N-CSRS

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: (811-06128)

Exact name of registrant as specified in charter: Putnam Multi-Cap Growth Fund

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:         John W. Gerstmayr, Esq.
Ropes & Gray LLP
800 Boylston Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02199-3600

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

Date of fiscal year end: June 30, 2013

Date of reporting period: July 1, 2012 — December 31, 2012

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:

Putnam
Multi-Cap Growth
Fund

Semiannual report
12 | 31 | 12

Message from the Trustees	1
About the fund	2
Performance snapshot	4
Interview with your fund’s portfolio manager	5
Your fund’s performance	10
Your fund’s expenses	12
Terms and definitions	14
Other information for shareholders	15
Financial statements	16

Consider these risks before investing: Investments in small and/or midsize companies increase the risk of greater price fluctuations. Growth stocks may be more susceptible to earnings disappointments, and the market may not favor growth-style investing. The prices of stocks in the fund’s portfolio may fall or fail to rise over extended periods of time for a variety of reasons, including both general financial market conditions and factors related to a specific company or industry.

Message from the Trustees

Dear Fellow Shareholder:

With the uncertainty around the U.S. “fiscal cliff” diminished, investors now have some measure of clarity heading into 2013. Of course, challenges remain, including the upcoming debate over the debt ceiling at the end of March. Still, the significant risks — the fiscal cliff, a “hard landing” in China, and the dissolution of the European Union — have abated in the past few months.

Clarity and greater certainty are positive developments for investors. Markets worldwide are starting to recognize that macroeconomic data are beginning to stabilize and even exhibit nascent signs of growth. As the investment climate slowly improves, it is important for you to rely on the expertise of your financial advisor, who can help you work toward your financial goals.

We would like to take this opportunity to announce the arrival of two new Trustees, Liaquat Ahamed and Katinka Domotorffy, CFA, to your fund’s Board of Trustees. Mr. Ahamed, who in 2010 won the Pulitzer Prize for History with his book, Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World, also serves on the Board of Aspen Insurance and the Board of the Rohatyn Group, an emerging-market fund complex that manages money for institutional investors.

Ms. Domotorffy, who until year-end 2011 was a Partner, Chief Investment Officer, and Global Head of Quantitative Investment Strategies at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, currently serves as a member of the Anne Ray Charitable Trust’s Investment Committee, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, and director for Reach Out and Read of Greater New York, an organization dedicated to promoting early childhood literacy.

We would also like to extend a welcome to new shareholders of the fund and to thank all of our investors for your continued confidence in Putnam.

About the fund

A flexible approach to investing in growing companies

Long before most Americans could conceive of the Internet or interactive mobile devices small enough to fit in their pockets, Putnam Multi-Cap Growth Fund was seeking investment opportunities in emerging, cutting-edge U.S. companies. The fund was also targeting stocks in more traditional industries, such as restaurants, retail stores, health care, and broadcasting, that could offer strong growth potential.

Introduced in 1990, the fund invests in stocks of companies that are believed to offer above-average growth potential. An important benefit of the fund’s strategy is its flexibility — it diversifies across a range of industries and companies.

In addition to large companies, the fund can invest in smaller companies that are in their emerging- or expansionary -growth phase, and these companies can remain in the fund’s portfolio until they grow to become market leaders.

Historically, the growth potential offered by stocks of growing companies comes with the risk of greater price fluctuations. Combining small-cap stocks with those of larger, more established companies provides a more diversified approach to help manage those risks.

Supported by a team of dedicated research analysts, the fund’s portfolio manager uses his stock-picking expertise and multiple resources to identify opportunities and manage risk.

With opportunities continuing to emerge across industries and companies of all sizes, Putnam Multi-Cap Growth Fund will continue to focus on capturing growth potential for investors.

Multi-cap investing at Putnam

Putnam’s suite of multi-cap equity funds is designed to provide a simple, streamlined approach to investing across the broad universe of U.S. stocks. Each fund invests with a specific style and has the flexibility to invest in companies of all sizes.

The fund managers can select from all companies within their style universe, regardless of company size. The managers can own stocks throughout a company’s entire growth cycle, without capitalization restraints that might force them to sell holdings that get too large, or that would prevent them from taking advantage of certain attractively priced stocks.

Supported by a strong research team, the managers use their stock-picking expertise to identify opportunities and manage risk.

Putnam Multi-Cap Growth Fund targets stocks of companies that are believed to offer above-average growth potential.

Putnam Multi-Cap Value Fund targets companies whose stocks are priced below their long-term potential, and where there may be a catalyst for positive change.

Putnam Multi-Cap Core Fund uses a blend strategy, investing in both growth stocks and value stocks, seeking capital appreciation for investors.

Current performance may be lower or higher than the quoted past performance, which cannot guarantee future results. Share price, principal value, and return will fluctuate, and you may have a gain or a loss when you sell your shares. Performance of class A shares assumes reinvestment of distributions and does not account for taxes. Fund returns in the bar chart do not reflect a sales charge of 5.75%; had they, returns would have been lower. See pages 5 and 10–11 for additional performance information. For a portion of the periods, the fund had expense limitations, without which returns would have been lower. To obtain the most recent month-end performance, visit putnam.com.

* Returns for the six-month period are not annualized, but cumulative.

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Interview with your fund’s portfolio manager

Can you tell us about the investing environment for the six months ended December 31, 2012?

The period began at a turbulent time for stocks, which had been declining as issues such as the eurozone debt crisis and China’s economic slowdown continued to destabilize investor confidence. After a volatile first month, however, stocks rebounded considerably and rallied through the summer. Despite the fact that global macroeconomic issues remained unresolved, investors seemed willing to look past them and take on more investment risk. In the final months of the period, as 2012 came to a close, the market turned volatile again as investors dealt with somewhat disappointing third-quarter corporate earnings reports, uncertainty around the U.S. presidential election, and the threat of the “fiscal cliff.” Overall, despite the market swings, U.S. equity indexes and the fund delivered positive returns for the period.

The fund outperformed both its benchmark and its Lipper peers for the period. What strategies or holdings contributed to fund returns?

Our decision to avoid the stock of Intel was among the top contributors to fund performance. A maker of computer microprocessors, Intel has struggled as the personal computer market faces enormous pressure. PC sales and demand have declined considerably as smartphones and tablets

This comparison shows your fund’s performance in the context of broad market indexes for the six months ended 12/31/12. See pages 4 and 10–11 for additional fund performance information. Index descriptions can be found on page 14.

Multi-Cap Growth Fund  5 

continue to consume more market share. Intel chips are used primarily in PCs, and the company has lagged in adapting its products for an increasingly more mobile world. In recognition of this challenge, we decided to avoid Intel in the current environment, which proved beneficial.

The stock of Affymax, a biopharmaceutical company, was also a top contributor to performance. The key driver of its share price has been Omontys, an anemia drug that is used for patients undergoing dialysis treatment. Approved by the FDA in March 2012, Omontys has the potential, in our view, to gain significant share from Amgen, a drug company that has dominated this area of the market with its drug, Epogen. Dialysis providers have responded favorably to the lower-priced alternative offered by Affymax, a small, innovative company.

Another portfolio highlight was Eaton, a diversified industrial company specializing in a wide array of areas, including aerospace, hydraulics, and truck and automotive parts. This stock’s performance is reflective of the overall economic environment for the six-month period. Because it is a cyclical business, Eaton’s success is closely tied to economic growth. For much of the past six months, the market was experiencing a so-called “risk-on” cycle, in which investors were feeling better about economic conditions and were more willing to invest in cyclical stocks. Eaton also has significant exposure to European markets, where concerns about the region’s debt crisis subsided with the introduction of the European Central Bank’s [ECB] bond buying program. Beyond Eaton’s cyclical nature, we believe the company offers solid long-term fundamentals, and the stock remained in the portfolio at period-end.

What strategies or holdings held back fund returns?

Dollar General — one of the fund’s top performers for the previous fiscal year — was

Allocations are represented as a percentage of the fund’s net assets. 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.

6  Multi-Cap Growth Fund 

a detractor over the past six months. The company operates nearly 10,000 discount retail stores across the United States, and for a while, it had been a business that was “right for the times” — offering tremendous value in an environment of relatively high unemployment, anemic income growth, and households whose budgets were under pressure. More recently, however, as consumers have continued to feel budgetary pressure, they are spending less, even in discount retail stores. At the same time, Dollar General has felt competitive pressure from more traditional stores as all retailers pursue a shrinking customer base. Despite its short-term underperformance, this stock remained in the portfolio at period-end.

A detractor that we have sold from the portfolio is Advanced Micro Devices, a global semiconductor company. While this company struggles with many of the same pressures as Intel — primarily the weakening PC market — we believed it had the potential, as a relatively small player in the microprocessor industry, to gain market share. We believed its new management and its focus on delivering improved products would lead to greater profitability. In this case, our strategy was not rewarded, as the stock declined sharply during the period and the company failed to keep pace with its competitors.

Fund performance was also dampened by our decision to maintain a relatively small position in Gilead Sciences. The stock of this biopharmaceutical company made impressive gains during the period, due largely to promising late-stage trials for its experimental hepatitis C treatment. While we believed Gilead could gain a share of the hepatitis C market, we underestimated the

This table shows the fund’s top 10 holdings by percentage of the fund’s net assets as of 12/31/12. Short-term holdings are excluded. Holdings will vary over time.

Multi-Cap Growth Fund  7 

strength of its new drug and the potential for Gilead to dominate the market. We added Gilead to the portfolio at the midpoint of the period, missing some of its early gains.

What is your outlook for the markets and the fund?

We continue to see evidence that an economic recovery is well underway. While the pace of that recovery is slower than we would like, jobs have been created and the U.S. housing market has picked up steam over the past 12 months. And in global markets, many of investors’ macroeconomic worries have begun to subside. The ECB has taken action to protect the euro and ease short-term funding pressure on Spain and Italy. Also, China has new leadership and continues to implement stimulus programs, helping relieve concerns about a hard landing for its economy.

In terms of positioning the fund, we enter 2013 in much the same way we began last year — seeking stocks that we believe will benefit in an improving economic environment. At the same time, we recognize that additional progress is needed on many macroeconomic issues, from the need for Europe to reform and restructure, to implementing a solid deficit reduction program in the United States. And, as we have learned since the depths of the 2008 global financial crisis, we can expect times of heightened fear and uncertainty that will drive periods of volatility in the markets. In managing the fund, we will continue to focus on identifying companies with the potential to grow over time — without getting sidetracked by short-term disruptions in the market.

