
E*Trade Financial Corp. sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 5 3/8s, 2022   10,000   10,475 
E*Trade Financial Corp. sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 4 5/8s, 2023   10,000   10,125 
EPR Properties company guaranty sr. unsec.     
sub. notes 5 1/4s, 2023 R   65,000   66,233 
Fairfax US, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.     
notes 4 7/8s, 2024   30,000   28,913 
Fifth Third Bancorp jr. unsec. sub. FRB 5.1s,     
perpetual maturity   20,000   17,875 
Five Corners Funding Trust 144A sr. unsec.     
bonds 4.419s, 2023   135,000   140,675 
GE Capital International Funding Co. 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 4.418s, 2035 (Ireland)   202,000   206,137 
GE Capital Trust I company guaranty unsec.     
sub. FRB 6 3/8s, 2067   135,000   140,316 
General Electric Capital Corp. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 3/4s, 2032   59,000   77,090 
General Electric Capital Corp. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes Ser. MTN, 5.4s, 2017   129,000   134,862 
Genworth Holdings, Inc. company guaranty jr.     
unsec. sub. FRN 6.15s, 2066   65,000   17,550 
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) sr. unsec.     
notes 7 1/2s, 2019   170,000   193,956 
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes Ser. GLOB, 2 3/8s, 2018   130,000   131,123 
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) unsec.     
sub. notes 6 3/4s, 2037   24,000   28,081 
Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (The)     
sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 1/8s, 2022   35,000   38,353 
HCP, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 4 1/4s, 2023 R   70,000   70,098 
Healthcare Realty Trust, Inc. sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 3 7/8s, 2025 R   30,000   29,016 
Hospitality Properties Trust sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 4 1/2s, 2025 R   5,000   4,800 
HSBC Finance Corp. unsec. sub. notes 6.676s, 2021   146,000   167,561 
Hub Holdings, LLC/Hub Holdings Finance, Inc. 144A     
sr. unsec. sub. notes 8 1/8s, 2019 ‡‡   5,000   4,675 
HUB International, Ltd. 144A sr. unsec.     
notes 7 7/8s, 2021   20,000   18,000 

 

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   21 

 


CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Financials cont.       
Icahn Enterprises LP/Icahn Enterprises       
Finance Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 6s, 2020     $30,000   $30,252 
Icahn Enterprises LP/Icahn Enterprises       
Finance Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 5 7/8s, 2022     17,000   16,618 
ING Bank NV 144A unsec. sub. notes 5.8s,       
2023 (Netherlands)     200,000   217,942 
International Lease Finance Corp. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 6 1/4s, 2019     4,000   4,285 
International Lease Finance Corp. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 7/8s, 2022     14,000   15,015 
JPMorgan Chase & Co. jr. unsec. sub. FRN 7.9s,       
perpetual maturity     90,000   91,620 
JPMorgan Chase & Co. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 2s, 2017   130,000   130,441 
KKR Group Finance Co. III, LLC 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. bonds 5 1/8s, 2044     30,000   29,381 
Liberty Mutual Group, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty jr. unsec. sub. bonds 7.8s, 2037     55,000   62,700 
Lloyds Banking Group PLC 144A jr. unsec. sub. FRN     
6.657s, perpetual maturity (United Kingdom)     25,000   28,000 
Macquarie Bank, Ltd. 144A sr. unsec. notes 2.85s,     
2020 (Australia)     40,000   40,173 
Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. unsec.       
sub. notes 6.11s, 2037     195,000   221,627 
MetLife, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6 3/4s, 2016     130,000   132,978 
Mid-America Apartments LP sr. unsec. notes       
4.3s, 2023 R     75,000   76,917 
Morgan Stanley sr. unsec. unsub. bonds 4 3/4s, 2017   98,000   101,510 
MPT Operating Partnership LP/MPT Finance Corp.     
company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 3/8s, 2022 R   45,000   45,956 
MPT Operating Partnership LP/MPT Finance Corp.     
company guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 6 7/8s, 2021 R   10,000   10,375 
Nationstar Mortgage, LLC/Nationstar Capital Corp.     
company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 7 7/8s, 2020   30,000   28,710 
Nationstar Mortgage, LLC/Nationstar Capital Corp.     
company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6 1/2s, 2021   15,000   13,275 
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. 144A unsec.       
sub. notes 8 1/4s, 2031     45,000   58,420 
Neuberger Berman Group, LLC/Neuberger Berman     
Finance Corp. 144A sr. unsec. notes 5 7/8s, 2022     30,000   31,200 
Neuberger Berman Group, LLC/Neuberger Berman     
Finance Corp. 144A sr. unsec. notes 4 7/8s, 2045     30,000   25,575 
Ocwen Financial Corp. sr. unsec. notes 6 5/8s, 2019   10,000   8,800 
OneAmerica Financial Partners, Inc. 144A       
sr. unsec. notes 7s, 2033     90,000   97,483 
OneMain Financial Holdings, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 6 3/4s, 2019     15,000   15,206 
OneMain Financial Holdings, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 7 1/4s, 2021     10,000   10,050 
Peachtree Corners Funding Trust 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. bonds 3.976s, 2025     105,000   104,242 
PHH Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 7 3/8s, 2019     8,000   7,930 
PHH Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6 3/8s, 2021     14,000   12,740 
Primerica, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 4 3/4s, 2022     63,000   66,973 
Progressive Corp. (The) jr. unsec. sub. FRN 6.7s, 2037   65,000   64,838 
Provident Funding Associates LP/PFG Finance Corp.     
144A company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 3/4s, 2021   20,000   19,350 
Prudential Financial, Inc. jr. unsec. sub. FRN       
8 7/8s, 2038     30,000   33,750 

 

CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Financials cont.       
Prudential Financial, Inc. jr. unsec. sub. FRN       
5 5/8s, 2043     $71,000   $72,065 
Prudential Financial, Inc. jr. unsec. sub. FRN       
5.2s, 2044     25,000   24,188 
Realty Income Corp. sr. unsec. notes 4.65s, 2023 R   25,000   25,994 
Royal Bank of Canada sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes Ser. GMTN, 2.2s, 2018 (Canada)     130,000   131,050 
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC unsec.       
sub. bonds 5 1/8s, 2024 (United Kingdom)     125,000   126,644 
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC unsec.       
sub. notes 4.7s, 2018 (United Kingdom)     115,000   119,374 
Santander Holdings USA, Inc. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 4 5/8s, 2016     21,000   21,201 
Select Income REIT sr. unsec. unsub. notes 3.6s, 2020 R   10,000   10,069 
Select Income REIT sr. unsec. unsub. notes 2.85s, 2018 R   10,000   9,986 
Simon Property Group LP sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 3 3/8s, 2022 R     10,000   10,310 
Simon Property Group LP 144A sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 1 1/2s, 2018 R     118,000   117,033 
Springleaf Finance Corp. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 7 3/4s, 2021     10,000   9,850 
Springleaf Finance Corp. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6s, 2020     7,000   6,650 
Springleaf Finance Corp. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 1/4s, 2019     5,000   4,750 
Standard Chartered Bank 144A unsec.       
sub. notes 8s, 2031 (United Kingdom)     115,000   142,401 
State Street Capital Trust IV company       
guaranty jr. unsec. sub. FRB 1.512s, 2037     75,000   60,844 
Swiss Re Treasury US Corp. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 4 1/4s, 2042     90,000   85,011 
TMX Finance, LLC/TitleMax Finance Corp. 144A       
company guaranty sr. notes 8 1/2s, 2018     5,000   3,725 
Travelers Property Casualty Corp. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. bonds 7 3/4s, 2026     40,000   52,370 
Tri Pointe Holdings, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 7/8s, 2024     10,000   9,725 
Vnesheconombank Via VEB Finance PLC 144A       
sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6.8s, 2025 (Russia)     300,000   290,250 
VTB Bank OJSC Via VTB Capital SA 144A sr. unsec.     
notes 6 7/8s, 2018 (Russia)     192,000   200,170 
Wachovia Corp. sr. unsec. notes 5 3/4s, 2017     20,000   21,172 
Walter Investment Management Corp. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 7 7/8s, 2021     13,000   10,270 
Wayne Merger Sub, LLC 144A sr. unsec.       
notes 8 1/4s, 2023     10,000   9,400 
Wells Fargo & Co. jr. unsec. sub. FRB Ser. U,       
5 7/8s, perpetual maturity     10,000   10,450 
Wells Fargo & Co. sr. unsec. notes 2.1s, 2017     128,000   129,270 
Westpac Banking Corp. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 4 7/8s, 2019 (Australia)     80,000   87,315 
WP Carey, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4.6s, 2024 R   30,000   29,927 
ZFS Finance USA Trust V 144A jr. unsec. sub. FRB       
6 1/2s, 2037     5,000   5,081 
      7,629,143 
Health care (1.1%)       
AbbVie, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 2.9s, 2022     80,000   77,317 
AbbVie, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 1 3/4s, 2017     116,000   115,775 
Acadia Healthcare Co., Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 6 1/8s, 2021     35,000   35,525 
Acadia Healthcare Co., Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 5 1/8s, 2022     15,000   14,025 

 

22   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Health care cont.       
Actavis Funding SCS company guaranty sr. unsec.     
notes 4 3/4s, 2045 (Luxembourg)     $53,000   $51,677 
Actavis Funding SCS company guaranty sr. unsec.     
notes 3.45s, 2022 (Luxembourg)     26,000   26,028 
Aetna, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 6 3/4s, 2037     38,000   47,843 
AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 7 7/8s, 2023     15,000   13,200 
Amgen, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 3.45s, 2020     125,000   128,698 
Amgen, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 2 1/8s, 2017     130,000   130,793 
AstraZeneca PLC sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6.45s,       
2037 (United Kingdom)     36,000   44,947 
AstraZeneca PLC sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5.9s,       
2017 (United Kingdom)     130,000   139,235 
Centene Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4 3/4s, 2022   20,000   19,350 
CHS/Community Health Systems, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. notes 5 1/8s, 2021     3,000   2,985 
CHS/Community Health Systems, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. sub. notes 5 1/8s, 2018     3,000   3,015 
CHS/Community Health Systems, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 7/8s, 2022     3,000   2,846 
Cigna Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4 1/2s, 2021     80,000   84,906 
Concordia Healthcare Corp. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 7s, 2023 (Canada)     15,000   13,013 
Crimson Merger Sub, Inc. 144A sr. unsec.       
notes 6 5/8s, 2022     23,000   15,755 
DPx Holdings BV 144A sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 7 1/2s, 2022 (Netherlands)     33,000   32,175 
Endo Finance, LLC 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 3/4s, 2022     17,000   16,490 
Endo Finance, LLC/Endo Finco, Inc. 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 7/8s, 2023     10,000   9,750 
Halyard Health, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 6 1/4s, 2022     15,000   14,925 
HCA, Inc. company guaranty sr. notes 6 1/2s, 2020   52,000   56,680 
HCA, Inc. company guaranty sr. sub. notes 5s, 2024   25,000   24,938 
HCA, Inc. company guaranty sr. sub. notes 3 3/4s, 2019   10,000   10,100 
HCA, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 7 1/2s, 2022     4,000   4,420 
HCA, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 3/8s, 2025     5,000   4,938 
Jaguar Holding Co. II/Pharmaceutical Product       
Development, LLC 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 3/8s, 2023     15,000   14,625 
JLL/Delta Dutch Pledgeco BV 144A sr. unsec.       
notes 8 3/4s, 2020 (Netherlands) ‡‡     10,000   9,650 
Kinetic Concepts, Inc./KCI USA, Inc. company       
guaranty sub. notes 10 1/2s, 2018     25,000   24,375 
Mallinckrodt International Finance       
SA/Mallinckrodt CB, LLC 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 1/2s, 2025       
(Luxembourg)     10,000   9,200 
MEDNAX, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 1/4s, 2023     5,000   5,025 
Molina Healthcare, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 3/8s, 2022     10,000   10,000 
Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 4 1/2s, 2027 R     75,000   71,250 
Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4.95s, 2024 R     45,000   45,447 
Service Corp. International/US sr. unsec.       
notes 5 3/8s, 2022     14,000   14,595 

 

CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Health care cont.       
Service Corp. International/US sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 3/8s, 2024     $33,000   $33,990 
Sterigenics-Nordion Holdings, LLC 144A sr. unsec.     
notes 6 1/2s, 2023     10,000   9,550 
Tenet Healthcare Corp. company       
guaranty sr. bonds 4 1/2s, 2021     7,000   6,825 
Tenet Healthcare Corp. company       
guaranty sr. bonds 4 3/8s, 2021     9,000   8,685 
Tenet Healthcare Corp. company       
guaranty sr. notes 6 1/4s, 2018     24,000   25,260 
Tenet Healthcare Corp. company       
guaranty sr. notes 4 3/4s, 2020     3,000   3,015 
Tenet Healthcare Corp. company       
guaranty sr. sub. notes 6s, 2020     20,000   21,050 
Tenet Healthcare Corp. 144A company       
guaranty sr. FRN 4.012s, 2020     15,000   14,625 
UnitedHealth Group, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 6s, 2018   58,000   63,082 
UnitedHealth Group, Inc. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 3.95s, 2042     90,000   83,805 
UnitedHealth Group, Inc. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 2 3/4s, 2023     90,000   88,089 
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. 144A       
company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 7s, 2020     3,000   2,993 
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. 144A       
company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 3/8s, 2020     3,000   2,895 
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. 144A       
company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 1/8s, 2025     15,000   13,388 
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. 144A       
company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 7/8s, 2023     15,000   13,388 
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. 144A       
company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 1/2s, 2023     5,000   4,400 
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. 144A       
company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 3/8s, 2020     15,000   14,100 
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 5 3/4s, 2020     22,000   22,660 
      1,777,316 
Technology (0.9%)       
ACI Worldwide, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 6 3/8s, 2020     25,000   25,750 
Apple, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 3.45s, 2024     40,000   41,453 
Apple, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 2.1s, 2019     5,000   5,060 
Apple, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4 3/8s, 2045     80,000   80,777 
Apple, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 3.85s, 2043     27,000   24,937 
Avaya, Inc. 144A company guaranty notes 10 1/2s, 2021   18,000   6,120 
Avaya, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. notes 7s, 2019   34,000   25,160 
Cisco Systems, Inc. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 3.15s, 2017     135,000   138,326 
CommScope Technologies Finance, LLC 144A       
sr. unsec. notes 6s, 2025     10,000   9,625 
eBay, Inc. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 1.35s, 2017     130,000   128,971 
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.       
company guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5s, 2022   17,000   17,669 
First Data Corp. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 7s, 2023     15,000   15,000 
First Data Corp. 144A notes 5 3/4s, 2024     15,000   14,775 
First Data Corp. 144A sr. notes 5 3/8s, 2023     15,000   15,075 
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. notes 6s, 2022     10,000   10,475 
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. notes 5s, 2021     9,000   9,203 

 

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   23 

 


CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Technology cont.       
Honeywell International, Inc. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 3/8s, 2041     $55,000   $65,365 
Honeywell International, Inc. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 4 1/4s, 2021     40,000   43,731 
IBM Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 1 7/8s, 2022     140,000   132,077 
Infor US, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. notes 5 3/4s, 2020     3,000   3,023 
Infor US, Inc. 144A company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 6 1/2s, 2022     35,000   29,575 
Intel Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 1.35s, 2017     130,000   130,173 
Iron Mountain, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 6s, 2023 R     14,000   14,490 
Iron Mountain, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6s, 2020 R     5,000   5,275 
Jabil Circuit, Inc. sr. unsec. sub. notes 8 1/4s, 2018   11,000   12,114 
Micron Technology, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 7/8s, 2022     25,000   24,313 
Micron Technology, Inc. 144A sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 1/4s, 2023     35,000   31,413 
Microsoft Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5.3s, 2041   25,000   28,775 
Microsoft Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4.2s, 2019   85,000   91,883 
Oracle Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 3/8s, 2040   35,000   38,936 
Oracle Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 2 1/2s, 2022   80,000   78,116 
Plantronics, Inc. 144A company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 1/2s, 2023     20,000   19,900 
Syniverse Holdings, Inc. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 9 1/8s, 2019     13,000   5,883 
Xerox Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 5 5/8s, 2019     21,000   22,487 
Zebra Technologies Corp. sr. unsec.       
unsub. bonds 7 1/4s, 2022     15,000   15,675 
      1,361,580 
Transportation (0.2%)       
Air Medical Merger Sub Corp. 144A sr. unsec.       
notes 6 3/8s, 2023     40,000   35,400 
Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC sr. unsec.       
notes 5.4s, 2041     35,000   38,066 
Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5 3/4s, 2040     35,000   39,417 
CSX Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4.1s, 2044     70,000   63,417 
Delta Air Lines, Inc. sr. notes Ser. A, 7 3/4s, 2019     35,395   39,731 
FedEx Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 2 5/8s, 2022     15,000   14,645 
United Airlines 2014-2 Class A Pass Through Trust     
sr. notes Ser. A, 3 3/4s, 2026     45,000   45,338 
United AirLines, Inc. pass-through certificates       
Ser. 07-A, 6.636s, 2022     12,357   13,098 
Watco Cos., LLC/Watco Finance Corp. 144A company     
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 3/8s, 2023     34,000   33,490 
      322,602 
Utilities and power (1.4%)       
AES Corp./Virginia (The) sr. unsec. notes 5 1/2s, 2025   35,000   30,800 
AES Corp./Virginia (The) sr. unsec. notes 4 7/8s, 2023   7,000   6,090 
AES Corp./Virginia (The) sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 7 3/8s, 2021     27,000   27,405 
Arizona Public Services Co. sr. unsec.       
notes 4 1/2s, 2042     15,000   15,422 
Beaver Valley II Funding Corp. sr. bonds 9s, 2017     1,000   1,060 
Calpine Corp. sr. unsec. sub. notes 5 3/4s, 2025     35,000   30,888 
Calpine Corp. 144A company guaranty sr. notes 6s, 2022   4,000   4,110 
Calpine Corp. 144A company       
guaranty sr. sub. notes 5 7/8s, 2024     3,000   3,075 

 

CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Utilities and power cont.       
Colorado Interstate Gas Co., LLC company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6.85s, 2037     $10,000   $8,705 
Commonwealth Edison Co. 1st mtge. bonds 5.9s, 2036   28,000   33,782 
Consolidated Edison Co. of New York, Inc.       
sr. unsec. notes 7 1/8s, 2018     83,000   94,751 
Consolidated Edison Co. of New York, Inc.       
sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4.2s, 2042     45,000   43,156 
DPL, Inc. sr. unsec. sub. notes 6 1/2s, 2016     5,000   5,000 
Duke Energy Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 2.15s, 2016   95,000   95,684 
Dynegy, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
notes 6 3/4s, 2019     35,000   32,900 
Electricite de France (EDF) 144A jr. unsec.       
sub. FRN 5 5/8s, perpetual maturity (France)     150,000   142,305 
Electricite de France (EDF) 144A jr. unsec.       
sub. FRN 5 1/4s, perpetual maturity (France)     290,000   274,050 
Electricite de France (EDF) 144A sr. unsec.       
notes 6.95s, 2039 (France)     20,000   24,568 
Electricite de France (EDF) 144A sr. unsec.       
notes 6 1/2s, 2019 (France)     60,000   67,114 
Energy Future Intermediate Holding Co., LLC/EFIH     
Finance, Inc. 144A notes 11 3/4s,       
2022 (In default) †     15,869   16,900 
Energy Transfer Equity LP company       
guaranty sr. notes 7 1/2s, 2020     13,000   12,025 
Energy Transfer Partners LP sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 6 1/2s, 2042     30,000   24,491 
Energy Transfer Partners LP sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 5.2s, 2022     25,000   23,183 
Enterprise Products Operating, LLC company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4.85s, 2042     80,000   63,959 
EP Energy, LLC/Everest Acquisition Finance, Inc.       
company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 7 3/4s, 2022     10,000   5,100 
EP Energy, LLC/Everest Acquisition Finance, Inc.       
company guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 3/8s, 2023     5,000   2,500 
EP Energy, LLC/Everest Acquisition Finance, Inc.       
company guaranty sr. unsec. sub. notes 9 3/8s, 2020   27,000   16,909 
FirstEnergy Corp. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4 1/4s, 2023   49,000   49,852 
GenOn Energy, Inc. sr. unsec. notes 9 1/2s, 2018     4,000   3,231 
GenOn Energy, Inc. sr. unsec. sub. notes 9 7/8s, 2020   23,000   17,020 
ITC Holdings Corp. 144A sr. unsec. notes 6.05s, 2018   35,000   37,768 
Kansas Gas and Electric Co. sr. bonds 5.647s, 2021   10,128   10,191 
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5.4s, 2044     12,000   9,069 
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 3 1/2s, 2021     80,000   72,873 
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP company       
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 3.45s, 2023     25,000   20,762 
Kinder Morgan, Inc./DE company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes Ser. GMTN, 7 3/4s, 2032   17,000   16,132 
MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. sr. unsec.       
unsub. bonds 6 1/8s, 2036     39,000   45,480 
MidAmerican Funding, LLC sr. bonds 6.927s, 2029   50,000   63,805 
Nevada Power Co. mtge. notes 7 1/8s, 2019     40,000   45,747 
NiSource Finance Corp. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 6 1/8s, 2022     25,000   28,616 
NRG Energy, Inc. company guaranty sr. unsec.       
sub. notes 7 7/8s, 2021     60,000   56,250 
NRG Yield Operating, LLC company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 5 3/8s, 2024     10,000   8,288 
NSTAR Electric Co. sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 2 3/8s, 2022 (Canada)     75,000   72,212 

 

24   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


CORPORATE BONDS AND NOTES (16.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Utilities and power cont.     
Oncor Electric Delivery Co., LLC sr. notes 4.1s, 2022   $25,000   $25,980 
Oncor Electric Delivery Co., LLC     
sr. notes 3 3/4s, 2045   75,000   62,335 
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. sr. unsec.     
bonds 6.05s, 2034   40,000   47,130 
Potomac Edison Co. (The) 144A sr. bonds 5.8s, 2016   76,000   77,909 
PPL Capital Funding, Inc. company     
guaranty sr. unsec. unsub. notes 4.2s, 2022   60,000   63,200 
Public Service Electric & Gas Co.     
sr. notes Ser. MTN, 5 1/2s, 2040   25,000   29,650 
Puget Sound Energy, Inc. jr. unsec. sub. FRN     
Ser. A, 6.974s, 2067   103,000   83,688 
Regency Energy Partners LP/Regency Energy     
Finance Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
notes 5s, 2022   10,000   8,859 
Regency Energy Partners LP/Regency Energy     
Finance Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 5 7/8s, 2022   14,000   13,196 
Regency Energy Partners LP/Regency Energy     
Finance Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 5 1/2s, 2023   13,000   11,689 
Regency Energy Partners LP/Regency Energy     
Finance Corp. company guaranty sr. unsec.     
unsub. notes 4 1/2s, 2023   9,000   7,786 
Southern Star Central Corp. 144A sr. unsec.     
notes 5 1/8s, 2022   20,000   16,500 
Texas Competitive Electric Holdings Co., LLC/TCEH     
Finance, Inc. 144A company     
guaranty sr. notes 11 1/2s, 2020 (In default) †   13,000   4,323 
TransCanada PipeLines, Ltd. jr. unsec. sub. FRN     
6.35s, 2067 (Canada)   30,000   22,650 
Union Electric Co. sr. notes 6.4s, 2017   50,000   53,413 
    2,191,536 
 
Total corporate bonds and notes (cost $26,588,186)   $25,901,921 
 
U.S. GOVERNMENT AND AGENCY     
MORTGAGE OBLIGATIONS (14.5%)*   Principal amount   Value 
 
U.S. Government Guaranteed Mortgage Obligations (3.2%)   
Government National Mortgage Association     
Pass-Through Certificates     
6 1/2s, with due dates from May 20, 2037     
to November 20, 2039   $607,571   $694,623 
3 1/2s, TBA, January 1, 2046   4,000,000   4,170,000 
    4,864,623 
U.S. Government Agency Mortgage Obligations (11.3%)   
Federal National Mortgage Association     
Pass-Through Certificates     
6s, TBA, January 1, 2046   2,000,000   2,260,312 
4 1/2s, TBA, January 1, 2046   1,000,000   1,080,000 
4s, TBA, January 1, 2046   5,000,000   5,289,844 
3s, TBA, February 1, 2046   3,000,000   2,993,320 
3s, TBA, January 1, 2046   3,000,000   2,999,297 
3s, TBA, January 1, 2031   3,000,000   3,090,469 
    17,713,242 
Total U.S. government and agency mortgage     
obligations (cost $22,549,093)     $22,577,865 

 

MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES (2.6%)*   Principal amount   Value 
 
Agency collateralized mortgage obligations (0.4%)     
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation     
IFB Ser. 3408, Class EK, 24.463s, 2037   $17,381   $27,283 
IFB Ser. 3072, Class SM, 22.585s, 2035   22,422   33,795 
IFB Ser. 3072, Class SB, 22.438s, 2035   20,777   31,292 
IFB Ser. 3249, Class PS, 21.184s, 2036   19,450   28,193 
IFB Ser. 3065, Class DC, 18.869s, 2035   43,822   64,124 
IFB Ser. 2990, Class LB, 16.101s, 2034   33,806   44,319 
Federal National Mortgage Association     
IFB Ser. 06-8, Class HP, 23.021s, 2036   32,133   50,303 
IFB Ser. 07-53, Class SP, 22.654s, 2037   28,343   44,127 
IFB Ser. 05-75, Class GS, 18.985s, 2035   13,578   18,552 
Ser. 06-46, Class OC, PO, zero %, 2036   10,691   9,078 
Government National Mortgage Association     
Ser. 10-9, Class UI, IO, 5s, 2040   131,035   25,591 
Ser. 13-14, IO, 3 1/2s, 2042   489,420   55,275 
Ser. 12-141, Class WI, IO, 3 1/2s, 2041   566,631   60,142 
Ser. 15-H26, Class DI, IO, 2.224s, 2065   325,571   39,401 
    531,475 
Commercial mortgage-backed securities (1.7%)     
Banc of America Commercial Mortgage Trust FRB     
Ser. 07-1, Class XW, IO, 0.33s, 2049   797,530   3,991 
Banc of America Commercial Mortgage Trust 144A     
FRB Ser. 07-5, Class XW, IO, 0.344s, 2051   1,774,541   9,899 
Banc of America Merrill Lynch Commercial     
Mortgage, Inc. 144A     
FRB Ser. 04-5, Class XC, IO, 0.428s, 2041   65,475   900 
FRB Ser. 04-4, Class XC, IO, 0.17s, 2042   137,724   60 
Bear Stearns Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust     
FRB Ser. 07-PW17, Class AJ, 5.882s, 2050   77,000   78,158 
FRB Ser. 04-PR3I, Class X1, IO, 0.279s, 2041   48,528   325 
Bear Stearns Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust     
144A FRB Ser. 06-PW14, Class X1, IO, 0.643s, 2038   1,172,214   16,481 
Capmark Mortgage Securities, Inc. FRB Ser. 97-C1,     
Class X, IO, 1.574s, 2029   25,559   920 
CD Commercial Mortgage Trust 144A FRB     
Ser. 07-CD4, Class XW, IO, 0.367s, 2049   1,064,318   7,046 
Citigroup Commercial Mortgage Trust FRB     
Ser. 06-C4, Class AJ, 5.811s, 2049   39,000   39,195 
Citigroup Commercial Mortgage Trust 144A FRB     
Ser. 06-C5, Class XC, IO, 0.551s, 2049   6,089,181   34,465 
COMM Mortgage Trust     
Ser. 07-C9, Class AJ, 5.65s, 2049   81,000   81,312 
FRB Ser. 05-LP5, Class D, 4.742s, 2043   69,224   69,156 
FRB Ser. 14-UBS6, Class C, 4.466s, 2047   61,000   57,539 
Ser. 13-CR13, Class AM, 4.449s, 2023   57,000   61,094 
FRB Ser. 14-CR18, Class XA, IO, 1.285s, 2047   383,134   25,823 
FRB Ser. 14-CR16, Class XA, IO, 1.249s, 2047   389,256   24,456 
FRB Ser. 14-CR17, Class XA, IO, 1.191s, 2047   748,030   46,850 
FRB Ser. 14-UBS6, Class XA, IO, 1.073s, 2047   1,007,003   62,160 
FRB Ser. 14-LC17, Class XA, IO, 1.015s, 2047   1,064,634   54,074 
FRB Ser. 13-CR13, Class XA, IO, 0.988s, 2023   676,849   31,257 
COMM Mortgage Trust 144A FRB Ser. 06-C8,     
Class XS, IO, 0.522s, 2046   5,157,357   15,962 
Credit Suisse Commercial Mortgage Trust 144A FRB     
Ser. 07-C2, Class AX, IO, 0.062s, 2049   6,075,152   9,113 
First Union National Bank-Bank of America, NA     
Commercial Mortgage Trust 144A FRB Ser. 01-C1,     
Class 3, IO, 1.931s, 2033   17,989   24 
GCCFC Commercial Mortgage Trust FRB Ser. 05-GG3,     
Class E, 5.087s, 2042   39,938   39,876 

 

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   25 

 


MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES (2.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Commercial mortgage-backed securities cont.     
GE Business Loan Trust 144A FRB Ser. 04-2,     
Class D, 3.081s, 2032   $10,286   $9,208 
GE Capital Commercial Mortgage Corp. 144A FRB     
Ser. 05-C3, Class XC, IO, 0.054s, 2045   942,335   — 
GE Capital Commercial Mortgage Corp. Trust FRB     
Ser. 06-C1, Class AJ, 5.459s, 2044   31,000   31,000 
GE Commercial Mortgage Corp. Trust 144A FRB     
Ser. 07-C1, Class XC, IO, 0.206s, 2049   6,953,308   20,264 
GMAC Commercial Mortgage Securities, Inc. Trust     
144A FRB Ser. 05-C1, Class X1, IO, 0.527s, 2043   398,655   796 
GS Mortgage Securities Trust 144A     
FRB Ser. 06-GG8, Class X, IO, 0.575s, 2039   7,607,403   8,368 
FRB Ser. 06-GG6, Class XC, IO, 0.025s, 2038   327,502   1 
JPMorgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust   
FRB Ser. 06-LDP7, Class B, 5.909s, 2045   107,000   53,179 
FRB Ser. 05-LDP5, Class F, 5.522s, 2044   79,000   78,882 
Ser. 06-LDP8, Class B, 5.52s, 2045   32,000   31,869 
Ser. 06-LDP8, Class AJ, 5.48s, 2045   141,000   141,047 
FRB Ser. 13-C10, Class C, 4.156s, 2047   83,000   78,825 
FRB Ser. 06-LDP8, Class X, IO, 0.502s, 2045   1,172,458   2,820 
FRB Ser. 07-LDPX, Class X, IO, 0.279s, 2049   3,321,388   18,213 
JPMorgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities     
Trust 144A FRB Ser. 05-CB12, Class X1, IO,     
0.377s, 2037   284,884   1,118 
LB Commercial Mortgage Trust 144A     
Ser. 99-C1, Class G, 6.41s, 2031   12,703   13,186 
Ser. 98-C4, Class H, 5.6s, 2035   27,493   28,133 
LB-UBS Commercial Mortgage Trust     
Ser. 06-C7, Class A2, 5.3s, 2038   22,702   22,692 
Ser. 06-C1, Class AJ, 5.276s, 2041   39,000   39,312 
LB-UBS Commercial Mortgage Trust 144A     
FRB Ser. 06-C6, Class XCL, IO, 0.673s, 2039   8,071,591   30,585 
FRB Ser. 05-C5, Class XCL, IO, 0.331s, 2040   528,662   5,148 
FRB Ser. 05-C7, Class XCL, IO, 0.308s, 2040   152,797   1,387 
FRB Ser. 05-C2, Class XCL, IO, 0.195s, 2040   40,840   2 
Merrill Lynch Mortgage Trust FRB Ser. 07-C1,     
Class A3, 5.836s, 2050   12,771   12,761 
Merrill Lynch Mortgage Trust 144A     
FRB Ser. 04-KEY2, Class XC, IO, 0.468s, 2039   73,834   111 
FRB Ser. 05-MCP1, Class XC, IO, 0.028s, 2043   116,205   1 
Mezz Cap Commercial Mortgage Trust 144A     
FRB Ser. 05-C3, Class X, IO, 6.729s, 2044   6,690   86 
FRB Ser. 06-C4, Class X, IO, 5.96s, 2045   241,872   15,431 
ML-CFC Commercial Mortgage Trust     
FRB Ser. 06-2, Class AJ, 5.889s, 2046   27,000   27,251 
FRB Ser. 06-2, Class AM, 5.889s, 2046   46,000   46,581 
Morgan Stanley Bank of America Merrill Lynch Trust     
FRB Ser. 13-C11, Class C, 4.414s, 2046   112,000   115,601 
FRB Ser. 14-C17, Class XA, IO, 1.272s, 2047   483,644   32,312 
FRB Ser. 13-C12, Class XA, IO, 0.975s, 2046   778,190   32,591 
Morgan Stanley Bank of America Merrill Lynch     
Trust 144A FRB Ser. 12-C6, Class XA, IO, 2.08s, 2045   847,249   64,221 
Morgan Stanley Capital I Trust     
FRB Ser. 07-T27, Class AJ, 5.645s, 2042   25,000   25,073 
Ser. 07-IQ14, Class A2, 5.61s, 2049   40,150   40,126 
Ser. 07-HQ11, Class AJ, 5.508s, 2044   33,000   32,950 
Morgan Stanley Capital I Trust 144A FRB     
Ser. 11-C3, Class E, 5.178s, 2049   41,000   41,694 
Morgan Stanley Re-REMIC Trust 144A FRB     
Ser. 10-C30A, Class A3B, 5.246s, 2043   106,018   106,230 