Thank you, Rob, for your time and insight.

This chart shows how the fund’s top weightings have changed over the past six months. Allocations are represented as a percentage of the fund’s net assets. Current period 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.

8  Multi-Cap Growth Fund 

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. Current and future portfolio holdings are subject to risk.

Portfolio Manager Robert M. Brookby has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from Northwestern University. Rob joined Putnam in 2008 and has been in the investment industry since 1999.

IN THE NEWS

The Japanese yen has weakened considerably in the past few months and recently fell to its lowest level since June 2010. This has led to a robust rally in Japanese stocks as new Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government attempts to “reflate” the country’s moribund economy by adding stimulus and pressing the Bank of Japan to ease monetary policy. In early January, Japan’s new government unveiled a $117 billion economic stimulus package, which includes billions in government spending on public works and infrastructure programs. The goal of the stimulus program is to boost the real GDP growth rate to 2% and create 600,000 jobs in the world’s third-largest economy. The weaker yen has been particularly beneficial for Japan’s export companies. In the fourth quarter of 2012, Japan’s stock market increased 17.56%, as measured by the MSCI Japan Index, although this outsize gain was offset by the yen’s decline versus major global currencies. As of January 31, 2013, it was up 9.42% year to date.

Multi-Cap Growth Fund  9 

Your fund’s performance

This section shows your fund’s performance, price, and distribution information for periods ended December 31, 2012, the end of the first half of its current fiscal year. In accordance with regulatory requirements for mutual funds, we also include expense information taken from the fund’s current prospectus. Performance should always be considered in light of a fund’s investment strategy. 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. For the most recent month-end performance, please visit the Individual Investors section at putnam.com or call Putnam at 1-800-225-1581. Class R and class Y shares are not available to all investors. See the Terms and Definitions section in this report for definitions of the share classes offered by your fund.

Fund performance Total return for periods ended 12/31/12

	Class A		Class B		Class C		Class M		Class R	Class Y
(inception dates)	(8/31/90)		(3/1/93)		(7/26/99)		(12/1/94)		(1/21/03)	(7/19/94)
	Before	After					Before	After	Net	Net
	sales	sales	Before	After	Before	After	sales	sales	asset	asset
	charge	charge	CDSC	CDSC	CDSC	CDSC	charge	charge	value	value
Annual average
(life of fund)	10.60%	10.30%	9.78%	9.78%	9.77%	9.77%	10.03%	9.85%	10.33%	10.83%
10 years	97.61	86.28	83.28	83.28	83.34	83.34	87.93	81.36	92.88	102.61
Annual average	7.05	6.42	6.25	6.25	6.25	6.25	6.51	6.13	6.79	7.32
5 years	7.18	1.01	3.22	1.22	3.24	3.24	4.50	0.83	5.82	8.52
Annual average	1.40	0.20	0.64	0.24	0.64	0.64	0.88	0.17	1.14	1.65
3 years	32.27	24.66	29.33	26.33	29.31	29.31	30.29	25.72	31.28	33.28
Annual average	9.77	7.62	8.95	8.10	8.95	8.95	9.22	7.93	9.50	10.05
1 year	16.70	10.00	15.79	10.79	15.79	14.79	16.08	12.02	16.40	16.98
6 months	7.59	1.41	7.17	2.17	7.18	6.18	7.32	3.56	7.46	7.72

Current performance may be lower or higher than the quoted past performance, which cannot guarantee future results. After-sales-charge returns for class A and M shares reflect the deduction of the maximum 5.75% and 3.50% sales charge, respectively, levied at the time of purchase. Class B share returns after contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) reflect the applicable CDSC, which is 5% in the first year, declining over time to 1% in the sixth year, and is eliminated thereafter. Class C share returns after CDSC reflect a 1% CDSC for the first year that is eliminated thereafter. Class R and Y shares have no initial sales charge or CDSC. Performance for class B, C, M, R, and Y shares before their inception is derived from the historical performance of class A shares, adjusted for the applicable sales charge (or CDSC) and the higher operating expenses for such shares, except for class Y shares, for which 12b-1 fees are not applicable.

Class B share performance does not reflect conversion to class A shares.

Recent performance may have benefited from one or more legal settlements.

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

10  Multi-Cap Growth Fund 

Comparative index returns For periods ended 12/31/12

		Lipper Multi-Cap Growth
	Russell 3000 Growth Index	Funds category average*
Annual average (life of fund)	8.37%	9.30%
10 years	109.75	121.37
Annual average	7.69	8.07
5 years	16.79	5.76
Annual average	3.15	0.94
3 years	38.48	32.83
Annual average	11.46	9.83
1 year	15.21	15.25
6 months	4.75	5.46

Index and Lipper results should be compared with fund performance before sales charge, before CDSC, or at net asset value.

* Over the 6-month, 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, 10-year, and life-of-fund periods ended 12/31/12, there were 546, 531, 466, 387, 255, and 37 funds, respectively, in this Lipper category.

Fund price and distribution information For the six-month period ended 12/31/12

Distributions	Class A		Class B	Class C	Class M		Class R	Class Y
Number	1		—	—	—		1	1
Income	$0.227		—	—	—		$0.094	$0.369
Capital gains	—		—	—	—		—	—
Total	$0.227		—	—	—		$0.094	$0.369
	Before	After	Net	Net	Before	After	Net	Net
	sales	sales	asset	asset	sales	sales	asset	asset
Share value	charge	charge	value	value	charge	charge	value	value
6/30/12	$52.15	$55.33	$44.60	$47.33	$47.42	$49.14	$51.03	$54.70
12/31/12	55.88	59.29	47.80	50.73	50.89	52.74	54.74	58.55

The classification of distributions, if any, is an estimate. Before-sales-charge share value and current dividend rate for class A and M shares, if applicable, do not take into account any sales charge levied at the time of purchase. After-sales-charge share value, current dividend rate, and current 30-day SEC yield, if applicable, are calculated assuming that the maximum sales charge (5.75% for class A shares and 3.50% for class M shares) was levied at the time of purchase. Final distribution information will appear on your year-end tax forms.

Multi-Cap Growth Fund  11 

Your fund’s expenses

As a mutual fund investor, 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, including sales charges (loads) and redemption fees, which are not shown in this section and would have resulted in higher total expenses. For more information, see your fund’s prospectus or talk to your financial representative.

Expense ratios

	Class A	Class B	Class C	Class M	Class R	Class Y
Total annual operating expenses
for the fiscal year ended 6/30/12	1.14%	1.89%	1.89%	1.64%	1.39%	0.89%
Annualized expense ratio for
the six-month period ended
12/31/12*	1.09%	1.84%	1.84%	1.59%	1.34%	0.84%

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.

* Includes a decrease of 0.07% from annualizing the performance fee adjustment for the six months ended 12/31/12.

Expenses per $1,000

The following table shows the expenses you would have paid on a $1,000 investment in the fund from July 1, 2012, to December 31, 2012. It also shows how much a $1,000 investment would be worth at the close of the period, assuming actual returns and expenses.

	Class A	Class B	Class C	Class M	Class R	Class Y
Expenses paid per $1,000*†	$5.70	$9.61	$9.61	$8.31	$7.01	$4.40
Ending value (after expenses)	$1,075.90	$1,071.70	$1,071.80	$1,073.20	$1,074.60	$1,077.20

* 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 12/31/12. The expense ratio may differ for each share class.

† Expenses 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.

12  Multi-Cap Growth Fund 

Estimate the expenses you paid

To estimate the ongoing expenses you paid for the six months ended December 31, 2012, use the following calculation method. To find the value of your investment on July 1, 2012, call Putnam at 1-800-225-1581.

Compare expenses using the SEC’s method

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has established guidelines to help investors assess fund expenses. Per these guidelines, the following table shows 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 mutual fund shareholder reports 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.

	Class A	Class B	Class C	Class M	Class R	Class Y
Expenses paid per $1,000*†	$5.55	$9.35	$9.35	$8.08	$6.82	$4.28
Ending value (after expenses)	$1,019.71	$1,015.93	$1,015.93	$1,017.19	$1,018.45	$1,020.97

* 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 12/31/12. The expense ratio may differ for each share class.

† Expenses 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.

Multi-Cap Growth Fund  13 

Terms and definitions

Important terms

Total return shows how the value of the fund’s shares changed over time, assuming you held the shares through the entire period and reinvested all distributions in the fund.

Before sales charge, or net asset value, is the price, or value, of one share of a mutual fund, without a sales charge. Before-sales-charge figures fluctuate with market conditions, and are calculated by dividing the net assets of each class of shares by the number of outstanding shares in the class.

After sales charge is the price of a mutual fund share plus the maximum sales charge levied at the time of purchase. After-sales-charge performance figures shown here assume the 5.75% maximum sales charge for class A shares and 3.50% for class M shares.

Contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) is generally a charge applied at the time of the redemption of class B or C shares and assumes redemption at the end of the period. Your fund’s class B CDSC declines over time from a 5% maximum during the first year to 1% during the sixth year. After the sixth year, the CDSC no longer applies. The CDSC for class C shares is 1% for one year after purchase.

Share classes

Class A shares are generally subject to an initial sales charge and no CDSC (except on certain redemptions of shares bought without an initial sales charge).

Class B shares are not subject to an initial sales charge. They may be subject to a CDSC.

Class C shares are not subject to an initial sales charge and are subject to a CDSC only if the shares are redeemed during the first year.

Class M shares have a lower initial sales charge and a higher 12b-1 fee than class A shares and no CDSC (except on certain redemptions of shares bought without an initial sales charge).

Class R shares are not subject to an initial sales charge or CDSC and are available only to certain defined contribution plans.

Class Y shares are not subject to an initial sales charge or CDSC, and carry no 12b-1 fee. They are generally only available to corporate and institutional clients and clients in other approved programs.

Comparative indexes

Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is an unmanaged index of U.S. investment-grade fixed-income securities.

BofA (Bank of America) Merrill Lynch U.S. 3-Month Treasury Bill Index is an unmanaged index that seeks to measure the performance of U.S. Treasury bills available in the marketplace.