 

MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES (2.6%)* cont.   Principal amount   Value 
 
Commercial mortgage-backed securities cont.     
UBS-Barclays Commercial Mortgage Trust 144A     
FRB Ser. 12-C3, Class C, 4.958s, 2049   $50,000   $51,997 
FRB Ser. 12-C4, Class XA, IO, 1.816s, 2045   236,794   20,333 
Wachovia Bank Commercial Mortgage Trust FRB     
Ser. 07-C34, IO, 0.302s, 2046   1,255,587   9,417 
Wachovia Bank Commercial Mortgage Trust 144A     
FRB Ser. 05-C18, Class XC, IO, 0.139s, 2042   141,007   14 
FRB Ser. 06-C26, Class XC, IO, 0.044s, 2045   1,288,627   168 
WF-RBS Commercial Mortgage Trust     
FRB Ser. 12-C7, Class C, 4.838s, 2045   53,000   54,632 
Ser. 14-C19, Class C, 4.646s, 2047   46,000   46,336 
Ser. 13-C12, Class AS, 3.56s, 2048   33,000   33,263 
WF-RBS Commercial Mortgage Trust 144A     
FRB Ser. 11-C5, Class E, 5.634s, 2044   100,000   103,982 
FRB Ser. 11-C2, Class D, 5.541s, 2044   108,000   113,411 
Ser. 11-C4, Class E, 5.265s, 2044   50,000   51,770 
FRB Ser. 13-C17, Class D, 5 1/8s, 2046   38,000   36,026 
FRB Ser. 13-C15, Class D, 4.48s, 2046   46,000   42,334 
FRB Ser. 12-C10, Class D, 4.454s, 2045   39,000   36,197 
Ser. 14-C19, Class D, 4.234s, 2047   15,000   12,592 
FRB Ser. 12-C9, Class XA, IO, 2.168s, 2045   558,896   51,268 
FRB Ser. 12-C10, Class XA, IO, 1.747s, 2045   585,046   48,044 
FRB Ser. 13-C12, Class XA, IO, 1.441s, 2048   603,441   40,333 
    2,731,308 
Residential mortgage-backed securities (non-agency) (0.5%)   
BCAP, LLC Trust 144A FRB Ser. 15-RR5, Class 2A3,     
1.313s, 2046   100,000   76,750 
Countrywide Alternative Loan Trust     
FRB Ser. 05-27, Class 2A2, 1.857s, 2035   26,985   21,960 
FRB Ser. 05-27, Class 1A1, 1.247s, 2035   68,292   55,218 
FRB Ser. 06-OA7, Class 1A2, 1.197s, 2046   210,442   167,659 
FRB Ser. 06-OC2, Class 2A3, 0.712s, 2036   33,236   29,747 
FRB Ser. 06-OA2, Class A5, 0.632s, 2046   66,245   50,015 
FRB Ser. 06-OA10, Class 4A1, 0.612s, 2046   181,452   136,430 
Countrywide Asset-Backed Certificates Trust FRB     
Ser. 05-2, Class M4, 1.487s, 2035   40,000   34,800 
CSMC Trust 144A FRB Ser. 09-14R, Class 4A10,     
2.842s, 2035   30,000   26,149 
Morgan Stanley Resecuritization Trust 144A FRB     
Ser. 15-R7, Class 2B, 2.616s, 2035   69,391   35,390 
Nomura Resecuritization Trust 144A FRB     
Ser. 15-1R, Class 6A9, 0.391s, 2047   100,000   60,000 
WaMu Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates Trust     
FRB Ser. 05-AR13, Class A1C3, 0.912s, 2045   81,770   66,897 
FRB Ser. 05-AR9, Class A1C3, 0.902s, 2045   88,403   80,446 
    841,461 
 
Total mortgage-backed securities (cost $4,032,768)   $4,104,244 
 
ASSET-BACKED SECURITIES (1.9%)*   Principal amount   Value 
 
Station Place Securitization Trust FRB Ser. 14-3,     
Class A, 1.056s, 2016   $1,765,000   $1,765,000 
Station Place Securitization Trust 144A FRB     
Ser. 14-2, Class A, 1.055s, 2016   1,193,000   1,193,000 
Total asset-backed securities (cost $2,958,000)     $2,958,000 

 

26   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


FOREIGN GOVERNMENT AND AGENCY       
BONDS AND NOTES (0.5%)*     Principal amount   Value 
 
Argentina (Republic of) sr. unsec. bonds 7s, 2017     
(Argentina)     $40,000   $40,750 
Argentina (Republic of) sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes Ser. LOC, 8.28s, 2033 (Argentina)   63,092   64,038 
Argentina (Republic of) sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes Ser. NY, 8.28s, 2033       
(Argentina) (In default) †     113,565   130,032 
Brazil (Federal Republic of) unsec. notes 10s,     
2021 (Brazil) (units)   BRL   805   161,970 
Russia (Federation of) 144A sr. unsec.       
unsub. bonds 5 5/8s, 2042 (Russia)     $200,000   188,700 
South Africa (Republic of) sr. unsec.       
unsub. notes 4.665s, 2024 (South Africa)     135,000   128,419 
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) sr. unsec.     
bonds 5 3/4s, 2016 (Venezuela)     35,000   31,206 
Total foreign government and agency bonds     
and notes (cost $953,611)       $745,115 
 
SENIOR LOANS (0.2%)* c     Principal amount   Value 
 
Avaya, Inc. bank term loan FRN Ser. B7, 6 1/4s, 2020   $19,822   $13,743 
Caesars Entertainment Operating Co., Inc. bank     
term loan FRN Ser. B6, 11 1/4s, 2017     143,527   125,347 
Caesars Entertainment Operating Co., Inc. bank     
term loan FRN Ser. B7, 10 3/4s, 2017     14,925   12,350 
Caesars Growth Properties Holdings, LLC bank term     
loan FRN 6 1/4s, 2021     49,250   42,971 
CPG International, Inc. bank term loan FRN       
Ser. B, 4 3/4s, 2020     14,835   13,871 
Gates Global, LLC/Gates Global Co. bank term loan     
FRN 4 1/4s, 2021     19,824   18,552 
Neiman Marcus Group, Ltd., Inc. bank term loan     
FRN 4 1/4s, 2020     24,414   21,550 
Texas Competitive Electric Holdings Co., LLC bank     
term loan FRN 4.676s, 2017     101,971   30,942 
Texas Competitive Electric Holdings Co., LLC bank     
term loan FRN 4.676s, 2017     1,047   318 
Total senior loans (cost $378,387)       $279,644 
 
PREFERRED STOCKS (0.1%)*     Shares   Value 
 
GMAC Capital Trust I Ser. 2, $2.031 cum. ARP   680   $17,245 
HSBC USA, Inc. $0.88 pfd.     4,020   88,762 
M/I Homes, Inc. Ser. A, $2.438 pfd.     880   22,378 
Total preferred stocks (cost $125,708)       $128,385 
 
INVESTMENT COMPANIES (—%)*     Shares   Value 
 
Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc.     1,150   $14,019 
Medley Capital Corp.     2,389   17,965 
Solar Capital, Ltd.     970   15,937 
Total investment companies (cost $57,107)     $47,921 
 
CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCKS (—%)*     Shares   Value 
 
EPR Properties Ser. C, $1.438 cv. pfd. R     1,280   $30,458 
Total convertible preferred stocks (cost $23,395)     $30,458 
 
CONVERTIBLE BONDS AND NOTES (—%)*     Principal amount   Value 
 
iStar, Inc. cv. sr. unsec. unsub. notes 3s, 2016 R   $10,000   $10,756 
Jazz US Holdings, Inc. cv. company       
guaranty sr. unsec. notes 8s, 2018     11,000   17,112 
Navistar International Corp. cv. sr. unsec.       
sub. bonds 4 1/2s, 2018     4,000   1,973 
Total convertible bonds and notes (cost $23,514)     $29,841 

 

WARRANTS (—%)* †  Expiration date   Strike price   Warrants   Value 
 
Gree Electric Appliances,         
Inc. of Zhuhai 144A (China)   6/24/16   $0.00   2,900   $9,981 
Wuliangye Yibin Co., Ltd.         
144A (China)   4/15/16   0.00   3,500   14,704 
Total warrants (cost $24,208)       $24,685 
 
    Principal amount/   
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (20.8%)*     shares   Value 
 
Federal Home Loan Banks unsec. discount       
notes 0.40%, February 3, 2016     $850,000   $849,823 
Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC 0.44% d   Shares   1,791,136   1,791,136 
Putnam Short Term Investment Fund 0.33% L   Shares  28,136,598  28,136,598 
U.S. Treasury Bills 0.07%, April 14, 2016 # §     $818,000   817,577 
U.S. Treasury Bills 0.07%, April 7, 2016 # §     143,000   142,944 
U.S. Treasury Bills 0.07%, January 7, 2016 §     231,000   230,999 
U.S. Treasury Bills 0.08%, February 18, 2016 #     42,000   41,994 
U.S. Treasury Bills 0.11%, April 21, 2016 §     23,000   22,986 
U.S. Treasury Bills 0.11%, January 14, 2016 #     165,000   164,995 
U.S. Treasury Bills 0.16%, February 11, 2016 #     218,000   217,970 
Total short-term investments (cost $32,417,174)     $32,417,022 
 
Total investments (cost $171,645,929)       $179,736,751 

 

Key to holding’s currency abbreviations

 

BRL  Brazilian Real 
CAD  Canadian Dollar 
USD / $  United States Dollar 

 

Key to holding’s abbreviations

 

ADR  American Depository Receipts: represents ownership of foreign securities on deposit with a custodian bank 
ARP  Adjustable Rate Preferred Stock: the rate shown is the current interest rate at the close of the reporting period 
FRB  Floating Rate Bonds: the rate shown is the current interest rate at the close of the reporting period 
FRN  Floating Rate Notes: the rate shown is the current interest rate or yield at the close of the reporting period 
GDR  Global Depository Receipts: represents ownership of foreign securities on deposit with a custodian bank 
IFB  Inverse Floating Rate Bonds, which are securities that pay interest rates that vary inversely to changes in the market interest rates. 
  As interest rates rise, inverse floaters produce less current income. The rate shown is the current interest rate at the close of the 
  reporting period. 
IO  Interest Only 
OJSC  Open Joint Stock Company 
PJSC  Public Joint Stock Company 
PO  Principal Only 
TBA  To Be Announced Commitments 

 

Notes to the fund’s portfolio

Unless noted otherwise, the notes to the fund’s portfolio are for the close of the fund’s reporting period, which ran from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015 (the reporting period). Within the following notes to the portfolio, references to “ASC  820” represent Accounting Standards Codification 820 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures and references to “OTC”, if any, represent over-the-counter.

* Percentages indicated are based on net assets of $156,118,046.

† This security is non-income-producing.

∆∆ This security is restricted with regard to public resale. The total fair value of this security and any other restricted securities (excluding 144A securities), if any, held at the close of the reporting period was $40,956, or less than 0.1% of net assets.

‡‡Income may be received in cash or additional securities at the discretion of the issuer.

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   27 

 


# This security, in part or in entirety, was pledged and segregated with the broker to cover margin requirements for futures contracts at the close of the reporting period.

§ This security, in part or in entirety, was pledged and segregated with the custodian for collateral on the initial margin on certain centrally cleared derivative contracts at the close of the reporting period.

c Senior loans are exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, but contain certain restrictions on resale and cannot be sold publicly. These loans pay interest at rates which adjust periodically. The interest rates shown for senior loans are the current interest rates at the close of the reporting period. Senior loans are also subject to mandatory and/or optional prepayment which cannot be predicted. As a result, the remaining maturity may be substantially less than the stated maturity shown (Notes 1 and 6).

d Affiliated company. See Note 1 to the financial statements regarding securities lending. The rate quoted in the security description is the annualized 7-day yield of the fund at the close of the reporting period.

F This security is valued at fair value following procedures approved by the Trustees. Securities may be classified as Level 2 or Level 3 for ASC 820 based on the securities’ valuation inputs. At the close of the reporting period, fair value pricing was also used for certain foreign securities in the portfolio (Note 1).

L Affiliated company (Note 5). The rate quoted in the security description is the annualized 7-day yield of the fund at the close of the reporting period.

R Real Estate Investment Trust.

S Security on loan, in part or in entirety, at the close of the reporting period (Note 1).

UR At the reporting period end, 100 shares owned by the fund were not formally entered on the company’s shareholder register, due to local restrictions on foreign ownership. While the fund has full title to these unregistered shares, these shares do not carry voting rights.

At the close of the reporting period, the fund maintained liquid assets totaling $39,271,580 to cover certain derivative contracts and delayed delivery securities.

Unless otherwise noted, the rates quoted in Short-term investments security descriptions represent the weighted average yield to maturity.

Debt obligations are considered secured unless otherwise indicated.

144A after the name of an issuer represents securities exempt from registration under Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. These securities may be resold in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers.

See Note 1 to the financial statements regarding TBA commitments.

The dates shown on debt obligations are the original maturity dates.

FORWARD CURRENCY CONTRACTS at 12/31/15 (aggregate face value $22,688,228)        Unrealized 
    Contract  Delivery    Aggregate   appreciation/ 
Counterparty  Currency  type  date  Value   face value   (depreciation) 
Bank of America N.A.             
  Australian Dollar  Sell  1/20/16  $80,463  $80,524  $61 
  Canadian Dollar  Sell  1/20/16  79,138  78,796  (342) 
  Euro  Sell  3/16/16  2,599,269  2,546,405  (52,864) 
  Mexican Peso  Buy  1/20/16  157,593  158,703  (1,110) 
  New Taiwan Dollar  Sell  2/17/16  5,808  5,856  48 
  New Zealand Dollar  Buy  1/20/16  83,164  78,571  4,593 
  New Zealand Dollar  Sell  1/20/16  79,474  78,544  (930) 
  Norwegian Krone  Sell  3/16/16  128,701  130,809  2,108 
  Swedish Krona  Buy  3/16/16  79,757  80,561  (804) 
Barclays Bank PLC             
  Australian Dollar  Sell  1/20/16  2,403  3,469  1,066 
  British Pound  Buy  3/16/16  76,667  78,856  (2,189) 
  Canadian Dollar  Sell  1/20/16  79,716  75,776  (3,940) 
  Euro  Sell  3/16/16  179,309  170,012  (9,297) 
  Hong Kong Dollar  Buy  2/17/16  181,573  181,565  8 
  Japanese Yen  Buy  2/17/16  267,277  266,820  457 
  Mexican Peso  Buy  1/20/16  146,459  147,326  (867) 
  New Zealand Dollar  Buy  1/20/16  145,827  134,867  10,960 
  Singapore Dollar  Buy  2/17/16  64,933  65,632  (699) 
  Swedish Krona  Buy  3/16/16  2,481  2,003  478 
  Swiss Franc  Sell  3/16/16  62,890  61,349  (1,541) 
Citibank, N.A.             
  British Pound  Buy  3/16/16  1,953,547  1,998,054  (44,507) 
  Canadian Dollar  Sell  1/20/16  451,267  464,755  13,488 
  Danish Krone  Sell  3/16/16  152,208  149,077  (3,131) 
  Euro  Sell  3/16/16  1,793,305  1,754,836  (38,469) 
  Japanese Yen  Sell  2/17/16  67,487  66,846  (641) 
  Mexican Peso  Buy  1/20/16  157,703  159,168  (1,465) 
  New Zealand Dollar  Buy  1/20/16  84,052  82,033  2,019 
  Singapore Dollar  Sell  2/17/16  157,190  157,203  13 

 

28   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


FORWARD CURRENCY CONTRACTS at 12/31/15 (aggregate face value $22,688,228) cont.      Unrealized 
    Contract  Delivery    Aggregate   appreciation/ 
Counterparty  Currency  type  date  Value   face value   (depreciation) 
Credit Suisse International             
  Australian Dollar  Buy  1/20/16  $116,799  $106,136  $10,663 
  British Pound  Sell  3/16/16  157,758  160,670  2,912 
  Canadian Dollar  Sell  1/20/16  83,691  79,090  (4,601) 
  Euro  Sell  3/16/16  102,447  91,988  (10,459) 
  Indian Rupee  Sell  2/17/16  5,696  4,502  (1,194) 
  Japanese Yen  Buy  2/17/16  122,863  122,639  224 
  New Taiwan Dollar  Sell  2/17/16  158,115  157,007  (1,108) 
  New Zealand Dollar  Buy  1/20/16  61,570  57,392  4,178 
  Norwegian Krone  Buy  3/16/16  55,782  58,222  (2,440) 
  Swiss Franc  Buy  3/16/16  426,507  416,312  10,195 
Deutsche Bank AG             
  Czech Koruna  Sell  3/16/16  154,556  151,469  (3,087) 
  Euro  Buy  3/16/16  473,040  462,836  10,204 
  Norwegian Krone  Sell  3/16/16  146,866  150,301  3,435 
Goldman Sachs International             
  Australian Dollar  Buy  1/20/16  2,112  2,034  78 
  Canadian Dollar  Buy  1/20/16  112,022  118,216  (6,194) 
  Euro  Buy  3/16/16  76,971  77,413  (442) 
  Japanese Yen  Buy  2/17/16  165,341  161,697  3,644 
  New Taiwan Dollar  Sell  2/17/16  158,115  157,966  (149) 
  Singapore Dollar  Sell  2/17/16  157,190  157,244  54 
HSBC Bank USA, National Association             
  British Pound  Sell  3/16/16  1,684,621  1,722,821  38,200 
  Canadian Dollar  Buy  1/20/16  206,265  215,605  (9,340) 
JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.             
  Australian Dollar  Sell  1/20/16  292  483  191 
  Canadian Dollar  Sell  1/20/16  155,601  155,513  (88) 
  Euro  Sell  3/16/16  307,122  300,499  (6,623) 
  Indian Rupee  Buy  2/17/16  152,498  152,218  280 
  Japanese Yen  Sell  2/17/16  53,810  53,726  (84) 
  Mexican Peso  Buy  1/20/16  153,970  158,517  (4,547) 
  Mexican Peso  Sell  1/20/16  156,306  154,615  (1,691) 
  New Taiwan Dollar  Sell  2/17/16  159,047  160,357  1,310 
  Norwegian Krone  Sell  3/16/16  160,955  163,819  2,864 
  Singapore Dollar  Sell  2/17/16  157,120  157,832  712 
  South Korean Won  Sell  2/17/16  158,753  156,621  (2,132) 
  Swedish Krona  Buy  3/16/16  51,898  50,434  1,464 
Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (The)             
  Australian Dollar  Buy  1/20/16  76,312  77,611  (1,299) 
  British Pound  Buy  3/16/16  76,078  76,332  (254) 
  Canadian Dollar  Sell  1/20/16  177,356  176,449  (907) 
  Euro  Sell  3/16/16  383,331  372,287  (11,044) 
  Japanese Yen  Sell  2/17/16  4,160  4,952  792 
  New Zealand Dollar  Buy  1/20/16  174,665  183,219  (8,554) 
  Norwegian Krone  Sell  3/16/16  51,649  52,648  999 
  Swedish Krona  Sell  3/16/16  137,815  135,682  (2,133) 
State Street Bank and Trust Co.             
  Australian Dollar  Buy  1/20/16  137,406  132,350  5,056 
  Canadian Dollar  Sell  1/20/16  172,153  178,834  6,681 
  Japanese Yen  Sell  2/17/16  182,878  182,550  (328) 
  South Korean Won  Sell  2/17/16  158,754  159,040  286 

 

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   29 

 


FORWARD CURRENCY CONTRACTS at 12/31/15 (aggregate face value $22,688,228) cont.      Unrealized 
    Contract  Delivery    Aggregate   appreciation/ 
Counterparty  Currency  type  date  Value   face value   (depreciation) 
UBS AG             
  Australian Dollar  Buy  1/20/16  $356,876  $346,526  $10,350 
  British Pound  Buy  3/16/16  498,043  510,124  (12,081) 
  Canadian Dollar  Buy  1/20/16  154,807  160,594  (5,787) 
  Euro  Buy  3/16/16  3,983,114  3,897,397  85,717 
  Japanese Yen  Buy  2/17/16  163,347  162,228  1,119 
WestPac Banking Corp.             
  Canadian Dollar  Sell  1/20/16  318,144  324,795  6,651 
Total            $(15,804) 

 

FUTURES CONTRACTS        Unrealized 
OUTSTANDING  Number of    Expiration   appreciation/ 
at 12/31/15  contracts  Value  date   (depreciation) 
Euro STOXX 50 Index (Long)  34  $1,212,682  Mar-16  $14,872 
MSCI EAFE Index         
Mini (Short)  19  1,613,290  Mar-16  (21,033) 
Russell 2000 Index         
Mini (Short)  17  1,923,550  Mar-16  9,486 
S&P 500 Index         
E-Mini (Long)  74  7,530,980  Mar-16  19,298 
S&P 500 Index         
E-Mini (Short)  12  1,221,240  Mar-16  (1,027) 
S&P Mid Cap 400 Index         
E-Mini (Long)  12  1,672,200  Mar-16  (5,681) 
U.S. Treasury Bond         
30 yr (Long)  8  1,230,000  Mar-16  1,165 
U.S. Treasury Bond Ultra         
30 yr (Long)  15  2,380,313  Mar-16  13,884 
U.S. Treasury Note         
2 yr (Long)  38  8,254,906  Mar-16  (13,013) 
U.S. Treasury Note         
2 yr (Short)  26  5,648,094  Mar-16  9,511 

 

FUTURES CONTRACTS        Unrealized 
OUTSTANDING  Number of    Expiration   appreciation/ 
at 12/31/15 cont.  contracts  Value  date   (depreciation) 
U.S. Treasury Note         
5 yr (Long)  63  $7,454,180  Mar-16  $(21,125) 
U.S. Treasury Note         
10 yr (Long)  18  2,266,313  Mar-16  (10,067) 
Total        $(3,730) 

 

WRITTEN SWAP OPTIONS OUTSTANDING at 12/31/15 (premiums $38,821)   
Counterparty       
Fixed Obligation % to receive or (pay)/  Expiration  Contract   
Floating rate index/Maturity date  date/strike  amount  Value 
JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.       
(6.00 Floor)/3 month       
USD-LIBOR-BBA/Mar-18  Mar-18/6.00  $218,000  $23,846 
Total      $23,846 

 

TBA SALE COMMITMENTS OUTSTANDING       
at 12/31/15 (proceeds receivable  Principal  Settlement   
$3,000,156)  amount  date  Value 
Federal National Mortgage Association, 3s,       
January 1, 2046  $3,000,000  1/13/16  $2,999,297 
Total      $2,999,297 

 

CENTRALLY CLEARED INTEREST RATE SWAP CONTRACTS OUTSTANDING at 12/31/15     
    Upfront        Unrealized 
    premium  Termination  Payments made by  Payments received by  appreciation/ 
Notional amount    received (paid)  date  fund per annum  fund per annum  (depreciation) 
  $2,274,000 E  $412  3/16/21  1.70%  3 month  $10,651 
          USD-LIBOR-BBA   
  2,900,000 E  (315)  3/16/21  3 month USD-LIBOR-BBA  1.70%  (13,371) 
  2,339,000 E  2,140  3/16/26  2.20%  3 month  8,324 
          USD-LIBOR-BBA   
  700,000 E  (660)  3/16/26  3 month USD-LIBOR-BBA  2.20%  (2,511) 
  100,000 E  (760)  3/16/46  3 month USD-LIBOR-BBA  2.65%  (484) 
  67,000 E  574  3/16/46  2.65%  3 month  388 
          USD-LIBOR-BBA   
  7,901,000 E  7,750  3/16/18  1.20%  3 month  21,893 
          USD-LIBOR-BBA   
  4,300,000 E  (4,528)  3/16/18  3 month USD-LIBOR-BBA  1.20%  (12,225) 
Total    $4,613        $12,665 

 

E Extended effective date.

 

30   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


OTC TOTAL RETURN SWAP CONTRACTS OUTSTANDING at 12/31/15       
    Upfront    Payments  Total return  Unrealized 
Swap counterparty/    premium  Termination  received (paid) by  received by or  appreciation/ 
Notional amount    received (paid)  date  fund per annum  paid by fund  (depreciation) 
Barclays Bank PLC             
$13,729  $—  1/12/42  4.00% (1 month  Synthetic TRS Index  $22 
        USD-LIBOR)  4.00% 30 year Fannie   
          Mae pools   
156,072  —  1/12/41  4.00% (1 month  Synthetic TRS Index  324 
        USD-LIBOR)  4.00% 30 year Fannie   
          Mae pools   
63,905  —  1/12/40  4.50% (1 month  Synthetic MBX Index  30 
        USD-LIBOR)  4.50% 30 year Fannie   
          Mae pools   
126,425  —  1/12/41  4.00% (1 month  Synthetic TRS Index  262 
        USD-LIBOR)  4.00% 30 year Fannie   
          Mae pools   
53,256  —  1/12/41  (5.00%) 1 month  Synthetic TRS Index  (130) 
        USD-LIBOR  5.00% 30 year Fannie   
          Mae pools   
21,609  —  1/12/43  3.50% (1 month  Synthetic TRS Index  46 
        USD-LIBOR)  3.50% 30 year Fannie   
          Mae pools   
54,430  —  1/12/39  (5.50%) 1 month  Synthetic MBX Index  6 
        USD-LIBOR  5.50% 30 year Fannie   
          Mae pools   
97,418  —  1/12/40  5.00% (1 month  Synthetic MBX Index  (6) 
        USD-LIBOR)  5.00% 30 year Fannie   
          Mae pools   
258,759  —  1/12/41  5.00% (1 month  Synthetic MBX Index  (15) 
        USD-LIBOR)  5.00% 30 year Fannie   
          Mae pools   
40,986  (19)  1/12/38  (6.50%) 1 month  Synthetic MBX Index  (143) 
        USD-LIBOR  6.50% 30 year Fannie   
          Mae pools   
Citibank, N.A.             
31,640  —  1/12/41  5.00% (1 month  Synthetic MBX Index  (2) 
        USD-LIBOR)  5.00% 30 year Fannie   
          Mae pools   
baskets  52  —  12/16/16  (3 month USD-LIBOR-BBA  A basket (CGPUTQL2)  55,664 
        plus 0.42%)  of common stocks   
units  1,183  —  11/23/16  3 month USD-LIBOR-BBA  Russell 1000 Total  (77,706) 
        plus 0.10%  Return Index   
Credit Suisse International           
$257,271  —  1/12/41  4.50% (1 month  Synthetic MBX Index  79 
        USD-LIBOR)  4.50% 30 year Ginnie   
          Mae II pools   
196,282  —  1/12/41  4.00% (1 month  Synthetic TRS Index  407 
        USD-LIBOR)  4.00% 30 year Fannie   
          Mae pools   
62,127  —  1/12/45  3.50% (1 month  Synthetic TRS Index  268 
        USD-LIBOR)  3.50% 30 year Fannie   
          Mae pools   
Goldman Sachs International           
33,894  —  1/12/42  4.00% (1 month  Synthetic TRS Index  54 
        USD-LIBOR)  4.00% 30 year Fannie   
          Mae pools   
33,894  —  1/12/42  4.00% (1 month  Synthetic TRS Index  54 
        USD-LIBOR)  4.00% 30 year Fannie   
          Mae pools   
  8,860  —  1/12/41  4.00% (1 month  Synthetic TRS Index  18 
        USD-LIBOR)  4.00% 30 year Fannie   
          Mae pools   

 

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   31 

 


OTC TOTAL RETURN SWAP CONTRACTS OUTSTANDING at 12/31/15 cont.       
    Upfront    Payments  Total return  Unrealized 
Swap counterparty/    premium  Termination  received (paid) by  received by or  appreciation/ 
Notional amount    received (paid)  date  fund per annum  paid by fund  (depreciation) 
Goldman Sachs International cont.           
$162,139  $—  1/12/40  4.00% (1 month  Synthetic TRS Index  $438 
        USD-LIBOR)  4.00% 30 year Fannie   
          Mae pools   
314,528  —  1/12/41  4.00% (1 month  Synthetic TRS Index  652 
        USD-LIBOR)  4.00% 30 year Fannie   
          Mae pools   
Total    $(19)        $(19,678) 

 

OTC CREDIT DEFAULT CONTRACTS OUTSTANDING at 12/31/15         
          Payments  Unrealized 
Swap counterparty/    Upfront premium  Notional  Termination  received (paid) by  appreciation/ 
Referenced debt*  Rating***  received (paid)**  amount  date  fund per annum  (depreciation) 
Bank of America N.A.             
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  $273  $4,000  5/11/63  300 bp  $150 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  482  8,000  5/11/63  300 bp  236 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  926  15,000  5/11/63  300 bp  464 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  912  16,000  5/11/63  300 bp  419 
Credit Suisse International             
CMBX NA BB Index  —  (1,818)  103,000  5/11/63  (500 bp)  2,583 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  427  39,000  5/11/63  300 bp  (775) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  1,288  89,000  5/11/63  300 bp  (1,454) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  2,876  219,000  5/11/63  300 bp  (3,873) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  116  2,000  1/17/47  300 bp  4 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  231  8,000  1/17/47  300 bp  (217) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  322  8,000  1/17/47  300 bp  (125) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  380  9,000  1/17/47  300 bp  (124) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  356  10,000  1/17/47  300 bp  (203) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  763  13,000  1/17/47  300 bp  36 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  654  25,000  1/17/47  300 bp  (744) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  749  26,000  1/17/47  300 bp  (704) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  926  27,000  1/17/47  300 bp  (584) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  1,927  46,000  1/17/47  300 bp  (646) 
Goldman Sachs International             
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  (14)  2,000  5/11/63  300 bp  (75) 
CMBX NA BB Index  —  (95)  9,000  5/11/63  (500 bp)  289 
CMBX NA BB Index  —  (58)  6,000  5/11/63  (500 bp)  199 
CMBX NA BB Index  —  (43)  5,000  5/11/63  (500 bp)  171 
CMBX NA BB Index  —  90  4,000  5/11/63  (500 bp)  261 
CMBX NA BB Index  —  50  3,000  5/11/63  (500 bp)  179 
CMBX NA BB Index  —  31  3,000  5/11/63  (500 bp)  159 
CMBX NA BB Index  —  4  3,000  5/11/63  (500 bp)  132 
CMBX NA BB Index  —  (4)  2,000  1/17/47  (500 bp)  126 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  (10)  1,000  5/11/63  300 bp  (41) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  (3)  1,000  5/11/63  300 bp  (33) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  (4)  1,000  5/11/63  300 bp  (35) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  (16)  2,000  5/11/63  300 bp  (78) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  (50)  3,000  5/11/63  300 bp  (142) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  (55)  5,000  5/11/63  300 bp  (209) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  60  10,000  5/11/63  300 bp  (249) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  (100)  10,000  5/11/63  300 bp  (408) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  126  11,000  5/11/63  300 bp  (213) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  240  8,000  1/17/47  300 bp  (208) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  374  9,000  1/17/47  300 bp  (129) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  388  9,000  1/17/47  300 bp  (115) 

 

32   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


OTC CREDIT DEFAULT CONTRACTS OUTSTANDING at 12/31/15 cont.         
          Payments  Unrealized 
Swap counterparty/    Upfront premium  Notional  Termination  received (paid) by  appreciation/ 
Referenced debt*  Rating***  received (paid)**  amount  date  fund per annum  (depreciation) 
Goldman Sachs International cont.             
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  $362  $9,000  1/17/47  300 bp  $(141) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  362  9,000  1/17/47  300 bp  (141) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  394  13,000  1/17/47  300 bp  (333) 
JPMorgan Securities LLC             
CMBX NA BBB– Index  —  (91)  17,000  5/11/63  (300 bp)  432 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  —  (408)  17,000  5/11/63  (300 bp)  116 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  —  (206)  8,000  5/11/63  (300 bp)  40 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  443  8,000  1/17/47  300 bp  (5) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  444  17,000  1/17/47  300 bp  (506) 
CMBX NA BBB– Index  BBB–/P  898  17,000  1/17/47  300 bp  (53) 
Total    $14,899        $(6,567) 

 

*Payments related to the referenced debt are made upon a credit default event.