Russell 3000 Growth Index is an unmanaged index of those companies in the broad-market Russell 3000 Index chosen for their growth orientation.

S&P 500 Index is an unmanaged index of common stock performance.

Indexes assume reinvestment of all distributions and do not account for fees. Securities and performance of a fund and an index will differ. You cannot invest directly in an index.

Lipper is a third-party industry-ranking entity that ranks mutual funds. Its rankings do not reflect sales charges. Lipper rankings are based on total return at net asset value relative to other funds that have similar current investment styles or objectives as determined by Lipper. Lipper may change a fund’s category assignment at its discretion. Lipper category averages reflect performance trends for funds within a category.

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Other information for shareholders

Important notice regarding delivery of shareholder documents

In accordance with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations, Putnam sends a single copy of annual and semiannual shareholder reports, prospectuses, and proxy statements to Putnam shareholders who share the same address, unless a shareholder requests otherwise. If you prefer to receive your own copy of these documents, please call Putnam at 1-800-225-1581, and Putnam will begin sending individual copies within 30 days.

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, 2012, are available in the Individual Investors section of putnam.com, and on the SEC’s 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

The 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 Forms N-Q on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, the fund’s Forms 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.

Trustee and employee fund ownership

Putnam employees and members of the Board of Trustees place their faith, confidence, and, most importantly, investment dollars in Putnam mutual funds. As of December 31, 2012, Putnam employees had approximately $348,000,000 and the Trustees had approximately $84,000,000 invested in Putnam mutual funds. These amounts include investments by the Trustees’ and employees’ immediate family members as well as investments through retirement and deferred compensation plans.

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Financial statements

A guide to financial statements

These sections of the report, as well as the accompanying Notes, constitute the fund’s financial statements.

The fund’s portfolio lists all the fund’s investments and their values as of the last day of the reporting period. Holdings are organized by asset type and industry sector, country, or state to show areas of concentration and diversification.

Statement of assets and liabilities shows how the fund’s net assets and share price are determined. All investment and non-investment assets are added together. Any unpaid expenses and other liabilities are subtracted from this total. The result is divided by the number of shares to determine the net asset value per share, which is calculated separately for each class of shares. (For funds with preferred shares, the amount subtracted from total assets includes the liquidation preference of preferred shares.)

Statement of operations shows the fund’s net investment gain or loss. This is done by first adding up all the fund’s earnings — from dividends and interest income — and subtracting its operating expenses to determine net investment income (or loss). Then, any net gain or loss the fund realized on the sales of its holdings — as well as any unrealized gains or losses over the period — is added to or subtracted from the net investment result to determine the fund’s net gain or loss for the fiscal period.

Statement of changes in net assets shows how the fund’s net assets were affected by the fund’s net investment gain or loss, by distributions to shareholders, and by changes in the number of the fund’s shares. It lists distributions and their sources (net investment income or realized capital gains) over the current reporting period and the most recent fiscal year-end. The distributions listed here may not match the sources listed in the Statement of operations because the distributions are determined on a tax basis and may be paid in a different period from the one in which they were earned. Dividend sources are estimated at the time of declaration. Actual results may vary. Any non-taxable return of capital cannot be determined until final tax calculations are completed after the end of the fund’s fiscal year.

Financial highlights provide an overview of the fund’s investment results, per-share distributions, expense ratios, net investment income ratios, and portfolio turnover in one summary table, reflecting the five most recent reporting periods. In a semiannual report, the highlights table also includes the current reporting period.

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The fund’s portfolio 12/31/12 (Unaudited)

COMMON STOCKS (99.2%)*	Shares	Value
Aerospace and defense (4.2%)
Embraer SA ADR (Brazil)	386,700	$11,024,817
Honeywell International, Inc.	746,800	47,399,396
Precision Castparts Corp.	242,061	45,851,195
United Technologies Corp.	331,500	27,186,315
		131,461,723
Air freight and logistics (1.1%)
FedEx Corp.	383,400	35,165,448
		35,165,448
Airlines (0.3%)
Delta Air Lines, Inc. †	881,300	10,461,031
		10,461,031
Auto components (1.3%)
American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. † S	1,219,277	13,655,902
Johnson Controls, Inc.	933,900	28,670,730
		42,326,632
Beverages (1.9%)
Beam, Inc.	247,604	15,126,128
Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc.	1,108,800	35,182,224
PepsiCo, Inc.	134,900	9,231,207
		59,539,559
Biotechnology (2.4%)
Affymax, Inc. † S	274,356	5,212,764
BioMarin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. † S	380,900	18,759,325
Celgene Corp. †	234,200	18,436,224
Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. † S	371,511	15,625,753
Dendreon Corp. † S	353,164	1,864,706
Elan Corp. PLC ADR (Ireland) †	592,100	6,045,341
Gilead Sciences, Inc. †	124,100	9,115,145
Prothena Corp PLC (Ireland) †	14,441	105,856
		75,165,114
Building products (0.7%)
Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc. †	405,100	11,837,022
Owens Corning, Inc. † S	240,100	8,881,299
		20,718,321
Capital markets (2.0%)
Apollo Global Management, LLC Class A	604,916	10,501,342
Charles Schwab Corp. (The) S	1,764,200	25,333,912
Invesco, Ltd.	1,046,400	27,300,576
		63,135,830
Chemicals (4.3%)
Agrium, Inc. (Canada)	48,300	4,825,653
Albemarle Corp. S	233,600	14,511,232
Celanese Corp. Ser. A	952,599	42,419,233
Dow Chemical Co. (The)	591,100	19,104,352
FMC Corp. S	313,500	18,346,020
GSE Holding, Inc. † S	896,457	5,558,033
Monsanto Co.	333,900	31,603,635
		136,368,158
Commercial banks (0.2%)
Bancorp, Inc. (The) †	650,000	7,130,500
		7,130,500

Multi-Cap Growth Fund  17 

COMMON STOCKS (99.2%)* cont.	Shares	Value
Commercial services and supplies (0.6%)
Tyco International, Ltd.	620,590	$18,152,258
		18,152,258
Communications equipment (3.4%)
F5 Networks, Inc. †	221,500	21,518,725
Polycom, Inc. †	1,649,798	17,256,887
Qualcomm, Inc.	1,082,335	67,126,417
		105,902,029
Computers and peripherals (9.1%)
Apple, Inc.	349,876	186,494,404
EMC Corp. †	1,960,200	49,593,060
NetApp, Inc. †	475,600	15,956,380
SanDisk Corp. †	796,512	34,696,063
		286,739,907
Consumer finance (0.7%)
Capital One Financial Corp.	388,444	22,502,561
		22,502,561
Distributors (0.2%)
LKQ Corp. † S	372,050	7,850,255
		7,850,255
Diversified financial services (1.9%)
Bank of America Corp.	1,902,500	22,069,000
Citigroup, Inc.	564,300	22,323,708
Moody’s Corp. S	310,600	15,629,392
		60,022,100
Diversified telecommunication services (0.2%)
Iridium Communications, Inc. † S	1,032,606	6,959,764
		6,959,764
Electrical equipment (2.0%)
AMETEK, Inc. S	421,100	15,820,727
Eaton Corp PLC	710,646	38,517,013
Thermon Group Holdings, Inc. † S	362,440	8,165,773
		62,503,513
Energy equipment and services (4.3%)
Cameron International Corp. †	749,000	42,288,540
Dresser-Rand Group, Inc. † S	149,600	8,398,544
Halliburton Co.	455,800	15,811,702
Oil States International, Inc. †	525,492	37,593,698
Schlumberger, Ltd.	467,900	32,420,791
		136,513,275
Food and staples retail (0.7%)
Costco Wholesale Corp.	159,600	15,763,692
Whole Foods Market, Inc.	69,420	6,340,129
		22,103,821
Food products (0.9%)
Hershey Co. (The) S	106,200	7,669,764
Hillshire Brands Co.	167,100	4,702,194
Mead Johnson Nutrition Co.	256,700	16,913,963
		29,285,921
Health-care equipment and supplies (4.0%)
Baxter International, Inc.	870,658	58,038,062
Covidien PLC	748,000	43,189,520
Zimmer Holdings, Inc.	375,900	25,057,494
		126,285,076

18  Multi-Cap Growth Fund 

COMMON STOCKS (99.2%)* cont.	Shares	Value
Health-care providers and services (3.1%)
Aetna, Inc. S	683,100	$31,627,530
Catamaran Corp. †	472,324	22,251,184
Express Scripts Holding Co. †	284,800	15,379,200
UnitedHealth Group, Inc.	536,700	29,110,608
		98,368,522
Hotels, restaurants, and leisure (2.9%)
Las Vegas Sands Corp.	504,555	23,290,259
McDonald’s Corp.	202,700	17,880,167
Penn National Gaming, Inc. † S	193,410	9,498,365
Starbucks Corp.	478,500	25,657,170
Wyndham Worldwide Corp.	282,869	15,051,459
		91,377,420
Household products (1.2%)
Colgate-Palmolive Co. S	186,500	19,496,710
Procter & Gamble Co. (The)	284,400	19,307,916
		38,804,626
Independent power producers and energy traders (0.7%)
Calpine Corp. †	1,153,200	20,907,516
		20,907,516
Insurance (1.0%)
Aon PLC	193,500	10,758,600
Prudential PLC (United Kingdom)	1,411,168	19,690,423
		30,449,023
Internet and catalog retail (3.2%)
Amazon.com, Inc. †	145,800	36,616,212
HomeAway, Inc. † S	476,800	10,489,600
HSN, Inc. S	186,500	10,272,420
Priceline.com, Inc. †	70,790	43,974,748
		101,352,980
Internet software and services (4.6%)
eBay, Inc. †	805,400	41,091,508
Facebook, Inc. Class A †	666,600	17,751,558
Google, Inc. Class A †	111,003	78,742,198
Millennial Media, Inc. † S	523,650	6,561,335
		144,146,599
IT Services (2.7%)
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. † S	290,800	21,533,740
InterXion Holding NV (Netherlands) †	191,772	4,556,503
Total Systems Services, Inc.	547,000	11,716,740
Visa, Inc. Class A S	310,100	47,004,958
		84,811,941
Leisure equipment and products (0.2%)
Polaris Industries, Inc. S	77,400	6,513,210
		6,513,210
Life sciences tools and services (1.3%)
Agilent Technologies, Inc.	393,000	16,089,420
Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.	402,200	25,652,316
		41,741,736
Machinery (3.2%)
Cummins, Inc.	257,000	27,845,950
Edwards Group, Ltd. ADR (United Kingdom) †	1,042,325	6,337,336
Parker Hannifin Corp. S	188,700	16,050,822
Timken Co.	602,901	28,836,755

Multi-Cap Growth Fund  19 

COMMON STOCKS (99.2%)* cont.	Shares	Value
Machinery cont.
TriMas Corp. † S	365,500	$10,219,380
Wabtec Corp.	149,800	13,113,492
		102,403,735
Marine (0.4%)
Kirby Corp. † S	208,400	12,897,876
		12,897,876
Media (3.1%)
Comcast Corp. Class A	839,900	31,395,462
DISH Network Corp. Class A	415,500	15,124,200
Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) S	581,700	6,410,334
Time Warner, Inc. S	918,500	43,931,855
		96,861,851
Metals and mining (1.2%)
Barrick Gold Corp. (Canada)	415,000	14,529,150
Carpenter Technology Corp. S	363,100	18,746,853
Walter Energy, Inc. S	154,890	5,557,453
		38,833,456
Multiline retail (1.5%)
Dollar General Corp. †	635,191	28,005,571
Nordstrom, Inc. S	374,371	20,028,849
		48,034,420
Oil, gas, and consumable fuels (3.7%)
Anadarko Petroleum Corp.	421,364	31,311,559
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.	362,000	18,005,880
Cobalt International Energy, Inc. † S	220,656	5,419,311
Gulfport Energy Corp. †	407,000	15,555,540
Noble Energy, Inc.	377,600	38,417,024
Suncor Energy, Inc. (Canada)	238,100	7,829,749
		116,539,063
Personal products (—%)
Avon Products, Inc. S	16,259	233,479
		233,479
Pharmaceuticals (3.4%)
Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. †	519,500	9,626,335
Eli Lilly & Co.	577,700	28,492,164
Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC † S	244,667	13,016,284
Medicines Co. (The) †	357,400	8,566,878
Shire PLC ADR (United Kingdom)	232,500	21,431,850
Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. †	322,800	27,760,800
		108,894,311
Professional services (0.6%)
Verisk Analytics, Inc. Class A †	361,400	18,431,400
		18,431,400
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) (0.9%)
American Campus Communities, Inc. R	297,929	13,743,465
American Tower Corp. Class A R	171,702	13,267,414
		27,010,879
Real estate management and development (1.0%)
CBRE Group, Inc. Class A †	912,200	18,152,780
Realogy Holdings Corp. †	285,000	11,958,600
		30,111,380

20  Multi-Cap Growth Fund 

COMMON STOCKS (99.2%)* cont.			Shares	Value
Semiconductors and semiconductor equipment (2.3%)
ASML Holding NV ADR (Netherlands) S			63,541	$4,092,676
Avago Technologies, Ltd.			840,500	26,610,230
First Solar, Inc. † S			124,025	3,829,892
Texas Instruments, Inc.			582,900	18,034,926
Xilinx, Inc.			598,800	21,496,920
				74,064,644
Software (5.3%)
Infoblox, Inc. †			91,800	1,649,646
Informatica Corp. †			156,100	4,732,952
Microsoft Corp.			810,763	21,671,695
Oracle Corp.			1,420,700	47,337,724
Salesforce.com, Inc. † S			237,596	39,939,888
SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. † S			571,199	13,206,121
Synopsys, Inc. †			686,400	21,854,976
VMware, Inc. Class A † S			190,850	17,966,619
				168,359,621
Specialty retail (3.0%)
AutoZone, Inc. † S			40,300	14,283,529
Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. † S			364,487	20,378,468
Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc. S			288,600	13,128,414
Lowe’s Cos., Inc.			640,600	22,754,112
Tile Shop Holdings, Inc. † S			209,178	3,520,466
TJX Cos., Inc. (The)			490,744	20,832,083
				94,897,072
Textiles, apparel, and luxury goods (0.6%)
Coach, Inc. S			332,100	18,434,871
				18,434,871
Tobacco (1.7%)
Lorillard, Inc.			68,500	7,991,895
Philip Morris International, Inc.			528,300	44,187,009
				52,178,904
Total common stocks (cost $2,698,381,026)				$3,132,953,331
WARRANTS (—%)*†	Expiration	Strike
	date	price	Warrants	Value
Citigroup, Inc.	1/4/19	$106.10	1,682,858	$703,435
Total warrants (cost $1,699,687)				$703,435
CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCKS (—%)*			Shares	Value
UNEXT.com, LLC zero % cv. pfd. (acquired 4/14/00, cost $10,451,238)
(Private) †‡F			125,000	$—
Total convertible preferred stocks (cost $10,451,238)				$—

Multi-Cap Growth Fund  21 

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (10.7%)*	Principal amount/shares	Value
U.S. Treasury Bills with an effective yield of 0.199%,
March 7, 2013	$852,000	$851,951
U.S. Treasury Bills with an effective yield of 0.184%,
April 4, 2013 #	448,000	447,928
U.S. Treasury Bills with an effective yield of 0.141%,
February 7, 2013	70,000	69,990
U.S. Treasury Bills with effective yields ranging from 0.103%
to 0.124%, January 10, 2013	1,316,000	1,315,965
Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC 0.21% d	302,357,857	302,357,857
Putnam Money Market Liquidity Fund 0.14% L	31,361,649	31,361,649
Total short-term investments (cost $336,404,939)		$336,405,340
TOTAL INVESTMENTS
Total investments (cost $3,046,936,890)		$3,470,062,106

Key to holding’s abbreviations

ADR	American Depository Receipts: represents ownership of foreign securities on deposit with a
	custodian bank

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 July 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012 (the reporting period). Within the following notes to the portfolio, references to “ASC 820” represent Accounting Standards Codification ASC 820 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures.

* Percentages indicated are based on net assets of $3,158,248,310.

† Non-income-producing security.

‡ Security is restricted with regard to public resale. The total market value of this security and any other restricted securities (excluding 144A securities), if any, held at the close of the reporting period was $0.

# 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.

^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 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 6). 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).

FUTURES CONTRACTS OUTSTANDING at 12/31/12 (Unaudited)

	Number of		Expiration	Unrealized
	contracts	Value	date	(depreciation)
NASDAQ 100 Index E-Mini (Long)	11	$584,155	Mar-13	$(7,942)
Russell 2000 Index Mini (Long)	2	169,320	Mar-13	(904)
S&P 500 Index (Long)	5	1,775,125	Mar-13	(24,894)
S&P Mid Cap 400 Index
E-Mini (Long)	4	407,240	Mar-13	(4,268)
Total				$(38,008)

22  Multi-Cap Growth Fund 

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:
Consumer discretionary	$507,648,711	$—	$—
Consumer staples	202,146,310	—	—
Energy	253,052,338	—	—
Financials	220,671,850	19,690,423	—
Health care	450,454,759	—	—
Industrials	412,195,305	—	—
Information technology	864,024,741	—	—
Materials	175,201,614	—	—
Telecommunication services	6,959,764	—	—
Utilities	20,907,516	—	—
Total common stocks	3,113,262,908	19,690,423	—
Convertible preferred stocks	—	—	—
Warrants	703,435	—	—
Short-term investments	31,361,649	305,043,691	—
Totals by level	$3,145,327,992	$324,734,114	$—
		Valuation inputs
Other financial instruments:	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3
Futures contracts	$(38,008)	$—	$—
Totals by level	$(38,008)	$—	$—

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

Multi-Cap Growth Fund  23 

Statement of assets and liabilities 12/31/12 (Unaudited)

ASSETS
Investment in securities, at value, including $301,859,522 of securities on loan (Note 1):
Unaffiliated issuers (identified cost $2,713,217,384)	$3,136,342,600
Affiliated issuers (identified cost $333,719,506) (Notes 1 and 6)	333,719,506
Dividends, interest and other receivables	2,703,035
Receivable for shares of the fund sold	817,970
Receivable for investments sold	126,568
Receivable for variation margin (Note 1)	73,980
Total assets	3,473,783,659
LIABILITIES
Payable for investments purchased	911,691
Payable for shares of the fund repurchased	5,636,089
Payable for compensation of Manager (Note 2)	1,409,256
Payable for custodian fees (Note 2)	20,849
Payable for investor servicing fees (Note 2)	672,960
Payable for Trustee compensation and expenses (Note 2)	1,953,540
Payable for administrative services (Note 2)	32,044
Payable for distribution fees (Note 2)	1,939,989
Collateral on securities loaned, at value (Note 1)	302,357,857
Other accrued expenses	601,074
Total liabilities	315,535,349
Net assets	$3,158,248,310
REPRESENTED BY
Paid-in capital (Unlimited shares authorized) (Notes 1 and 4)	$3,446,145,724
Undistributed net investment income (Note 1)	7,190,068
Accumulated net realized loss on investments and foreign currency transactions (Note 1)	(718,174,692)
Net unrealized appreciation of investments and assets and liabilities in foreign currencies	423,087,210
Total — Representing net assets applicable to capital shares outstanding	$3,158,248,310
COMPUTATION OF NET ASSET VALUE AND OFFERING PRICE
Net asset value and redemption price per class A share
($2,836,474,784 divided by 50,763,946 shares)	$55.88
Offering price per class A share (100/94.25 of $55.88)*	$59.29
Net asset value and offering price per class B share ($97,129,885 divided by 2,031,914 shares)**	$47.80
Net asset value and offering price per class C share ($48,135,246 divided by 948,795 shares)**	$50.73
Net asset value and redemption price per class M share ($45,407,313 divided by 892,187 shares)	$50.89
Offering price per class M share (100/96.50 of $50.89)*	$52.74
Net asset value, offering price and redemption price per class R share
($6,900,748 divided by 126,071 shares)	$54.74
Net asset value, offering price and redemption price per class Y share
($124,200,334 divided by 2,121,342 shares)	$58.55

* On single retail sales of less than $50,000. On sales of $50,000 or more the offering price is reduced.