**Upfront premium is based on the difference between the original spread on issue and the market spread on day of execution.

***Ratings are presented for credit default contracts in which the fund has sold protection on the underlying referenced debt. Ratings for an underlying index represent the average of the ratings of all the securities included in that index. The Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s or Fitch ratings are believed to be the most recent ratings available at December 31, 2015. Securities rated by Putnam are indicated by “/P.”

CENTRALLY CLEARED CREDIT DEFAULT CONTRACTS OUTSTANDING at 12/31/15

          Payments  Unrealized 
    Upfront premium  Notional  Termination  received (paid) by  appreciation/ 
Referenced debt*  Rating***  received (paid)**  amount  Date  fund per annum  (depreciation) 
NA HY Series 25 Index  B+/P  $(3,665)  $624,000  12/20/20  500 bp  $3,535 
NA IG Series 25 Index  BBB+/P  (21,085)  3,100,000  12/20/20  100 bp  (3,202) 
Total    $(24,750)        $333 

 

*Payments related to the referenced debt are made upon a credit default event.

**Upfront premium is based on the difference between the original spread on issue and the market spread on day of execution.

***Ratings are presented for credit default contracts in which the fund has sold protection on the underlying referenced debt. Ratings for an underlying index represent the average of the ratings of all the securities included in that index. The Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s or Fitch ratings are believed to be the most recent ratings available at December 31, 2015. Securities rated by Putnam are indicated by “/P.”

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   33 

 


ASC 820 establishes a three-level hierarchy for disclosure of fair value measurements. The valuation hierarchy is based upon the transparency of inputs to the valuation of the fund’s investments. The three levels are defined as follows:

Level 1: Valuations based on quoted prices for identical securities in active markets.

Level 2: Valuations based on quoted prices in markets that are not active or for which all significant inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly.

Level 3: Valuations based on inputs that are unobservable and significant to the fair value measurement.

The following is a summary of the inputs used to value the fund’s net assets as of the close of the reporting period:

    Valuation inputs   
Investments in securities:  Level 1  Level 2  Level 3 
Common stocks*:       
Basic materials  $2,287,455  $1,046,721  $—­ 
Capital goods  5,603,356  532,862  —­ 
Communication services  2,187,639  1,044,249  —­ 
Conglomerates  16,742  118,232  —­ 
Consumer cyclicals  11,196,677  2,542,453  —­ 
Consumer staples  6,177,449  1,568,134  13,387 
Energy  4,925,520  973,055  50 
Financials  13,274,506  3,519,347  27,569 
Health care  11,321,047  1,680,668  —­ 
Technology  14,123,877  608,670  —­ 
Transportation  2,178,986  709,172  —­ 
Utilities and power  2,227,615  586,212  —­ 
Total common stocks  75,520,869  14,929,775  41,006 
Asset-backed securities  —­  —­  2,958,000 
Convertible bonds and notes  —­  29,841  —­ 
Convertible preferred stocks  —­  30,458  —­ 
Corporate bonds and notes  —­  25,901,920  1 
Foreign government and agency bonds and notes  —­  745,115  —­ 
Investment companies  47,921  —­  —­ 
Mortgage-backed securities  —­  4,029,128  75,116 
Preferred stocks  106,007  22,378  —­ 
Senior loans  —­  279,644  —­ 
U.S. government and agency mortgage obligations  —­  22,577,865  —­ 
Warrants  —­  24,685  —­ 
Short-term investments  28,136,598  4,280,424  —­ 
Totals by level  $103,811,395  $72,851,233  $3,074,123 
 
    Valuation inputs   
Other financial instruments:  Level 1  Level 2  Level 3 
Forward currency contracts  $—­  $(15,804)  $—­ 
Futures contracts  (3,730)  —­  —­ 
Written swap options outstanding  —­  (23,846)  —­ 
TBA sale commitments  —­  (2,999,297)  —­ 
Interest rate swap contracts  —­  8,052  —­ 
Total return swap contracts  —­  (19,659)  —­ 
Credit default contracts  —­  3,617  —­ 
Totals by level  $(3,730)  $(3,046,937)  $—­ 

 

* Common stock classifications are presented at the sector level, which may differ from the fund’s portfolio presentation.

During the reporting period, transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 within the fair value hierarchy, if any, (other than certain transfers involving non-U.S. equity securities as described in Note 1) did not represent, in the aggregate, more than 1% of the fund’s net assets measured as of the end of the period. Transfers are accounted for using the end of period pricing valuation method.

34   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


The following is a reconciliation of Level 3 assets as of the close of the reporting period:

        Change in net      Total  Total   
    Accrued    unrealized      transfers  transfers   
Investments in  Balance as of  discounts/  Realized gain/  appreciation/    Proceeds  into  out of  Balance as of 
securities:  12/31/14  premiums  (loss)  (depreciation)#  Cost of purchases  from sales  Level 3†  Level 3†  12/31/15 
Common stocks*:                   
Consumer staples  $645  $—  $(4,938)  $2,796  $15,404  $(520)  $—  $—  $13,387 
Energy  $200  —  —  (150)  —  —  —  —  $50 
Financials  $18,633  —  —  8,936  —  —  —  —  $27,569 
Total common stocks  $19,478  $—  $(4,938)  $11,582  $15,404  $(520)  $—  $—  $41,006 
Asset-backed securities  $2,958,000  $—  $—  $—  $—  $—  $—  $—  $2,958,000 
Corporate bonds and notes  $1  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  $1 
Mortgage-backed securities  $—  (822)  357  1,140  74,837  (721)  325  —  $75,116 
Totals  $2,977,479  $(822)  $(4,581)  $12,722  $90,241  $(1,241)  $325  $—  $3,074,123 

 

* Common stock classifications are presented at the sector level, which may differ from the fund’s portfolio presentation.

† Transfers during the reporting period are accounted for using the end of period market value and did not represent, in the aggregate, more than 1% of the fund’s net assets measured as of the end of the period.

# Includes $7,909 related to Level 3 securities still held at period end. Total change in unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) for securities (including Level 1 and Level 2) can be found in the Statement of operations.

Level 3 securities which are fair valued by Putnam, are not material to the fund.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   35 

 


Statement of assets and liabilities
12/31/15

Assets   
Investment in securities, at value, including $1,740,621 of securities on loan (Note 1):   
Unaffiliated issuers (identified cost $141,718,195)  $149,809,017 
Affiliated issuers (identified cost $29,927,734) (Notes 1 and 5)  29,927,734 
Cash  6,419 
Foreign currency (cost $4,888) (Note 1)  6,007 
Dividends, interest and other receivables  672,936 
Receivable for shares of the fund sold  468 
Receivable for investments sold  942,170 
Receivable for sales of delayed delivery securities (Note 1)  2,002,156 
Receivable for variation margin (Note 1)  49,169 
Unrealized appreciation on forward currency contracts (Note 1)  243,558 
Unrealized appreciation on OTC swap contracts (Note 1)  64,320 
Premium paid on OTC swap contracts (Note 1)  2,994 
Total assets  183,726,948 
 
Liabilities   
Payable for investments purchased  4,291 
Payable for purchases of delayed delivery securities (Note 1)  21,769,297 
Payable for shares of the fund repurchased  182,958 
Payable for compensation of Manager (Note 2)  79,437 
Payable for custodian fees (Note 2)  59,595 
Payable for investor servicing fees (Note 2)  17,455 
Payable for Trustee compensation and expenses (Note 2)  127,655 
Payable for administrative services (Note 2)  1,202 
Payable for distribution fees (Note 2)  9,480 
Payable for variation margin (Note 1)  40,861 
Unrealized depreciation on OTC swap contracts (Note 1)  90,565 
Premium received on OTC swap contracts (Note 1)  17,874 
Unrealized depreciation on forward currency contracts (Note 1)  259,362 
Written options outstanding, at value (premiums $38,821) (Notes 1 and 3)  23,846 
TBA sale commitments, at value (proceeds receivable $3,000,156) (Note 1)  2,999,297 
Collateral on securities loaned, at value (Note 1)  1,791,136 
Other accrued expenses  134,591 
Total liabilities  27,608,902 
 
Net assets  $156,118,046 
 
Represented by   
Paid-in capital (Unlimited shares authorized) (Notes 1 and 4)  $135,722,999 
Undistributed net investment income (Note 1)  2,941,059 
Accumulated net realized gain on investments and foreign currency transactions (Note 1)  9,380,202 
Net unrealized appreciation of investments and assets and liabilities in foreign currencies  8,073,786 
Total — Representing net assets applicable to capital shares outstanding  $156,118,046 
 
Computation of net asset value Class IA   
Net assets  $112,026,725 
Number of shares outstanding  6,566,046 
Net asset value, offering price and redemption price per share (net assets divided by number of shares outstanding)  $17.06 
 
Computation of net asset value Class IB   
Net assets  $44,091,321 
Number of shares outstanding  2,562,526 
Net asset value, offering price and redemption price per share (net assets divided by number of shares outstanding)  $17.21 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

36   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


Statement of operations
Year ended 12/31/15

Investment income   
Dividends (net of foreign tax of $43,122)  $2,067,008 
Interest (net of foreign tax of $3) (including interest income of $37,573 from investments in affiliated issuers) (Note 5)  1,942,413 
Securities lending (Note 1)  23,676 
Total investment income  4,033,097 
 
Expenses   
Compensation of Manager (Note 2)  1,002,432 
Investor servicing fees (Note 2)  119,265 
Custodian fees (Note 2)  134,747 
Trustee compensation and expenses (Note 2)  11,652 
Distribution fees (Note 2)  119,917 
Administrative services (Note 2)  4,449 
Auditing and tax fees  121,544 
Other  66,973 
Total expenses  1,580,979 
 
Expense reduction (Note 2)  (2,772) 
Net expenses  1,578,207 
 
Net investment income  2,454,890 
 
Net realized gain on investments (Notes 1 and 3)  10,195,723 
Net realized loss on swap contracts (Note 1)  (365,683) 
Net realized gain on futures contracts (Note 1)  1,436,264 
Net realized gain on foreign currency transactions (Note 1)  798,301 
Net realized loss on written options (Notes 1 and 3)  (12,614) 
Net unrealized depreciation of assets and liabilities in foreign currencies during the year  (430,143) 
Net unrealized depreciation of investments, futures contracts, swap contracts, written options, and TBA sale commitments during the year  (12,970,125) 
Net loss on investments  (1,348,277) 
 
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations  $1,106,613 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   37 

 


Statement of changes in net assets

  Year ended  Year ended 
  12/31/15  12/31/14 
Decrease in net assets     
Operations:     
Net investment income  $2,454,890  $3,135,367 
Net realized gain on investments and foreign currency transactions  12,051,991  17,779,049 
Net unrealized depreciation of investments and assets and liabilities in foreign currencies  (13,400,268)  (3,562,741) 
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations  1,106,613  17,351,675 
Distributions to shareholders (Note 1):     
From ordinary income     
Net investment income     
Class IA  (3,050,541)  (3,614,111) 
Class IB  (1,070,274)  (1,320,005) 
Net realized short-term gain on investments     
Class IA  (3,024,960)  — 
Class IB  (1,196,784)  — 
From net realized long-term gain on investments     
Class IA  (8,646,397)  (5,485,451) 
Class IB  (3,420,830)  (2,257,825) 
Decrease from capital share transactions (Note 4)  (7,472,183)  (19,508,839) 
Total decrease in net assets  (26,775,356)  (14,834,556) 
Net assets:     
Beginning of year  182,893,402  197,727,958 
End of year (including undistributed net investment income of $2,941,059 and $3,481,980, respectively)  $156,118,046  $182,893,402 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

38   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


Financial highlights (For a common share outstanding throughout the period)

INVESTMENT OPERATIONS:      LESS DISTRIBUTIONS:    RATIOS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:   
Period ended­ Net asset value, beginning of period Net investment income (loss)a Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments Total from investment operations From net investment income From net realized gain on investments Total distributions Net asset value, end of period Total return at net asset value (%)b,c Net assets, end of period (in thousands) Ratio of expenses to average net assets (%)b,d Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets (%) Portfolio turnover (%)
Class IA­                           
12/31/15­  $19.21­  .27­  (.11)  .16­  (.48)  (1.83)  (2.31)  $17.06­  .42­  $112,027­  .86­  1.51­  339e 
12/31/14­  18.77­  .32­  1.40­  1.72­  (.51)  (.77)  (1.28)  19.21­  9.66­  131,554­  .87­  1.73­  339e 
12/31/13­  16.01­  .31­  2.81­  3.12­  (.36)  —­  (.36)  18.77­  19.78­  139,872­  .89­  1.82­  164f 
12/31/12­  14.11­  .34­  1.71­  2.05­  (.15)  —­  (.15)  16.01­  14.58­  135,792­  .89­  2.20­  200f 
12/31/11­  14.79­  .33­  (.33)  —g  (.68)  —­  (.68)  14.11­  (.18)  138,271­  .88­  2.27­  131f 
Class IB­                           
12/31/15­  $19.35­  .23­  (.12)  .11­  (.42)  (1.83)  (2.25)  $17.21­  .17­  $44,091­  1.11­  1.26­  339e 
12/31/14­  18.88­  .28­  1.41­  1.69­  (.45)  (.77)  (1.22)  19.35­  9.42­  51,339­  1.12­  1.48­  339e 
12/31/13­  16.10­  .27­  2.83­  3.10­  (.32)  —­  (.32)  18.88­  19.49­  57,856­  1.14­  1.58­  164f 
12/31/12­  14.20­  .30­  1.71­  2.01­  (.11)  —­  (.11)  16.10­  14.20­  71,616­  1.14­  1.96­  200f 
12/31/11­  14.88­  .29­  (.32)  (.03)  (.65)  —­  (.65)  14.20­  (.42)  70,624­  1.13­  2.02­  131f 

 

a Per share net investment income (loss) has been determined on the basis of weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period.

b The charges and expenses at the insurance company separate account level are not reflected.

c Total return assumes dividend reinvestment.

d Includes amounts paid through expense offset and/or brokerage/service arrangements, if any (Note 2). Also excludes acquired fund fees and expenses, if any.

e Portfolio turnover includes TBA purchase and sale commitments.

f Portfolio turnover excludes TBA purchase and sale commitments. Including TBA purchase and sale commitments to conform with current year presentation, the portfolio turnover would have been the following:

  Portfolio turnover % 
December 31, 2013  376% 
December 31, 2012  409 
December 31, 2011  372 

 

g Amount represents less than $0.01 per share.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   39 

 


Notes to financial statements 12/31/15

Within the following Notes to financial statements, references to “State Street” represent State Street Bank and Trust Company, references to “the SEC” represent the Securities and Exchange Commission, references to “Putnam Management” represent Putnam Investment Management, LLC, the fund’s manager, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Putnam Investments, LLC and references to “OTC”, if any, represent over-the-counter. Unless otherwise noted, the “reporting period” represents the period from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015.

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund (the fund) is a diversified series of Putnam Variable Trust (the Trust), a Massachusetts business trust registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, as an open-end management investment company. The goal of the fund is to seek long-term return consistent with preservation of capital. The fund invests a majority of its assets in a diversified portfolio of equity securities (growth or value stocks or both) of both U.S. and foreign companies of any size. Putnam Management may consider, among other factors, a company’s valuation, financial strength, growth potential, competitive position in its industry, projected future earnings, cash flows and dividends when deciding whether to buy or sell equity investments. The fund also invests in a diversified portfolio of fixed income investments, including both U.S. and foreign government obligations, corporate obligations and securitized debt instruments (such as mortgage-backed investments). Putnam Management may consider, among other factors, credit, interest rate and prepayment risks, as well as general market conditions, when deciding whether to buy or sell fixed income investments. Putnam Management may also select other investments that do not fall within these asset classes.

The fund offers class IA and class IB shares of beneficial interest. Class IA shares are offered at net asset value and are not subject to a distribution fee. Class IB shares are offered at net asset value and pay an ongoing distribution fee, which is identified in Note 2.

In the normal course of business, the fund enters into contracts that may include agreements to indemnify another party under given circumstances. The fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown as this would involve future claims that may be, but have not yet been, made against the fund. However, the fund’s management team expects the risk of material loss to be remote.

Note 1 — Significant accounting policies

The following is a summary of significant accounting policies consistently followed by the fund in the preparation of its financial statements. The preparation of financial statements is in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements and the reported amounts of increases and decreases in net assets from operations. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Subsequent events after the Statement of assets and liabilities date through the date that the financial statements were issued have been evaluated in the preparation of the financial statements.

Investment income, realized and unrealized gains and losses and expenses of the fund are borne pro-rata based on the relative net assets of each class to the total net assets of the fund, except that each class bears expenses unique to that class (including the distribution fees applicable to such classes). Each class votes as a class only with respect to its own distribution plan or other matters on which a class vote is required by law or determined by the Trustees. If the fund were liquidated, shares of each class would receive their pro-rata share of the net assets of the fund. In addition, the Trustees declare separate dividends on each class of shares.

Security valuation Portfolio securities and other investments are valued using policies and procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. The Trustees have formed a Pricing Committee to oversee the implementation of these procedures and have delegated responsibility for valuing the fund’s assets in accordance with these procedures to Putnam Management. Putnam Management has established an internal Valuation Committee that is responsible for making fair value determinations, evaluating the effectiveness of the pricing policies of the fund and reporting to the Pricing Committee.

Investments for which market quotations are readily available are valued at the last reported sales price on their principal exchange, or official closing price for certain markets, and are classified as Level 1 securities under Accounting Standards Codification 820 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (ASC 820). If no sales are reported, as in the case of some securities that are traded OTC, a security is valued at its last reported bid price and is generally categorized as a Level 2 security.

Investments in open-end investment companies (excluding exchange-traded funds), if any, which can be classified as Level 1 or Level 2 securities, are valued based on their net asset value. The net asset value of such investment companies equals the total value of their assets less their liabilities and divided by the number of their outstanding shares.

Market quotations are not considered to be readily available for certain debt obligations and other investments; such investments are valued on the basis of valuations furnished by an independent pricing service approved by the Trustees or dealers selected by Putnam Management. Such services or dealers determine valuations for normal institutional-size trading units of such securities using methods based on market transactions for comparable securities and various relationships, generally recognized by institutional traders, between securities (which consider such factors as security prices, yields, maturities and ratings). These securities will generally be categorized as Level 2. Short-term securities with remaining maturities of 60 days or less may be valued at amortized cost, which approximates fair value, and are classified as Level 2 securities.

Many securities markets and exchanges outside the U.S. close prior to the close of the New York Stock Exchange and therefore the closing prices for securities in such markets or on such exchanges may not fully reflect events that occur after such close but before the close of the New York Stock Exchange. Accordingly, on certain days, the fund will fair value foreign equity securities taking into account multiple factors including movements in the U.S. securities markets, currency valuations and comparisons to the valuation of American Depository Receipts, exchange-traded funds and futures contracts. These securities, which would generally be classified as Level 1 securities, will be transferred to Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy when they are valued at fair value. The number of days on which fair value prices will be used will depend on market activity and it is possible that fair value prices will be used by the fund to a significant extent. At the close of the reporting period, fair value pricing was used for certain foreign securities in the portfolio. Securities quoted in foreign currencies, if any, are translated into U.S. dollars at the current exchange rate.

To the extent a pricing service or dealer is unable to value a security or provides a valuation that Putnam Management does not believe accurately reflects the security’s fair value, the security will be valued at fair value by Putnam Management in accordance with policies and procedures approved by the Trustees. Certain investments, including certain restricted and illiquid securities and derivatives, are also valued at fair value following procedures approved by the Trustees. These valuations consider such factors as significant market or specific security events such as interest rate or credit quality changes, various relationships with other securities, discount rates, U.S. Treasury, U.S. swap and credit yields, index levels, convexity exposures, recovery rates, sales and other multiples and resale restrictions. These securities are classified as Level 2 or as Level 3 depending on the priority of the significant inputs.

To assess the continuing appropriateness of fair valuations, the Valuation Committee reviews and affirms the reasonableness of such valuations on a regular basis after considering all relevant information that is reasonably available. Such valuations and procedures are reviewed periodically by the Trustees. Certain securities may be valued on the basis of a price provided by a single source. The fair value of securities is generally determined as the amount that the fund could reasonably expect to realize from an orderly disposition of such securities over a reasonable period of time. By its nature, a fair value price is a good faith estimate of the value of a security in a current sale and does not reflect an actual market price, which may be different by a material amount.

Security transactions and related investment income Security transactions are recorded on the trade date (the date the order to buy or sell is executed). Gains or losses on securities sold are determined on the identified cost basis.

Interest income, net of any applicable withholding taxes, is recorded on the accrual basis. Dividend income, net of any applicable withholding taxes, is recognized on the ex-dividend date except that certain dividends from foreign securities, if any, are recognized as soon as the fund is informed of the ex-dividend date. Non-cash dividends, if any, are recorded at the fair value of the securities received. Dividends representing a return of capital or capital gains, if any, are reflected as a reduction of cost and/or as a realized gain.

40   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


All premiums/discounts are amortized/accreted on a yield-to-maturity basis.

The fund earned certain fees in connection with its senior loan purchasing activities. These fees are treated as market discount and are amortized into income in the Statement of operations.

Securities purchased or sold on a delayed delivery basis may be settled at a future date beyond customary settlement time; interest income is accrued based on the terms of the securities. Losses may arise due to changes in the fair value of the underlying securities or if the counterparty does not perform under the contract.

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.

Foreign currency translation The accounting records of the fund are maintained in U.S. dollars. The fair value of foreign securities, currency holdings, and other assets and liabilities is recorded in the books and records of the fund after translation to U.S. dollars based on the exchange rates on that day. The cost of each security is determined using historical exchange rates. Income and withholding taxes are translated at prevailing exchange rates when earned or incurred. The fund does not isolate that portion of realized or unrealized gains or losses resulting from changes in the foreign exchange rate on investments from fluctuations arising from changes in the market prices of the securities. Such gains and losses are included with the net realized and unrealized gain or loss on investments. Net realized gains and losses on foreign currency transactions represent net realized exchange gains or losses on closed forward currency contracts, disposition of foreign currencies, currency gains and losses realized between the trade and settlement dates on securities transactions and the difference between the amount of investment income and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the fund’s books and the U.S. dollar equivalent amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized appreciation and depreciation of assets and liabilities in foreign currencies arise from changes in the value of open forward currency contracts and assets and liabilities other than investments at the period end, resulting from changes in the exchange rate.

Options contracts The fund uses options contracts to hedge duration and convexity, to isolate prepayment risk, to gain exposure to interest rates, to hedge against changes in values of securities it owns, owned or expects to own, to hedge prepayment risk, to generate additional income for the portfolio, to enhance returns on securities owned, to enhance the return on a security owned and to gain exposure to securities and to manage downside risks.

The potential risk to the fund is that the change in value of options contracts may not correspond to the change in value of the hedged instruments. In addition, losses may arise from changes in the value of the underlying instruments if there is an illiquid secondary market for the contracts, if interest or exchange rates move unexpectedly or if the counterparty to the contract is unable to perform. Realized gains and losses on purchased options are included in realized gains and losses on investment securities. If a written call option is exercised, the premium originally received is recorded as an addition to sales proceeds. If a written put option is exercised, the premium originally received is recorded as a reduction to the cost of investments.

Exchange-traded options are valued at the last sale price or, if no sales are reported, the last bid price for purchased options and the last ask price for written options. OTC traded options are valued using prices supplied by dealers.

Options on swaps are similar to options on securities except that the premium paid or received is to buy or grant the right to enter into a previously agreed upon interest rate or credit default contract. Forward premium swap option contracts include premiums that have extended settlement dates. The delayed settlement of the premiums is factored into the daily valuation of the option contracts. In the case of interest rate cap and floor contracts, in return for a premium, ongoing payments between two parties are based on interest rates exceeding a specified rate, in the case of a cap contract, or falling below a specified rate in the case of a floor contract.

Written option contracts outstanding at period end, if any, are listed after the fund’s portfolio.

Futures contracts The fund uses futures contracts to manage exposure to market risk, to hedge prepayment risk, to hedge interest rate risk, to gain exposure to interest rates and to equitize cash.

The potential risk to the fund is that the change in value of futures contracts may not correspond to the change in value of the hedged instruments. In addition, losses may arise from changes in the value of the underlying instruments, if there is an illiquid secondary market for the contracts, if interest or exchange rates move unexpectedly or if the counterparty to the contract is unable to perform. With futures, there is minimal counterparty credit risk to the fund since futures are exchange traded and the exchange’s clearinghouse, as counterparty to all exchange traded futures, guarantees the futures against default. Risks may exceed amounts recognized on the Statement of assets and liabilities. When the contract is closed, the fund records a realized gain or loss equal to the difference between the value of the contract at the time it was opened and the value at the time it was closed.

Futures contracts are valued at the quoted daily settlement prices established by the exchange on which they trade. The fund and the broker agree to exchange an amount of cash equal to the daily fluctuation in the value of the futures contract. Such receipts or payments are known as “variation margin.”

Futures contracts outstanding at period end, if any, are listed after the fund’s portfolio.

Forward currency contracts The fund buys and sells forward currency contracts, which are agreements between two parties to buy and sell currencies at a set price on a future date. These contracts are used to hedge foreign exchange risk and to gain exposure to currencies.

The U.S. dollar value of forward currency contracts is determined using current forward currency exchange rates supplied by a quotation service. The fair value of the contract will fluctuate with changes in currency exchange rates. The contract is marked to market daily and the change in fair value is recorded as an unrealized gain or loss. The fund records a realized gain or loss equal to the difference between the value of the contract at the time it was opened and the value at the time it was closed when the contract matures or by delivery of the currency. The fund could be exposed to risk if the value of the currency changes unfavorably, if the counterparties to the contracts are unable to meet the terms of their contracts or if the fund is unable to enter into a closing position. Risks may exceed amounts recognized on the Statement of assets and liabilities.

Forward currency contracts outstanding at period end, if any, are listed after the fund’s portfolio.

Interest rate swap contracts The fund entered into OTC and/or centrally cleared interest rate swap contracts, which are arrangements between two parties to exchange cash flows based on a notional principal amount, to hedge interest rate risk, to gain exposure on interest rates and to hedge prepayment risk.

An OTC and centrally cleared interest rate swap can be purchased or sold with an upfront premium. For OTC interest rate swap contracts, an upfront payment received by the fund is recorded as a liability on the fund’s books. An upfront payment made by the fund is recorded as an asset on the fund’s books. OTC and centrally cleared interest rate swap contracts are marked to market daily based upon quotations from an independent pricing service or market makers. Any change is recorded as an unrealized gain or loss on OTC interest rate swaps. Daily fluctuations in the value of centrally cleared interest rate swaps are settled through a central clearing agent and are recorded in variation margin on the Statement of assets and liabilities and recorded as unrealized gain or loss. Payments, including upfront premiums, received or made are recorded as realized gains or losses at the reset date or the closing of the contract. Certain OTC and centrally cleared interest rate swap contracts may include extended effective dates. Payments related to these swap contracts are accrued based on the terms of the contract.

The fund could be exposed to credit or market risk due to unfavorable changes in the fluctuation of interest rates or if the counterparty defaults, in the case of OTC interest rate contracts, or the central clearing agency or a clearing member defaults, in the case of centrally cleared interest rate swap contracts, on its respective obligation to perform under the contract. The fund’s maximum risk of loss from counterparty risk or central clearing risk is the fair value of the contract. This risk may be mitigated for OTC interest rate swap contracts by having a master netting arrangement between the fund and the counterparty and for centrally cleared interest rate swap contracts through the daily exchange of variation margin. There is minimal counterparty risk with respect to centrally cleared interest rate swap contracts due to the clearinghouse guarantee fund and other resources that are available in the event of a

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   41 

 


clearing member default. Risk of loss may exceed amounts recognized on the Statement of assets and liabilities.

OTC and centrally cleared interest rate swap contracts outstanding, including their respective notional amounts at period end, if any, are listed after the fund’s portfolio.

Total return swap contracts The fund entered into OTC total return swap contracts, which are arrangements to exchange a market-linked return for a periodic payment, both based on a notional principal amount, to hedge sector exposure, to manage exposure to specific sectors or industries, to manage exposure to specific securities, to gain exposure to a basket of securities, to gain exposure to specific markets or countries and to gain exposure to specific sectors or industries.

To the extent that the total return of the security, index or other financial measure underlying the transaction exceeds or falls short of the offsetting interest rate obligation, the fund will receive a payment from or make a payment to the counterparty. OTC total return swap contracts are marked to market daily based upon quotations from an independent pricing service or market makers and the change, if any, is recorded as an unrealized gain or loss. Payments received or made are recorded as realized gains or losses. Certain OTC total return swap contracts may include extended effective dates. Payments related to these swap contracts are accrued based on the terms of the contract. The fund could be exposed to credit or market risk due to unfavorable changes in the fluctuation of interest rates or in the price of the underlying security or index, the possibility that there is no liquid market for these agreements or that the counterparty may default on its obligation to perform. The fund’s maximum risk of loss from counterparty risk is the fair value of the contract. This risk may be mitigated by having a master netting arrangement between the fund and the counterparty. Risk of loss may exceed amounts recognized on the Statement of assets and liabilities.

OTC total return swap contracts outstanding, including their respective notional amounts at period end, if any, are listed after the fund’s portfolio.

Credit default contracts The fund entered into OTC and/or centrally cleared credit default contracts to hedge credit risk, to hedge market risk and to gain exposure on individual names and/or baskets of securities.

In OTC and centrally cleared credit default contracts, the protection buyer typically makes a periodic stream of payments to a counterparty, the protection seller, in exchange for the right to receive a contingent payment upon the occurrence of a credit event on the reference obligation or all other equally ranked obligations of the reference entity. Credit events are contract specific but may include bankruptcy, failure to pay, restructuring and obligation acceleration. For OTC credit default contracts, an upfront payment received by the fund is recorded as a liability on the fund’s books. An upfront payment made by the fund is recorded as an asset on the fund’s books. Centrally cleared credit default contracts provide the same rights to the protection buyer and seller except the payments between parties, including upfront premiums, are settled through a central clearing agent through variation margin payments. Upfront and periodic payments received or paid by the fund for OTC and centrally cleared credit default contracts are recorded as realized gains or losses at the reset date or close of the contract. The OTC and centrally cleared credit default contracts are marked to market daily based upon quotations from an independent pricing service or market makers. Any change in value of OTC credit default contracts is recorded as an unrealized gain or loss. Daily fluctuations in the value of centrally cleared credit default contracts are recorded in variation margin on the Statement of assets and liabilities and recorded as unrealized gain or loss. Upon the occurrence of a credit event, the difference between the par value and fair value of the reference obligation, net of any proportional amount of the upfront payment, is recorded as a realized gain or loss.

In addition to bearing the risk that the credit event will occur, the fund could be exposed to market risk due to unfavorable changes in interest rates or in the price of the underlying security or index or the possibility that the fund may be unable to close out its position at the same time or at the same price as if it had purchased the underlying reference obligations. In certain circumstances, the fund may enter into offsetting OTC and centrally cleared credit default contracts which would mitigate its risk of loss. Risks of loss may exceed amounts recognized on the Statement of assets and liabilities. The fund’s maximum risk of loss from counterparty risk, either as the protection seller or as the protection buyer, is the fair value of the contract. This risk may be mitigated for OTC credit default contracts by having a master netting arrangement between the fund and the counterparty and for centrally cleared credit default contracts through the daily exchange of variation margin. Counterparty risk is further mitigated with respect to centrally cleared credit default swap contracts due to the clearinghouse guarantee fund and other resources that are available in the event of a clearing member default. Where the fund is a seller of protection, the maximum potential amount of future payments the fund may be required to make is equal to the notional amount.

OTC and centrally cleared credit default contracts outstanding, including their respective notional amounts at period end, if any, are listed after the fund’s portfolio.