** Redemption price per share is equal to net asset value less any applicable contingent deferred sales charge.

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

24  Multi-Cap Growth Fund 

Statement of operations Six months ended 12/31/12 (Unaudited)

INVESTMENT INCOME
Dividends (net of foreign tax of $76,106)	$24,292,908
Interest (including interest income of $26,871 from investments in affiliated issuers) (Note 6)	29,327
Securities lending (Note 1)	843,669
Total investment income	25,165,904
EXPENSES
Compensation of Manager (Note 2)	7,996,308
Investor servicing fees (Note 2)	4,620,592
Custodian fees (Note 2)	19,706
Trustee compensation and expenses (Note 2)	173,376
Distribution fees (Note 2)	4,526,533
Administrative services (Note 2)	56,866
Other	544,919
Total expenses	17,938,300
Expense reduction (Note 2)	(203,189)
Net expenses	17,735,111
Net investment income	7,430,793
Net realized gain on investments (Notes 1 and 3)	126,100,797
Net realized gain on futures contracts (Note 1)	1,783,388
Net realized gain on foreign currency transactions (Note 1)	5,477
Net realized loss on written options (Notes 1 and 3)	(1,665,731)
Net unrealized depreciation of assets and liabilities in foreign currencies during the period	(142)
Net unrealized appreciation of investments, futures contracts, and written options
during the period	97,841,807
Net gain on investments	224,065,596
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations	$231,496,389

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

Multi-Cap Growth Fund  25 

Statement of changes in net assets

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS	Six months ended 12/31/12*	Year ended 6/30/12
Operations:
Net investment income	$7,430,793	$5,189,640
Net realized gain on investments
and foreign currency transactions	126,223,931	192,441,724
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments
and assets and liabilities in foreign currencies	97,841,665	(319,964,860)
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting
from operations	231,496,389	(122,333,496)
Distributions to shareholders (Note 1):
From ordinary income
Net investment income
Class A	(11,612,985)	—
Class R	(13,063)	—
Class Y	(781,755)	—
Increase in capital from settlement payments (Note 8)	—	6,959,257
Decrease from capital share transactions (Note 4)	(203,801,983)	(421,181,534)
Total increase (decrease) in net assets	15,286,603	(536,555,773)
NET ASSETS
Beginning of period	3,142,961,707	3,679,517,480
End of period (including undistributed net investment
income of $7,190,068 and $12,167,078, respectively)	$3,158,248,310	$3,142,961,707

* Unaudited

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

26  Multi-Cap Growth Fund 

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Multi-Cap Growth Fund  27 

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

INVESTMENT OPERATIONS:					LESS DISTRIBUTIONS:						RATIOS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:
												Ratio	Ratio
			Net realized									of expenses	of net investment
	Net asset value,		and unrealized	Total from	From					Total return	Net assets,	to average	income (loss)	Portfolio
	beginning	Net investment	gain (loss)	investment	net investment	Total	Redemption	Non-recurring	Net asset value,	at net asset	end of period	net assets	to average	turnover
Period ended	of period	income (loss) a	on investments	operations	income	distributions	fees	reimbursements	end of period	value (%) b	(in thousands)	(%) c	net assets (%)	(%)
Class A
December 31, 2012**	$52.15	.14	3.82	3.96	(.23)	(.23)	—	—	$55.88	7.59 *	$2,836,475	.55 *	.25 *	36 *
June 30, 2012	53.66	.10	(1.71)	(1.61)	—	—	—	.10 m,n,o,p	52.15	(2.81)	2,822,270	1.15	.20	57
June 30, 2011	39.22	(.06)	14.49	14.43	—	—	— e	.01 j,k,l	53.66	36.82	3,283,602	1.22	(.13)	69
June 30, 2010	35.33	(.03)	3.97	3.94	(.05)	(.05)	— e	—	39.22	11.15	1,835,862	1.29 d	(.06) d	71
June 30, 2009	48.18	.07	(12.92) h	(12.85)	—	—	— e	— e,i	35.33	(26.67) h	1,882,896	1.30 d	.19 d	72
June 30, 2008	53.15	(.13)	(4.84) g	(4.97)	—	—	— e	—	48.18	(9.35)	2,585,412	1.21 d	(.25) d	126
Class B
December 31, 2012**	$44.60	(.06)	3.26	3.20	—	—	—	—	$47.80	7.17 *	$97,130	.93 *	(.13) *	36 *
June 30, 2012	46.24	(.24)	(1.49)	(1.73)	—	—	—	.09 m,n,o,p	44.60	(3.55)	103,691	1.90	(.56)	57
June 30, 2011	34.05	(.38)	12.56	12.18	—	—	— e	.01 j,k,l	46.24	35.80	152,335	1.97	(.88)	69
June 30, 2010	30.87	(.29)	3.47	3.18	—	—	— e	—	34.05	10.30	110,983	2.04 d	(.80) d	71
June 30, 2009	42.40	(.19)	(11.34) h	(11.53)	—	—	— e	— e,i	30.87	(27.19) h	152,758	2.05 d	(.57) d	72
June 30, 2008	47.13	(.45)	(4.28) g	(4.73)	—	—	— e	—	42.40	(10.04)	278,414	1.96 d	(1.01) d	126
Class C
December 31, 2012**	$47.33	(.06)	3.46	3.40	—	—	—	—	$50.73	7.18 *	$48,135	.93 *	(.13) *	36 *
June 30, 2012	49.07	(.26)	(1.57)	(1.83)	—	—	—	.09 m,n,o,p	47.33	(3.55)	47,333	1.90	(.55)	57
June 30, 2011	36.13	(.39)	13.32	12.93	—	—	— e	.01 j,k,l	49.07	35.81	55,393	1.97	(.88)	69
June 30, 2010	32.76	(.31)	3.68	3.37	—	—	— e	—	36.13	10.29	28,220	2.04 d	(.81) d	71
June 30, 2009	44.99	(.14)	(12.09) h	(12.23)	—	—	— e	— e,i	32.76	(27.18) h	29,060	2.05 d	(.55) d	72
June 30, 2008	50.01	(.48)	(4.54) g	(5.02)	—	—	— e	—	44.99	(10.04)	27,355	1.96 d	(1.00) d	126
Class M
December 31, 2012**	$47.42	— e	3.47	3.47	—	—	—	—	$50.89	7.32 *	$45,407	.80 *	— *f	36 *
June 30, 2012	49.05	(.14)	(1.58)	(1.72)	—	—	—	.09 m,n,o,p	47.42	(3.32)	46,932	1.65	(.30)	57
June 30, 2011	36.02	(.28)	13.30	13.02	—	—	— e	.01 j,k,l	49.05	36.17	58,016	1.72	(.63)	69
June 30, 2010	32.58	(.21)	3.65	3.44	—	—	— e	—	36.02	10.56	37,163	1.79 d	(.56) d	71
June 30, 2009	44.65	(.09)	(11.98) h	(12.07)	—	—	— e	— e,i	32.58	(27.03) h	38,379	1.80 d	(.31) d	72
June 30, 2008	49.50	(.36)	(4.49) g	(4.85)	—	—	— e	—	44.65	(9.80)	50,256	1.71 d	(.76) d	126
Class R
December 31, 2012**	$51.03	.07	3.73	3.80	(.09)	(.09)	—	—	$54.74	7.46 *	$6,901	.67 *	.13 *	36 *
June 30, 2012	52.64	(.02)	(1.69)	(1.71)	—	—	—	.10 m,n,o,p	51.03	(3.06)	7,457	1.40	(.05)	57
June 30, 2011	38.57	(.17)	14.23	14.06	—	—	— e	.01 j,k,l	52.64	36.48	6,553	1.47	(.38)	69
June 30, 2010	34.79	(.14)	3.92	3.78	—	—	— e	—	38.57	10.87	3,039	1.54 d	(.33) d	71
June 30, 2009	47.56	(.02)	(12.75) h	(12.77)	—	—	— e	— e,i	34.79	(26.85) h	2,026	1.55 d	(.06) d	72
June 30, 2008	52.60	(.23)	(4.81) g	(5.04)	—	—	— e	—	47.56	(9.58)	3,215	1.46 d	(.47) d	126
Class Y
December 31, 2012**	$54.70	.22	4.00	4.22	(.37)	(.37)	—	—	$58.55	7.72 *	$124,200	.42 *	.38 *	36 *
June 30, 2012	56.14	.24	(1.79)	(1.55)	—	—	—	.11 m,n,o,p	54.70	(2.56)	115,279	.90	.45	57
June 30, 2011	40.93	.04	15.16	15.20	—	—	— e	.01 j,k,l	56.14	37.16	123,618	.97	.14	69
June 30, 2010	36.86	.09	4.12	4.21	(.14)	(.14)	— e	—	40.93	11.41	110,409	1.04 d	.21 d	71
June 30, 2009	50.13	.16	(13.43) h	(13.27)	—	—	— e	— e,i	36.86	(26.47) h	249,218	1.05 d	.44 d	72
June 30, 2008	55.17	— e	(5.04) g	(5.04)	—	—	— e	—	50.13	(9.13)	351,511	.96 d	— d,f	126

See notes to financial highlights at the end of this section.

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

28  Multi-Cap Growth Fund  Multi-Cap Growth Fund  29 

Financial highlights (Continued)

* Not annualized.

** Unaudited.

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

^b Total return assumes dividend reinvestment and does not reflect the effect of sales charges.

^c Includes amounts paid through expense offset and/or brokerage/service arrangements (Note 2).

^d Reflects an involuntary contractual expense limitation in effect during the period. For periods prior to June 30, 2010 certain fund expenses were waived in connection with the fund’s investment in Putnam Prime Money Market Fund.

As a result of such limitation and/or waivers, the expenses of each class reflect a reduction of the following amounts:

	Percentage of
	average net assets
June 30, 2010	<0.01%
June 30, 2009	0.01
June 30, 2008	<0.01

^e Amount represents less than $0.01 per share.

^f Amount represents less than 0.01%.

^g Reflects a non-recurring reimbursement pursuant to a settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) and Knight Securities, L.P. which amounted to $0.06 per share.

^h Reflects a non-recurring litigation payment received by the fund from Enron Corporation which amounted to the following amounts per share outstanding on December 29, 2008:

	Per share
Class A	$0.30
Class B	0.26
Class C	0.28
Class M	0.28
Class R	0.29
Class Y	0.31

This payment resulted in an increase to total returns of 0.62% for the year ended June 30, 2009.