TBA commitments The fund may enter into TBA (to be announced) commitments to purchase securities for a fixed unit price at a future date beyond customary settlement time. Although the unit price and par amount have been established, the actual securities have not been specified. However, it is anticipated that the amount of the commitments will not significantly differ from the principal amount. The fund holds, and maintains until settlement date, cash or high-grade debt obligations in an amount sufficient to meet the purchase price, or the fund may enter into offsetting contracts for the forward sale of other securities it owns. Income on the securities will not be earned until 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 under “Security valuation” above. 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, Putnam Management will determine whether to take delivery of the underlying securities or to dispose of the TBA commitments prior to settlement.

TBA purchase commitments outstanding at period end, if any, are listed within the fund’s portfolio and TBA sale commitments outstanding at period end, if any, are listed after the fund’s portfolio.

Master agreements The fund is a party to ISDA (International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc.) Master Agreements that govern OTC derivative and foreign exchange contracts and Master Securities Forward Transaction Agreements that govern transactions involving mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities that may result in delayed delivery (Master Agreements) with certain counterparties entered into from time to time. The Master Agreements may contain provisions regarding, among other things, the parties’ general obligations, representations, agreements, collateral requirements, events of default and early termination. With respect to certain counterparties, in accordance with the terms of the Master Agreements, collateral posted to the fund is held in a segregated account by the fund’s custodian and, with respect to those amounts which can be sold or repledged, are presented in the fund’s portfolio. Collateral posted to the fund which cannot be sold or repledged totaled $112,976 at the close of the reporting period.

Collateral pledged by the fund is segregated by the fund’s custodian and identified in the fund’s portfolio. Collateral can be in the form of cash or debt securities issued by the U.S. Government or related agencies or other securities as agreed to by the fund and the applicable counterparty. Collateral requirements are determined based on the fund’s net position with each counterparty.

With respect to ISDA Master Agreements, termination events applicable to the fund may occur upon a decline in the fund’s net assets below a specified threshold over a certain period of time. Termination events applicable to counterparties may occur upon a decline in the counterparty’s long-term or short-term credit ratings below a specified level. In each case, upon occurrence, the other party may elect to terminate early and cause settlement

42   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


of all derivative and foreign exchange contracts outstanding, including the payment of any losses and costs resulting from such early termination, as reasonably determined by the terminating party. Any decision by one or more of the fund’s counterparties to elect early termination could impact the fund’s future derivative activity.

At the close of the reporting period, the fund had a net liability position of $217,851 on open derivative contracts subject to the Master Agreements. There was no collateral posted by the fund at period end for these agreements.

Securities lending The fund may lend securities, through its agent, to qualified borrowers in order to earn additional income. The loans are collateralized by cash in an amount at least equal to the fair value of the securities loaned. The fair value of securities loaned is determined daily and any additional required collateral is allocated to the fund on the next business day. The remaining maturities of the securities lending transactions are considered overnight and continuous. The risk of borrower default will be borne by the fund’s agent; the fund will bear the risk of loss with respect to the investment of the cash collateral. Income from securities lending is included in investment income on the Statement of operations. Cash collateral is invested in Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC, a limited liability company managed by an affiliate of Putnam Management. Investments in Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC are valued at its closing net asset value each business day. There are no management fees charged to Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC. At the close of the reporting period, the fund received cash collateral of $1,791,136 and the value of securities loaned amounted to $1,740,621.

Interfund lending The fund, along with other Putnam funds, may participate in an interfund lending program pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the SEC. This program allows the fund to borrow from or lend to other Putnam funds that permit such transactions. Interfund lending transactions are subject to each fund’s investment policies and borrowing and lending limits. Interest earned or paid on the interfund lending transaction will be based on the average of certain current market rates. During the reporting period, the fund did not utilize the program.

Lines of credit The fund participates, along with other Putnam funds, in a $392.5 million syndicated unsecured committed line of credit provided by State Street ($292.5 million) and Northern Trust Company ($100 million) and a $235.5 million unsecured uncommitted line of credit provided by State Street. Borrowings may be made for temporary or emergency purposes, including the funding of shareholder redemption requests and trade settlements. Interest is charged to the fund based on the fund’s borrowing at a rate equal to the higher of (1) the Federal Funds rate and (2) the overnight LIBOR plus 1.25% for the committed line of credit and the Federal Funds rate plus 1.30% for the uncommitted line of credit. A closing fee equal to 0.04% of the committed line of credit and 0.04% of the uncommitted line of credit has been paid by the participating funds. In addition, a commitment fee of 0.16% per annum on any unutilized portion of the committed line of credit is allocated to the participating funds based on their relative net assets and paid quarterly. During the reporting period, the fund had no borrowings against these arrangements.

Federal taxes It is the policy of the fund to distribute all of its taxable income within the prescribed time period and otherwise comply with the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), applicable to regulated investment companies.

The fund is subject to the provisions of Accounting Standards Codification 740 Income Taxes (ASC 740). ASC 740 sets forth a minimum threshold for financial statement recognition of the benefit of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. The fund did not have a liability to record for any unrecognized tax benefits in the accompanying financial statements. No provision has been made for federal taxes on income, capital gains or unrealized appreciation on securities held nor for excise tax on income and capital gains. Each of the fund’s federal tax returns for the prior three fiscal years remains subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service.

The fund may also be subject to taxes imposed by governments of countries in which it invests. Such taxes are generally based on either income or gains earned or repatriated. The fund accrues and applies such taxes to net investment income, net realized gains and net unrealized gains as income and/or capital gains are earned. 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 an asset on the fund’s books. In many cases, however, the fund may not receive such amounts for an extended period of time, depending on the country of investment.

Distributions to shareholders Distributions to shareholders from net investment income are recorded by the fund on the ex-dividend date. Distributions from capital gains, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date and paid at least annually. The amount and character of income and gains to be distributed are determined in accordance with income tax regulations, which may differ from generally accepted accounting principles. These differences include temporary and/or permanent differences from losses on wash sale transactions, from foreign currency gains and losses, from income on swap contracts, from interest-only securities and from receivable purchase agreement. Reclassifications are made to the fund’s capital accounts to reflect income and gains available for distribution (or available capital loss carryovers) under income tax regulations. At the close of the reporting period, the fund reclassified $1,125,004 to increase undistributed net investment income, $6,191 to increase paid-in capital and $1,131,195 to decrease accumulated net realized gain.

The tax basis components of distributable earnings and the federal tax cost as of the close of the reporting period were as follows:

Unrealized appreciation   $14,449,213 
Unrealized depreciation   (7,384,710) 
Net unrealized appreciation   7,064,503 
Undistributed ordinary income   2,955,902 
Undistributed long-term gain   9,051,702 
Undistributed short-term gain   1,409,760 
Cost for federal income tax purposes   $172,671,052 

 

Expenses of the Trust Expenses directly charged or attributable to any fund will be paid from the assets of that fund. Generally, expenses of the Trust will be allocated among and charged to the assets of each fund on a basis that the Trustees deem fair and equitable, which may be based on the relative assets of each fund or the nature of the services performed and relative applicability to each fund.

Beneficial interest At the close of the reporting period, insurance companies or their separate accounts were record owners of all but a de minimis number of the shares of the fund. Approximately 44.9% of the fund is owned by accounts of one insurance company.

Note 2 — Management fee, administrative services and other transactions

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 most open-end funds, as defined in the fund’s management contract, sponsored by Putnam Management. Such annual rates may vary as follows:

0.750%   of the first $5 billion, 
0.700%   of the next $5 billion, 
0.650%   of the next $10 billion, 
0.600%   of the next $10 billion, 
0.550%   of the next $50 billion, 
0.530%   of the next $50 billion, 
0.520%   of the next $100 billion and 
0.515%   of any excess thereafter. 

 

Putnam Management has contractually agreed, through April 30, 2017, to waive fees 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. During the reporting period, the fund’s expenses were not reduced as a result of this limit.

Putnam Investments Limited (PIL), an affiliate of Putnam Management, is authorized by the Trustees to manage a separate portion of the assets of the fund as determined by Putnam Management from time to time. Putnam Management pays a quarterly sub-management fee to PIL for its services at an annual rate of 0.35% of the average net assets of the portion of the fund managed by PIL.

The Putnam Advisory Company, LLC (PAC), an affiliate of Putnam Management, is authorized by the Trustees to manage a separate portion of the assets of the fund, as designated from time to time by Putnam Management or PIL. Putnam Management or PIL, as applicable, pays a quarterly sub-advisory fee to PAC for

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   43 

 


its services at the annual rate of 0.35% of the average net assets of the portion of the fund’s assets for which PAC is engaged as sub-adviser.

Putnam Management has agreed to reimburse the fund $239 for a compliance exception which occurred during the reporting period. The effect of the loss incurred and the reimbursement by Putnam Management of such amounts had no impact on total return.

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.

Custodial functions for the fund’s assets are provided by State Street. Custody fees are based on the fund’s asset level, the number of its security holdings and transaction volumes.

Putnam Investor Services, Inc., an affiliate of Putnam Management, provides investor servicing agent functions to the fund. Putnam Investor Services, Inc. was paid a monthly fee for investor servicing at an annual rate of 0.07% (0.10% prior to January 1, 2015) of the fund’s average daily net assets. During the reporting period, the expenses for each class of shares related to investor servicing fees were as follows:

Class IA   $85,744 
Class IB   33,521 
Total   $119,265 

 

The fund has entered into expense offset arrangements with Putnam Investor Services, Inc. and State Street whereby Putnam Investor Services, Inc.’s and State Street’s fees are reduced by credits allowed on cash balances. The fund also reduced expenses through brokerage/service arrangements. For the reporting period, the fund’s expenses were not reduced under the expense offset arrangements and were reduced by $2,772 under the brokerage/service arrangements.

Each Independent Trustee of the fund receives an annual Trustee fee, of which $99, as a quarterly retainer, has been allocated to the fund, and an additional fee for each Trustees meeting attended. Trustees also are reimbursed for expenses they incur relating to their services as Trustees.

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 on or after July 1, 1995. 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 Trustee compensation and expenses in the Statement of operations. Accrued pension liability is included in Payable for Trustee compensation 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.

The fund has adopted a distribution plan (the Plan) with respect to its class IB shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The purpose of the Plan is to compensate Putnam Retail Management Limited Partnership, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Putnam Investments, LLC, for services provided and expenses incurred in distributing shares of the fund. The Plan provides for payment by the fund to Putnam Retail Management Limited Partnership at an annual rate of up to 0.35% of the average net assets attributable to the fund’s class IB shares. The Trustees have approved payment by the fund at an annual rate of 0.25% of the average net assets attributable to the fund’s class IB shares. During the reporting period, the class specific expenses related to distribution fees were as follows:

Class IB   $119,917 

 

Note 3 — Purchases and sales of securities

During the reporting period, the cost of purchases and the proceeds from sales, excluding short-term investments, were as follows:

  Cost of purchases  Proceeds from sales 
Investments in securities, including     
TBA commitments (Long-term)  $527,088,802  $545,071,702 
U.S. government securities (Long-term)  —  — 
Total  $527,088,802  $545,071,702 

 

The fund may purchase or sell investments from or to other Putnam funds in the ordinary course of business, which can reduce the fund’s transaction costs, at prices determined in accordance with SEC requirements and policies approved by the Trustees. During the reporting period, purchases or sales from or to other Putnam funds, if any, did not represent more than 5% of the fund’s total cost of purchases and/or total proceeds from sales

Written option transactions during the reporting period are summarized as follows:

  Written swap option  Written swap option 
  contract amounts  premiums 
Written options outstanding at the     
beginning of the reporting period  $218,000  $38,821 
Options opened  —  — 
Options exercised  —  — 
Options expired  —  — 
Options closed  —  — 
Written options outstanding at the     
end of the reporting period  $218,000  $38,821 

 

Note 4 — Capital shares

At the close of the reporting period, there were an unlimited number of shares of beneficial interest authorized. Subscriptions and redemptions are presented at the omnibus level. Transactions in capital shares were as follows:

    Class IA shares      Class IB shares   
  Year ended 12/31/15  Year ended 12/31/14  Year ended 12/31/15  Year ended 12/31/14 
 
  Shares  Amount  Shares  Amount  Shares  Amount  Shares  Amount 
Shares sold  93,406  $1,647,993  52,604  $985,121  239,542  $4,254,410  97,376  $1,833,058 
Shares issued in connection with                 
reinvestment of distributions  835,996  14,721,898  510,351  9,099,562  319,544  5,687,888  198,879  3,577,830 
  929,402  16,369,891  562,955  10,084,683  559,086  9,942,298  296,255  5,410,888 
Shares repurchased  (1,209,955)  (22,054,968)  (1,169,382)  (21,759,463)  (649,732)  (11,729,404)  (707,558)  (13,244,947) 
Net decrease  (280,553)  $(5,685,077)  (606,427)  $(11,674,780)  (90,646)  $(1,787,106)  (411,303)  $(7,834,059) 

 

44   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


Note 5 — Affiliated transactions

Transactions during the reporting period with Putnam Money Market Liquidity Fund and Putnam Short Term Investment Fund, which are under common ownership or control, were as follows:

  Fair value at the beginning of        Fair value at the end of the 
Name of affiliate  the reporting period  Purchase cost  Sale proceeds  Investment income  reporting period 
Putnam Money Market Liquidity Fund *  $—  $154,000  $154,000  $16  $— 
Putnam Short Term Investment Fund *  35,469,696  27,259,364  34,592,462  37,557  28,136,598 
Totals  $35,469,696  $27,413,364  $34,746,462  $37,573  $28,136,598 

 

* Management fees charged to Putnam Money Market Liquidity Fund and Putnam Short Term Investment Fund have been waived by Putnam Management.

Note 6 — Senior loan commitments

Senior loans are purchased or sold on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis and may be settled a month or more after the trade date, which from time to time can delay the actual investment of available cash balances; interest income is accrued based on the terms of the securities. Senior loans can be acquired through an agent, by assignment from another holder of the loan, or as a participation interest in another holder’s portion of the loan. When the fund invests in a loan or participation, the fund is subject to the risk that an intermediate participant between the fund and the borrower will fail to meet its obligations to the fund, in addition to the risk that the borrower under the loan may default on its obligations.

Note 7 — Market, credit and other risks

In the normal course of business, the fund trades financial instruments and enters into financial transactions where risk of potential loss exists due to changes in the market (market risk) or failure of the contracting party to the transaction to perform (credit risk). The fund may be exposed to additional credit risk that an institution or other entity with which the fund has unsettled or open transactions will default. Investments in foreign securities involve certain risks, including those related to economic instability, unfavorable political developments, and currency fluctuations. The fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in securitized debt instruments, including mortgage-backed and asset-backed investments. The yields and values of these investments are sensitive to changes in interest rates, the rate of principal payments on the underlying assets and the market’s perception of the issuers. The market for these investments may be volatile and limited, which may make them difficult to buy or sell.

Note 8 — Summary of derivative activity

The volume of activity for the reporting period for any derivative type that was held during the period is listed below and was based on an average of the holdings at the end of each fiscal quarter:

Purchased equity option contracts (contract amount)  $—* 
Written swap option contracts (contract amount) (Note 3)  $220,000 
Futures contracts (number of contracts)  400 
Forward currency contracts (contract amount)  $45,800,000 
Centrally cleared interest rate swap contracts (notional)  $23,600,000 
OTC total return swap contracts (notional)  $18,600,000 
OTC credit default contracts (notional)  $860,000 
Centrally cleared credit default contracts (notional)  $5,600,000 
Warrants (number of warrants)  6,000 

 

* For the reporting period, there were no holdings at the end of each fiscal quarter and the transactions were considered minimal.

The following is a summary of the fair value of derivative instruments as of the close of the reporting period:

  Asset derivatives  Liability derivatives 
Derivatives not accounted         
for as hedging instruments  Statement of assets and    Statement of assets and   
under ASC 815  liabilities location  Fair value  liabilities location  Fair value 
Credit contracts  Receivables, Net assets —       
  Unrealized appreciation  $32,318*  Payables  $28,701 
Foreign exchange contracts  Receivables  243,558  Payables  259,362 
Equity contracts  Investments, Receivables, Net    Payables, Net assets —   
  assets — Unrealized appreciation  124,005*  Unrealized depreciation  105,447* 
Interest rate contracts  Receivables, Net assets —    Payables, Net assets —   
  Unrealized appreciation  58,062*  Unrealized depreciation  91,118* 
Total     $457,943     $484,628 

 

* Includes cumulative appreciation/depreciation of futures contracts and/or centrally cleared swaps as reported in the fund’s portfolio. Only current day’s variation margin is reported within the Statement of assets and liabilities.