ⁱ Reflects a non-recurring reimbursement pursuant to a settlement between the SEC and Millennium Partners, L.P., Millennium Management, L.L.C., and Millennium International Management, L.L.C., which amounted to less than $0.01 per share outstanding as of June 23, 2009.

^j Reflects a non-recurring reimbursement pursuant to a settlement between the SEC and Zurich Capital Markets, Inc. which amounted to less than $0.01 per share outstanding on December 21, 2010.

^k Reflects a non-recurring reimbursement pursuant to a settlement between the SEC and Prudential Securities, Inc. which amounted to $0.01 per share outstanding on May 16, 2011.

^l Reflects a non-recurring reimbursement related to short-term trading related lawsuits, which amounted to less than $0.01 per share outstanding on May 11, 2011.

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

30  Multi-Cap Growth Fund 

Financial highlights (Continued)

^m Reflects a non-recurring reimbursement related to restitution amounts in connection with a distribution plan approved by the SEC which amounted to the following amounts per share outstanding on July 21, 2011 (Note 8):

	Per share
Class A	$0.09
Class B	0.07
Class C	0.08
Class M	0.08
Class R	0.08
Class Y	0.09

ⁿ Reflects a non-recurring reimbursement pursuant to a settlement between the SEC and Southwest Securities, Inc. which amounted to less than $0.01 per share outstanding on August 22, 2011.

^o Reflects a non-recurring reimbursement pursuant to a settlement between the SEC and Canadian Imperial Holdings, Inc./CIBC World Markets Corp. which amounted to less than $0.01 per share outstanding on November 29, 2011.

^p Reflects a non-recurring reimbursement pursuant to a settlement between the SEC and Canadian Imperial Holdings, Inc./CIBC World Markets Corp. which amounted to $0.01 per share outstanding on February 24, 2012.

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

Multi-Cap Growth Fund  31 

Notes to financial statements 12/31/12 (Unaudited)

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 and references to “Putnam Management” represent Putnam Investment Management, LLC, the fund’s manager, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Putnam Investments, LLC. Unless otherwise noted, the “reporting period” represents the period from July 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012.

Putnam Multi-Cap Growth Fund (the fund) is a Massachusetts business trust, which is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, as a diversified open-end management investment company. The investment objective of the fund is to seek long-term capital appreciation. The fund invests mainly in common stocks of U.S. companies of any size, with a focus on growth stocks. Growth stocks are issued by companies whose earnings are expected to grow faster than those of similar firms, and whose business growth and other characteristics may lead to an increase in stock price. 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 investments.

The fund offers class A, class B, class C, class M, class R and class Y shares. Class A and class M shares are sold with a maximum front-end sales charge of 5.75% and 3.50%, respectively, and generally do not pay a contingent deferred sales charge. Class B shares, which convert to class A shares after approximately eight years, do not pay a front-end sales charge and are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge if those shares are redeemed within six years of purchase. Class C shares have a one-year 1.00% contingent deferred sales charge and do not convert to class A shares. Class R shares, which are not available to all investors, are sold at net asset value. The expenses for class A, class B, class C, class M and class R shares may differ based on the distribution fee of each class, which is identified in Note 2. Class Y shares, which are sold at net asset value, are generally subject to the same expenses as class A, class B, class C, class M and class R shares, but do not bear a distribution fee. Class Y shares are not available to all investors.

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 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. If no sales are reported, as in the case of some securities traded over-the-counter, 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 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.

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

32  Multi-Cap Growth Fund 

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. 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 and recovery rates. These securities are classified as Level 2 or as Level 3 depending on the priority of the significant inputs.

Such valuations and procedures are reviewed periodically by the Trustees. 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 market 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.

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

Foreign currency translation The accounting records of the fund are maintained in U.S. dollars. The market 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 against changes in values of securities it owns, owned or expects to own.

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. Options traded over-the-counter are valued using prices supplied by dealers. Certain options contracts include premiums that do not settle until the expiration date of the contract.

Multi-Cap Growth Fund  33 

Written option contracts outstanding at period end, if any, are listed after the fund’s portfolio. For the fund’s average contract amount, see Note 5.

Futures contracts The fund uses futures contracts 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. For the fund’s average number of contracts, see Note 5.

Master agreements The fund is a party to ISDA (International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc.) Master Agreements (Master Agreements) with certain counterparties that govern over-the-counter derivative and foreign exchange contracts 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 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.

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 and short-term credit ratings below a specified level. In each case, upon occurrence, the other party may elect to terminate early and cause settlement 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 did not have a net liability position on derivative contracts subject to the Master 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 market value of the securities loaned. The market value of securities loaned is determined daily and any additional required collateral is allocated to the fund on the next business day. 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 value of securities loaned amounted to $301,859,522 and the fund received cash collateral of $302,357,857.

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.

34  Multi-Cap Growth Fund 

Line of credit The fund participates, along with other Putnam funds, in a $315 million unsecured committed line of credit and a $185 million unsecured uncommitted line of credit, both 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 Federal Funds rate 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 0.02% of the committed line of credit and $50,000 for the uncommitted line of credit has been paid by the participating funds. In addition, a commitment fee of 0.11% 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. It is also the intention of the fund to distribute an amount sufficient to avoid imposition of any excise tax under Section 4982 of the Code.

The fund is subject to the provisions of Accounting Standards Codification ASC 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.

At June 30, 2012, the fund had a capital loss carryover of $844,106,221 available to the extent allowed by the Code to offset future net capital gain, if any. The amounts of the carryovers and the expiration dates are:

Loss carryover
Short-term	Long-term	Total	Expiration
$221,348,223	$—	$221,348,223	June 30, 2016
231,246,246	—	231,246,246	June 30, 2017
391,511,752	—	391,511,752	June 30, 2018

Under the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010, the fund will be permitted to carry forward capital losses incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 for an unlimited period. However, any losses incurred will be required to be utilized prior to the losses incurred in pre-enactment tax years. As a result of this ordering rule, pre-enactment capital loss carryforwards may be more likely to expire unused. Additionally, post-enactment capital losses that are carried forward will retain their character as either short-term or long-term capital losses rather than being considered all short-term as under previous law.

The aggregate identified cost on a tax basis is $3,046,524,430, resulting in gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation of $525,550,684 and $102,013,008, respectively, or net unrealized appreciation of $423,537,676.

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. Dividend sources are estimated at the time of declaration. Actual results may vary. Any non-taxable return of capital cannot be determined until final tax calculations are completed after the end of the fund’s fiscal year. 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.

Multi-Cap Growth Fund  35 

Note 2: Management fee, administrative services and other transactions

The fund pays Putnam Management a management fee (base 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:

0.710%	of the first $5 billion,	0.510%	of the next $50 billion,
0.660%	of the next $5 billion,	0.490%	of the next $50 billion,
0.610%	of the next $10 billion,	0.480%	of the next $100 billion and
0.560%	of the next $10 billion,	0.475%	of any excess thereafter.

In addition, beginning with February 2011, the monthly management fee consists of the monthly base fee plus or minus a performance adjustment for the month. The performance adjustment is determined based on performance over the thirty-six month period then ended or, if shorter, the period from February 1, 2010 to the end of the month for which the fee adjustment is being computed. Each month, the performance adjustment is calculated by multiplying the performance adjustment rate and the fund’s average net assets over the performance period and the result is divided by twelve. The resulting dollar amount is added to, or subtracted from the base fee for that month. The performance adjustment rate is equal to 0.03 multiplied by the difference between the fund’s annualized performance (measured by the fund’s class A shares) and the annualized performance of the Russell 3000 Growth Index, each measured over the performance period. The maximum annualized performance adjustment rates are +/– 0.12%. The monthly base fee is determined based on the fund’s average net assets for the month, while the performance adjustment is determined based on the fund’s average net assets over the performance period of up to thirty-six months. This means it is possible that, if the fund underperforms significantly over the performance period, and the fund’s assets have declined significantly over that period, the negative performance adjustment may exceed the base fee. In this event, Putnam Management would make a payment to the fund.

Because the performance adjustment is based on the fund’s performance relative to its applicable benchmark index, and not its absolute performance, the performance adjustment could increase Putnam Management’s fee even if the fund’s shares lose value during the performance period provided that the fund outperformed its benchmark index, and could decrease Putnam Management’s fee even if the fund’s shares increase in value during the performance period provided that the fund underperformed its benchmark index.

For the reporting period, the base fee represented an effective rate (excluding the impact from any expense waivers in effect) of 0.285% of the fund’s average net assets before a decrease of $1,047,261 (0.033% of the fund’s average net assets) based on performance.

Putnam Management has contractually agreed, through June 30, 2013, 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 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. received fees for investor servicing based on the fund’s retail asset level, the number of shareholder accounts in the fund and the level of defined contribution plan assets in the fund. Investor servicing fees will not exceed an annual rate of 0.32% of the fund’s average net assets. Prior to March 1,

36  Multi-Cap Growth Fund 

2012, investor servicing fees could not exceed an annual rate of 0.375% of the fund’s average net assets. During the reporting period, the class specific expenses related to investor servicing fees were as follows:

Class A	$4,151,264	Class R	10,907
Class B	146,313	Class Y	174,568
Class C	69,930	Total	$4,620,592
Class M	67,610

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 reduced by $5,374 under the expense offset arrangements and by $197,815 under the brokerage/service arrangements.

Each independent Trustee of the fund receives an annual Trustee fee, of which $2,444 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 distribution plans (the Plans) with respect to its class A, class B, class C, class M and class R shares pursuant to Rule 12b–1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The purpose of the Plans 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 Plans provide for payments by the fund to Putnam Retail Management Limited Partnership at an annual rate of up to 0.35%, 1.00%, 1.00%, 1.00% and 1.00% of the average net assets attributable to class A, class B, class C, class M and class R shares, respectively. The Trustees have approved payment by the fund at an annual rate of 0.25%, 1.00%, 1.00%, 0.75% and 0.50% of the average net assets attributable to class A, class B, class C, class M and class R shares, respectively. During the reporting period, the class specific expenses related to distribution fees were as follows:

Class A	$3,585,151	Class M	175,260
Class B	505,608	Class R	18,819
Class C	241,695	Total	$4,526,533

For the reporting period, Putnam Retail Management Limited Partnership, acting as underwriter, received net commissions of $74,457 and $1,132 from the sale of class A and class M shares, respectively, and received $50,030 and $311 in contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of class B and class C shares, respectively.