 

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   45 

 


The following is a summary of realized and change in unrealized gains or losses of derivative instruments in the Statement of operations for the reporting period (see Note 1):

Derivatives not accounted for as hedging        Forward currency     
instruments under ASC 815  Warrants  Options  Futures  contracts  Swaps  Total 
Credit contracts  $—  $—  $—  $—  $(115,793)  $(115,793) 
Foreign exchange contracts  —  —  —  781,299  —  $781,299 
Equity contracts  (1,586)  (645)  1,053,254  —  (42,845)  $1,008,178 
Interest rate contracts  —  (12,614)  383,010  —  (207,045)  $163,351 
Total  $(1,586)  $(13,259)  $1,436,264  $781,299  $(365,683)  $1,837,035 

 

The following is a summary of realized gains or losses of derivative instruments on the Statement of operations for the reporting period (see Note 1) (there were no unrealized gains or losses on derivative instruments):

Change in unrealized appreciation or (depreciation) on derivatives recognized in net gain or (loss) on investments

Derivatives not accounted for as hedging        Forward currency     
instruments under ASC 815  Warrants  Options  Futures  contracts  Swaps  Total 
Credit contracts  $—  $—  $—  $—  $(20,388)  $(20,388) 
Foreign exchange contracts  —  —  —  (431,740)  —  $(431,740) 
Equity contracts  2,063  —  (158,567)  —  (20,778)  $(177,282) 
Interest rate contracts  —  9,523  (195,958)  —  35,372  $(151,063) 
Total  $2,063  $9,523  $(354,525)  $(431,740)  $(5,794)  $(780,473) 

 

46   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


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Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   47 

 


Note 9 — Offsetting of financial and derivative assets and liabilities

The following table summarizes any derivatives, repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements, at the end of the reporting period, that are subject to an enforceable master netting agreement or similar agreement. For securities lending transactions or borrowing transactions associated with securities sold short, if any, see Note 1. For financial reporting purposes, the fund does not offset financial assets and financial liabilities that are subject to the master netting agreements in the Statement of assets and liabilities.

  Bank of America N.A. Barclays Bank PLC Barclays Capital Inc. (clearing broker) Citibank, N.A. Credit Suisse International Deutsche Bank AG Goldman Sachs International HSBC Bank USA, National Association JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. JPMorgan Securities LLC Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (The) State Street Bank and Trust Co. UBS AG WestPac Banking Corp. Total
Assets:                                 
Centrally cleared interest rate                                 
swap contracts§  $—  $—  $1,685  $—  $—  $—  $—  $—  $—  $—  $—  $—  $—  $—  $—  $1,685 
OTC Total return swap contracts*#  —  690  —  55,664  754  —  1,216  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  58,324 
OTC Credit default contracts*#  —  —  —  —  4,401  —  1,541  —  —  1,293  —  —  —  —  —  7,235 
Centrally cleared credit                                 
default contracts§  —  —  980  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  980 
Futures contracts§  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  46,504  —  —  —  —  46,504 
Forward currency contracts#  6,810  12,969  —  15,520  28,172  13,639  3,776  38,200  6,821  —  —  1,791  12,023  97,186  6,651  243,558 
Total Assets  $6,810  $13,659  $2,665  $71,184  $33,327  $13,639  $6,533  $38,200  $6,821  $1,293  $46,504  $1,791  $12,023  $97,186  $6,651  $358,286 
Liabilities:                                 
Centrally cleared interest rate                                 
swap contracts§  —  —  7,760  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  7,760 
OTC Total return swap contracts*#  —  275  —  77,708  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  77,983 
OTC Credit default contracts*#  1,324  —  —  —  20,424  —  4,604  —  —  2,349  —  —  —  —  —  28,701 
Centrally cleared credit                                 
default contracts§  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  — 
Futures contracts§  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  33,101  —  —  —  —  33,101 
Forward currency contracts#  56,050  18,533  —  88,213  19,802  3,087  6,785  9,340  15,165  —  —  24,191  328  17,868  —  259,362 
Written swap options #  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  23,846  —  —  —  —  —  —  23,846 
Total Liabilities  $57,374  $18,808  $7,760  $165,921  $40,226  $3,087  $11,389  $9,340  $39,011  $2,349  $33,101  $24,191  $328  $17,868  $—  $430,753 
Total Financial and Derivative                                 
Net Assets  $(50,564)  $(5,149)  $(5,095)  $(94,737)  $(6,899)  $10,552  $(4,856)  $28,860  $(32,190)  $(1,056)  $13,403  $(22,400)  $11,695  $79,318  $6,651  $(72,467) 
Total collateral received (pledged)† ##  $—  $—  $—  $—  $—  $—  $—  $—  $—  $—  $—  $—  $—  $79,318  $—   
Net amount  $(50,564)  $(5,149)  $(5,095)  $(94,737)  $(6,899)  $10,552  $(4,856)  $28,860  $(32,190)  $(1,056)  $13,403  $(22,400)  $11,695  $—  $6,651   

 

* Excludes premiums, if any. Included in unrealized appreciation and depreciation on OTC swap contracts on the Statement of assets and liabilities.

† Additional collateral may be required from certain brokers based on individual agreements.

# Covered by master netting agreement (Note 1).

## Any over-collateralization of total financial and derivative net assets is not shown. Collateral may include amounts related to unsettled agreements.

§ Includes current day’s variation margin only as reported on the Statement of assets and liabilities, which is not collateralized. Cumulative appreciation/(depreciation) for futures contracts and centrally cleared swap contracts is represented in the tables listed after the fund’s portfolio.

48  Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund  Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund  49 

 


Federal tax information (Unaudited)

Pursuant to §852 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, the fund hereby designates $9,999,842 as a capital gain dividend with respect to the taxable year ended December 31, 2015, or, if subsequently determined to be different, the net capital gain of such year.

The fund designated 28.46% of ordinary income distributions as qualifying for the dividends received deduction for corporations.

50   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


About the Trustees


Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   51 

 



*Mr. Reynolds is an “interested person” (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940) of the fund and Putnam Investments. He is President and Chief Executive Officer of Putnam Investments, as well as the President of your fund and each of the other Putnam funds.

The address of each Trustee is One Post Office Square, Boston, MA 02109.

As of December 31, 2015, there were 117 Putnam funds. All Trustees serve as Trustees of all Putnam funds.

Each Trustee serves for an indefinite term, until his or her resignation, retirement at age 75, removal, or death.

Officers

In addition to Robert L. Reynolds, the other officers of the fund are shown below:

Jonathan S. Horwitz (Born 1955)  Michael J. Higgins (Born 1976)  James P. Pappas (Born 1953) 
Executive Vice President, Principal Executive  Vice President, Treasurer, and Clerk  Vice President 
Officer, and Compliance Liaison  Since 2010  Since 2004 
Since 2004  Manager of Finance, Dunkin’ Brands  Director of Trustee Relations, 
  (2008–2010); Senior Financial Analyst, Old  Putnam Investments and 
Steven D. Krichmar (Born 1958)  Mutual Asset Management (2007–2008);  Putnam Management 
Vice President and Principal Financial Officer  Senior Financial Analyst, Putnam Investments   
Since 2002  (1999–2007)  Mark C. Trenchard (Born 1962) 
Chief of Operations, Putnam Investments and    Vice President and BSA Compliance Officer 
Putnam Management  Janet C. Smith (Born 1965)  Since 2002 
  Vice President, Principal Accounting Officer,  Director of Operational Compliance, 
Robert T. Burns (Born 1961)  and Assistant Treasurer  Putnam Investments and Putnam 
Vice President and Chief Legal Officer  Since 2007  Retail Management 
Since 2011  Director of Fund Administration Services,   
General Counsel, Putnam Investments,  Putnam Investments and  Nancy E. Florek (Born 1957) 
Putnam Management, and Putnam  Putnam Management  Vice President, Director of Proxy Voting and 
Retail Management    Corporate Governance, Assistant Clerk, and 
  Susan G. Malloy (Born 1957)  Associate Treasurer 
James F. Clark (Born 1974)  Vice President and Assistant Treasurer  Since 2000 
Chief Compliance Officer  Since 2007   
Since 2016  Director of Accounting & Control   
Associate General Counsel, Putnam  Services, Putnam Investments and   
Investments, Putnam Investment  Putnam Management   
Management, and Putnam Retail     
Management (2003–2015)     

 

The principal occupations of the officers for the past five years have been with the employers as shown above, although in some cases they have held different positions with such employers. The address of each officer is One Post Office Square, Boston, MA 02109.

 

52   Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund 

 


Other important information

Proxy voting

Putnam is committed to managing our mutual funds in the best interests of our shareholders. The Putnam funds’ proxy voting guidelines and procedures, as well as information regarding how your fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the 12-month period ended June 30, 2015, are available in the Individual Investors section of putnam.com and on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s [SEC] website, www.sec.gov. If you have questions about finding forms on the SEC’s website, you may call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. You may also obtain the Putnam funds’ proxy voting guidelines and procedures at no charge by calling Putnam’s Shareholder Services at 1-800-225-1581.

Fund portfolio holdings

Each Putnam VT fund will file a complete schedule of its portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. Shareholders may obtain the fund’s Form N-Q on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, the fund’s Form N-Q may be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. You may call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for information about the SEC’s website or the operation of the Public Reference Room.

Fund information

Investment Manager  Investor Servicing Agent  Trustees 
Putnam Investment Management, LLC  Putnam Investor Services, Inc.  Jameson A. Baxter, Chair 
One Post Office Square  Mailing address:  Liaquat Ahamed 
Boston, MA 02109  P.O. Box 8383  Ravi Akhoury 
  Boston, MA 02266-8383  Barbara M. Baumann 
Investment Sub-Manager  1-800-225-1581  Robert J. Darretta 
Putnam Investments Limited    Katinka Domotorffy 
57–59 St James’s Street  Custodian  John A. Hill 
London, England SW1A 1LD  State Street Bank and Trust Company  Paul L. Joskow 
    Kenneth R. Leibler 
Investment Sub-Advisor  Legal Counsel  Robert E. Patterson 
The Putnam Advisory Company, LLC  Ropes & Gray LLP  George Putnam, III 
One Post Office Square    Robert L. Reynolds 
Boston, MA 02109  Independent Registered  W. Thomas Stephens 
  Public Accounting Firm   
Marketing Services  PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP   
Putnam Retail Management     
One Post Office Square     
Boston, MA 02109     

 

The fund’s Statement of Additional Information contains additional information about the fund’s Trustees and is available without charge upon request by calling 1-800-225-1581.

 

Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund   53 

 


     
This report has been prepared for the shareholders    H505 
of Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund.  VTAN062 298654   2/16 

 

Item 2. Code of Ethics:
(a) The fund’s principal executive, financial and accounting officers are employees of Putnam Investment Management, LLC, the Fund’s investment manager. As such they are subject to a comprehensive Code of Ethics adopted and administered by Putnam Investments which is designed to protect the interests of the firm and its clients. The Fund has adopted a Code of Ethics which incorporates the Code of Ethics of Putnam Investments with respect to all of its officers and Trustees who are employees of Putnam Investment Management, LLC. For this reason, the Fund has not adopted a separate code of ethics governing its principal executive, financial and accounting officers.

(c) In November 2015, the Code of Ethics of Putnam Investment Management, LLC was amended. The key changes to the Code of Ethics are as follows: (i) Non-Access Persons are no longer required to pre-clear their trades, (ii) a new provision governing conflicts of interest has been added, (iii) modifying certain provisions of the pre-clearance requirements, Contra-Trading Rule and 60-Day Short-Term Rule, (iv) modifying and adding language relating to reporting of unethical or illegal acts, including anti-retaliation provision, and (v) certain other changes.

Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert:
The Funds’ Audit, Compliance and Distributions Committee is comprised solely of Trustees who are “independent” (as such term has been defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in regulations implementing Section 407 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (the “Regulations”)). The Trustees believe that each of the members of the Audit, Compliance and Distributions Committee also possess a combination of knowledge and experience with respect to financial accounting matters, as well as other attributes, that qualify them for service on the Committee. In addition, the Trustees have determined that each of Mr. Darretta, Mr. Patterson, Mr. Hill, and Ms. Baumann qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” (as such term has been defined by the Regulations) based on their review of his or her pertinent experience and education. The SEC has stated, and the funds’ amended and restated agreement and Declaration of Trust provides, that the designation or identification of a person as an audit committee financial expert pursuant to this Item 3 of Form N-CSR does not impose on such person any duties, obligations or liability that are greater than the duties, obligations and liability imposed on such person as a member of the Audit, Compliance and Distribution Committee and the Board of Trustees in the absence of such designation or identification.

Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services:
The following table presents fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for services rendered to the fund by the fund’s independent auditor:


Fiscal year ended Audit Fees Audit-Related Fees Tax Fees All Other Fees
December 31, 2015 $104,393 $ — $15,131 $ —
December 31, 2014 $99,567 $ — $17,701 $ —

For the fiscal years ended December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the fund’s independent auditor billed aggregate non-audit fees in the amounts of $757,724 and $579,766 respectively, to the fund, Putnam Management and any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with Putnam Management that provides ongoing services to the fund.

Audit Fees represent fees billed for the fund’s last two fiscal years relating to the audit and review of the financial statements included in annual reports and registration statements, and other services that are normally provided in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements.

Audit-Related Fees represent fees billed in the fund’s last two fiscal years for services traditionally performed by the fund’s auditor, including accounting consultation for proposed transactions or concerning financial accounting and reporting standards and other audit or attest services not required by statute or regulation.

Tax Fees represent fees billed in the fund’s last two fiscal years for tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice services. Tax planning and tax advice services include assistance with tax audits, employee benefit plans and requests for rulings or technical advice from taxing authorities.

Pre-Approval Policies of the Audit, Compliance and Distributions Committee. The Audit, Compliance and Distributions Committee of the Putnam funds has determined that, as a matter of policy, all work performed for the funds by the funds’ independent auditors will be pre-approved by the Committee itself and thus will generally not be subject to pre-approval procedures.

The Audit, Compliance and Distributions Committee also has adopted a policy to pre-approve the engagement by Putnam Management and certain of its affiliates of the funds’ independent auditors, even in circumstances where pre-approval is not required by applicable law. Any such requests by Putnam Management or certain of its affiliates are typically submitted in writing to the Committee and explain, among other things, the nature of the proposed engagement, the estimated fees, and why this work should be performed by that particular audit firm as opposed to another one. In reviewing such requests, the Committee considers, among other things, whether the provision of such services by the audit firm are compatible with the independence of the audit firm.

The following table presents fees billed by the fund’s independent auditor for services required to be approved pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X.


Fiscal year ended Audit-Related Fees Tax Fees All Other Fees Total Non-Audit Fees
December 31, 2015 $ — $742,593 $ — $ —
December 31, 2014 $ — $562,065 $ — $ —

Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants
Not applicable
Item 6. Schedule of Investments:
The registrant’s schedule of investments in unaffiliated issuers is included in the report to shareholders in Item 1 above.

Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures For Closed-End Management Investment Companies:

Not applicable
Item 8. Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Investment Companies
Not Applicable
Item 9. Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Companies and Affiliated Purchasers:

Not applicable
Item 10. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders:
Not applicable
Item 11. Controls and Procedures:
(a) The registrant’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded, based on their evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report, that the design and operation of such procedures are generally effective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by the registrant in this report is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms.

(b) Changes in internal control over financial reporting: Not applicable
Item 12. Exhibits:
(a)(1) The Code of Ethics of The Putnam Funds, which incorporates the Code of Ethics of Putnam Investments, is filed herewith.

(a)(2) Separate certifications for the principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the registrant as required by Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, are filed herewith.

(b) The certifications required by Rule 30a-2(b) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, are filed herewith.

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, thereunto duly authorized.

Putnam Variable Trust
By (Signature and Title):
/s/ Janet C. Smith
Janet C. Smith
Principal Accounting Officer

Date: February 26, 2016
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 (Signature and Title):
/s/ Jonathan S. Horwitz
Jonathan S. Horwitz
Principal Executive Officer

Date: February 26, 2016
By (Signature and Title):
/s/ Steven D. Krichmar
Steven D. Krichmar
Principal Financial Officer

Date: February 26, 2016