A deferred sales charge of up to 1.00% and 0.65% is assessed on certain redemptions of class A and class M shares, respectively. For the reporting period, Putnam Retail Management Limited Partnership, acting as underwriter, received $119 and no monies on class A and class M redemptions, respectively.

Note 3: Purchases and sales of securities

During the reporting period, cost of purchases and proceeds from sales of investment securities other than short-term investments aggregated $1,119,377,994 and $1,292,132,926, respectively. There were no purchases or proceeds from sales of long-term U.S. government securities.

Multi-Cap Growth Fund  37 

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

	Written equity option	Written equity option
	contract amounts	premiums
Written options outstanding at the
beginning of the reporting period	178,320	$82,027
Options opened	216,387	95,210
Options exercised	—	—
Options expired	(178,320)	(82,027)
Options closed	(216,387)	(95,210)
Written options outstanding at the
end of the reporting period	—	$—

Note 4: Capital shares

At the close of the reporting period, there was an unlimited number of shares of beneficial interest authorized. Transactions in capital shares were as follows:

	Six months ended 12/31/12		Year ended 6/30/12
Class A	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	636,262	$34,566,302	1,761,383	$89,661,886
Shares issued in connection with
reinvestment of distributions	197,121	10,837,787	—	—
	833,383	45,404,089	1,761,383	89,661,886
Shares repurchased	(4,190,258)	(228,047,811)	(8,832,315)	(449,944,252)
Net decrease	(3,356,875)	$(182,643,722)	(7,070,932)	$(360,282,366)
	Six months ended 12/31/12		Year ended 6/30/12
Class B	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	74,719	$3,467,640	187,512	$8,194,427
Shares issued in connection with
reinvestment of distributions	—	—	—	—
	74,719	3,467,640	187,512	8,194,427
Shares repurchased	(367,855)	(17,017,398)	(1,157,012)	(50,758,655)
Net decrease	(293,136)	$(13,549,758)	(969,500)	$(42,564,228)
	Six months ended 12/31/12		Year ended 6/30/12
Class C	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	24,168	$1,190,885	54,156	$2,533,339
Shares issued in connection with
reinvestment of distributions	—	—	—	—
	24,168	1,190,885	54,156	2,533,339
Shares repurchased	(75,413)	(3,725,986)	(182,922)	(8,453,966)
Net decrease	(51,245)	$(2,535,101)	(128,766)	$(5,920,627)

38  Multi-Cap Growth Fund 

	Six months ended 12/31/12		Year ended 6/30/12
Class M	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	11,733	$578,289	77,002	$3,427,673
Shares issued in connection with
reinvestment of distributions	—	—	—	—
	11,733	578,289	77,002	3,427,673
Shares repurchased	(109,181)	(5,390,250)	(270,288)	(12,418,752)
Net decrease	(97,448)	$(4,811,961)	(193,286)	$(8,991,079)
	Six months ended 12/31/12		Year ended 6/30/12
Class R	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	11,703	$624,278	60,422	$2,921,673
Shares issued in connection with
reinvestment of distributions	242	13,056	—	—
	11,945	637,334	60,422	2,921,673
Shares repurchased	(32,001)	(1,718,588)	(38,767)	(1,969,086)
Net increase (decrease)	(20,056)	$(1,081,254)	21,655	$952,587
	Six months ended 12/31/12		Year ended 6/30/12
Class Y	Shares	Amount	Shares	Amount
Shares sold	190,039	$10,878,684	311,735	$17,025,477
Shares issued in connection with
reinvestment of distributions	13,339	768,312	—	—
	203,378	11,646,996	311,735	17,025,477
Shares repurchased	(189,650)	(10,827,183)	(405,965)	(21,401,298)
Net increase (decrease)	13,728	$819,813	(94,230)	$(4,375,821)

Note 5: Summary of derivative activity

The average volume of activity for the reporting period for any derivative type that was held during the period is listed below and was as follows:

Purchased equity option contracts (number of contracts)	—*
Written equity option contracts (number of contracts)	25,000
Futures contracts (number of contracts)	50

* For the reporting period, the transaction volume was minimal.

The following is a summary of the market values of derivative instruments as of the close of the reporting period:

Market values of derivative instruments as of the close of the reporting period

	Asset derivatives		Liability derivatives
Derivatives not
accounted for as	Statement of		Statement of
hedging instruments	assets and		assets and
under ASC 815	liabilities location	Market value	liabilities location	Market value
			Payables, Net
			assets — Unrealized
Equity contracts	Investments	$703,435	depreciation	$38,008*
Total		$703,435		$38,008

* Includes cumulative depreciation of futures contracts as reported in The fund’s portfolio. Only current day’s variation margin is reported within the Statement of assets and liabilities.

Multi-Cap Growth Fund  39 

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

Amount of realized gain or (loss) on derivatives recognized in net gain or (loss) on investments

Derivatives not accounted for as hedging
instruments under ASC 815	Options	Futures	Total
Equity contracts	$(1,940,542)	$1,783,388	$(157,154)
Total	$(1,940,542)	$1,783,388	$(157,154)

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

Derivatives not accounted for
as hedging instruments under
ASC 815	Options	Warrants†	Futures	Total
Equity contracts	$(79,554)	$181,749	$(557,856)	$(455,661)
Total	$(79,554)	$181,749	$(557,856)	$(455,661)

† For the reporting period, the transaction volume for warrants was minimal.

Note 6: Transactions with affiliated issuer

Transactions during the reporting period with Putnam Money Market Liquidity Fund, which is under common ownership and control, were as follows:

	Market value at				Market value
	the beginning				at the end of
	of the reporting			Investment	the reporting
Name of affiliate	period	Purchase cost	Sale proceeds	income	period
Putnam Money Market
Liquidity Fund*	$37,166,064	$313,718,072	$319,522,487	$26,871	$31,361,649

* Management fees charged to Putnam Money Market Liquidity Fund have been waived by Putnam Management.

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.

Note 8: Regulatory matters and litigation

In late 2003 and 2004, Putnam Management settled charges brought by the SEC and the Massachusetts Securities Division in connection with excessive short-term trading in Putnam funds. In July 2011, the fund recorded a receivable of $5,864,257 related to restitution amounts in connection with a distribution plan approved by the SEC. This amount, which was received by the fund in December 2011, is reported as part of Increase in capital from settlement payments on the Statement of changes in net assets. Putnam Management has agreed to bear any costs incurred by the Putnam funds as a result of this matter.

Note 9: New accounting pronouncement

In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011–11 “Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities”. The update creates new disclosure requirements requiring entities to disclose both gross and net information for derivatives and other financial instruments that are either offset in the Statement of assets and liabilities or subject to an enforceable master netting arrangement or similar agreement. The disclosure requirements are effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2013 and interim periods within those annual periods. Putnam Management is currently evaluating the application of ASU 2011–11 and its impact, if any, on the fund’s financial statements.

40  Multi-Cap Growth Fund 

Services for shareholders

Investor services

Systematic investment plan Tell us how much you wish to invest regularly — weekly, semimonthly, or monthly — and the amount you choose will be transferred automatically from your checking or savings account. There’s no additional fee for this service, and you can suspend it at any time. This plan may be a great way to save for college expenses or to plan for your retirement.

Please note that regular investing does not guarantee a profit or protect against loss in a declining market. Before arranging a systematic investment plan, consider your financial ability to continue making purchases in periods when prices are low.

Systematic exchange You can make regular transfers from one Putnam fund to another Putnam fund. There are no additional fees for this service, and you can cancel or change your options at any time.

Dividends PLUS You can choose to have the dividend distributions from one of your Putnam funds automatically reinvested in another Putnam fund at no additional charge.

Free exchange privilege You can exchange money between Putnam funds free of charge, as long as they are the same class of shares. A signature guarantee is required if you are exchanging more than $500,000. The fund reserves the right to revise or terminate the exchange privilege.

Reinstatement privilege If you’ve sold Putnam shares or received a check for a dividend or capital gain, you may reinvest the proceeds with Putnam within 90 days of the transaction and they will be reinvested at the fund’s current net asset value — with no sales charge. However, reinstatement of class B shares may have special tax consequences. Ask your financial or tax representative for details.

Check-writing service You have ready access to many Putnam accounts. It’s as simple as writing a check, and there are no special fees or service charges. For more information about the check-writing service, call Putnam or visit our website.

Dollar cost averaging When you’re investing for long-term goals, it’s time, not timing, that counts. Investing on a systematic basis is a better strategy than trying to figure out when the markets will go up or down. This means investing the same amount of money regularly over a long period. This method of investing is called dollar cost averaging. When a fund’s share price declines, your investment dollars buy more shares at lower prices. When it increases, they buy fewer shares. Over time, you will pay a lower average price per share.

For more information

Visit the Individual Investors section at putnam.com A secure section of our website contains complete information on your account, including balances and transactions, updated daily. You may also conduct transactions, such as exchanges, additional investments, and address changes. Log on today to get your password.

Call us toll free at 1-800-225-1581 Ask a helpful Putnam representative or your financial advisor for details about any of these or other services, or see your prospectus.

Multi-Cap Growth Fund  41 

The Putnam family of funds

The following is a list of Putnam’s open-end mutual funds offered to the public. Investors should carefully consider the investment objective, risks, charges, and expenses of a fund before investing. For a prospectus, or a summary prospectus if available, containing this and other information for any Putnam fund or product, call your financial advisor at 1-800-225-1581 and ask for a prospectus. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Growth	Income
Growth Opportunities Fund	American Government Income Fund
International Growth Fund	Diversified Income Trust
Multi-Cap Growth Fund	Floating Rate Income Fund
Small Cap Growth Fund	Global Income Trust
Voyager Fund	High Yield Advantage Fund
	High Yield Trust
Blend	Income Fund
Asia Pacific Equity Fund	Money Market Fund*
Capital Opportunities Fund	Short Duration Income Fund
Capital Spectrum Fund	U.S. Government Income Trust
Emerging Markets Equity Fund
Equity Spectrum Fund	Tax-free income
Europe Equity Fund	AMT-Free Municipal Fund
Global Equity Fund	Tax Exempt Income Fund
International Capital Opportunities Fund	Tax Exempt Money Market Fund*
International Equity Fund	Tax-Free High Yield Fund
Investors Fund
Multi-Cap Core Fund	State tax-free income funds:
Research Fund	Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Michigan,
	Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio,
Value	and Pennsylvania.
Convertible Securities Fund
Equity Income Fund	Absolute Return
George Putnam Balanced Fund	Absolute Return 100 Fund®
The Putnam Fund for Growth and Income	Absolute Return 300 Fund®
International Value Fund	Absolute Return 500 Fund®
Multi-Cap Value Fund	Absolute Return 700 Fund®
Small Cap Value Fund

* An investment in a money market fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Although the fund seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money by investing in the fund.

42  Multi-Cap Growth Fund 

Global Sector	Putnam RetirementReady® Funds — portfolios
Global Consumer Fund	with automatically adjusting allocations to
Global Energy Fund	stocks, bonds, and money market instruments,
Global Financials Fund	becoming more conservative over time.
Global Health Care Fund
Global Industrials Fund	RetirementReady 2055 Fund
Global Natural Resources Fund	RetirementReady 2050 Fund
Global Sector Fund	RetirementReady 2045 Fund
Global Technology Fund	RetirementReady 2040 Fund
Global Telecommunications Fund	RetirementReady 2035 Fund
Global Utilities Fund	RetirementReady 2030 Fund
	RetirementReady 2025 Fund
Asset Allocation	RetirementReady 2020 Fund
Putnam Global Asset Allocation Funds —	RetirementReady 2015 Fund
portfolios with allocations to stocks, bonds,
and money market instruments that are	Putnam Retirement Income Lifestyle
adjusted dynamically within specified ranges	Funds — portfolios with managed
as market conditions change.	allocations to stocks, bonds, and money
	market investments to generate
Dynamic Asset Allocation Balanced Fund	retirement income.
Dynamic Asset Allocation
Conservative Fund	Retirement Income Fund Lifestyle 1
Dynamic Asset Allocation Growth Fund	Retirement Income Fund Lifestyle 2
Dynamic Risk Allocation Fund	Retirement Income Fund Lifestyle 3

A short-term trading fee of 1% may apply to redemptions or exchanges from certain funds within the time period specified in the fund's prospectus.

Check your account balances and the most recent month-end performance in the Individual Investors section at putnam.com.

Multi-Cap Growth Fund  43 

Fund information

Founded 75 years ago, Putnam Investments was built around the concept that a balance between risk and reward is the hallmark of a well-rounded financial program. We manage over 100 funds across income, value, blend, growth, asset allocation, absolute return, and global sector categories.

Investment Manager	Trustees	Robert R. Leveille
Putnam Investment	Jameson A. Baxter, Chair	Vice President and
Management, LLC	Liaquat Ahamed	Chief Compliance Officer
One Post Office Square	Ravi Akhoury
Boston, MA 02109	Barbara M. Baumann	Michael J. Higgins
	Charles B. Curtis	Vice President and Treasurer
Investment Sub-Manager	Robert J. Darretta
Putnam Investments Limited	Katinka Domotorffy	Janet C. Smith
57–59 St James’s Street	John A. Hill	Vice President,
London, England SW1A 1LD	Paul L. Joskow	Principal Accounting Officer,
	Elizabeth T. Kennan	and Assistant Treasurer
Marketing Services	Kenneth R. Leibler
Putnam Retail Management	Robert E. Patterson	Susan G. Malloy
One Post Office Square	George Putnam, III	Vice President and
Boston, MA 02109	Robert L. Reynolds	Assistant Treasurer
	W. Thomas Stephens
Custodian		James P. Pappas
State Street Bank	Officers	Vice President
and Trust Company	Robert L. Reynolds
	President	Mark C. Trenchard
Legal Counsel		Vice President and
Ropes & Gray LLP	Jonathan S. Horwitz	BSA Compliance Officer
	Executive Vice President,
	Principal Executive Officer, and	Judith Cohen
	Compliance Liaison	Vice President, Clerk, and
		Associate Treasurer
	Steven D. Krichmar
	Vice President and	Nancy E. Florek
	Principal Financial Officer	Vice President, Proxy
		Manager, Assistant Clerk, and
	Robert T. Burns	Associate Treasurer
	Vice President and
	Chief Legal Officer

44  Multi-Cap Growth Fund 

This report is for the information of shareholders of Putnam Multi-Cap Growth Fund. It may also be used as sales literature when preceded or accompanied by the current prospectus, the most recent copy of Putnam’s Quarterly Performance Summary, and Putnam’s Quarterly Ranking Summary. For more recent performance, please visit putnam.com. Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of a fund, which are described in its prospectus. For this and other information or to request a prospectus or summary prospectus, call 1-800-225-1581 toll free. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. 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.

Item 2. Code of Ethics:

Not applicable

Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert:

Not applicable

Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services:

Not applicable

Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants

Not applicable

Item 6. Schedule of Investments:

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) Not applicable

(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.

Putnam Multi-Cap Growth Fund

By (Signature and Title):

/s/Janet C. Smith
Janet C. Smith
Principal Accounting Officer

Date: February 28, 2013

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 28, 2013

By (Signature and Title):

/s/Steven D. Krichmar
Steven D. Krichmar
Principal Financial Officer

Date: February 28, 2013

EX-99.CERT

Certifications

I, Jonathan S. Horwitz, the Principal Executive Officer of the funds listed on Attachment A, certify that:

1. I have reviewed each report on Form N-CSR of the funds listed on Attachment A:

2. Based on my knowledge, each report does not contain any untrue statements of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by each report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in each report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations, changes in net assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in each report;

4. The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the registrant and have:

a) designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which each report is being prepared;

b) designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

c) evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of each report based on such evaluation; and

d) disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5. The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed to each registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of each registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

a) all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect each registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial information; and

b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in each registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date: February 27, 2013

/s/ Jonathan S. Horwitz

_______________________

Jonathan S. Horwitz

Principal Executive Officer

Certifications

I, Steven D. Krichmar, the Principal Financial Officer of the funds listed on Attachment A, certify that:

1. I have reviewed each report on Form N-CSR of the funds listed on Attachment A:

2. Based on my knowledge, each report does not contain any untrue statements of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by each report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in each report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations, changes in net assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in each report;

4. The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the registrant and have:

a) designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which each report is being prepared;

b) designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

c) evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of each report based on such evaluation; and

d) disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5. The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed to each registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of each registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

a) all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect each registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial information; and

b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in each registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date: February 27, 2013

/s/ Steven D. Krichmar

_______________________

Steven D. Krichmar

Principal Financial Officer

Attachment A

Period (s) ended December 31, 2012

               Putnam Europe Equity Fund

               Putnam International Equity Fund

               Putnam Multi-Cap Growth Fund

               Putnam Small Cap Growth Fund

               Putnam International Value Fund

               Putnam VT Absolute Return 500 Fund

               Putnam VT American Government Income Fund

               Putnam VT Capital Opportunities Fund

               Putnam VT Diversified Income Fund

               Putnam VT Equity Income Fund

               Putnam VT George Putnam Balanced Fund

               Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund

               Putnam VT Global Equity Fund

               Putnam VT Global Health Care Fund

               Putnam VT Global Utilities Fund

               Putnam VT Growth and Income Fund

               Putnam VT Growth Opportunities Fund

               Putnam VT High Yield Fund

               Putnam VT Income Fund

               Putnam VT International Equity Fund

               Putnam VT International Value Fund

               Putnam VT International Growth Fund

               Putnam VT Investors Fund

               Putnam VT Multi-Cap Value Fund

               Putnam VT Money Market Fund

               Putnam VT Multi-Cap Growth Fund

               Putnam VT Research Fund

               Putnam VT Small Cap Value Fund

               Putnam VT Voyager Fund

EX-99.906 CERT

Section 906 Certifications

I, Jonathan S. Horwitz, the Principal Executive Officer of the Funds listed on Attachment A, certify that, to my knowledge:

1. The form N-CSR of the Funds listed on Attachment A for the period ended December 31, 2012 fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

2. The information contained in the Form N-CSR of the Funds listed on Attachment A for the period ended December 31, 2012 fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Funds listed on Attachment A.

Date: February 27, 2013

/s/ Jonathan S. Horwitz

______________________

Jonathan S. Horwitz

Principal Executive Officer

Section 906 Certifications

I, Steven D. Krichmar, the Principal Financial Officer of the Funds listed on Attachment A, certify that, to my knowledge:

1. The form N-CSR of the Funds listed on Attachment A for the period ended December 31, 2012 fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

2. The information contained in the Form N-CSR of the Funds listed on Attachment A for the period ended December 31, 2012 fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Funds listed on Attachment A.

Date: February 27, 2013

/s/ Steven D. Krichmar

______________________

Steven D. Krichmar

Principal Financial Officer

Attachment A

N-CSR

Period (s) ended December 31, 2012

               Putnam Europe Equity Fund

               Putnam International Equity Fund

               Putnam Multi-Cap Growth Fund

               Putnam Small Cap Growth Fund

               Putnam International Value Fund

               Putnam VT Absolute Return 500 Fund

               Putnam VT American Government Income Fund

               Putnam VT Capital Opportunities Fund

               Putnam VT Diversified Income Fund

               Putnam VT Equity Income Fund

               Putnam VT George Putnam Balanced Fund

               Putnam VT Global Asset Allocation Fund

               Putnam VT Global Equity Fund

               Putnam VT Global Health Care Fund

               Putnam VT Global Utilities Fund

               Putnam VT Growth and Income Fund

               Putnam VT Growth Opportunities Fund

               Putnam VT High Yield Fund

               Putnam VT Income Fund

               Putnam VT International Equity Fund

               Putnam VT International Value Fund

               Putnam VT International Growth Fund

               Putnam VT Investors Fund

               Putnam VT Multi-Cap Value Fund

               Putnam VT Money Market Fund

               Putnam VT Multi-Cap Growth Fund

               Putnam VT Research Fund

               Putnam VT Small Cap Value Fund

               Putnam VT Voyager Fund