Putnam VT Mortgage Securities Fund
Putnam Variable Trust
Expense ratio
Net assets1
$24.94M
Holdings1
329
Category
Other
Return

Investment objective & strategy

As of April 28, 2025 · prospectus

Objective. The fund seeks as high a level of current income as the Investment Manager (as defined below) believes is consistent with preservation of capital.

Strategy. Investments We invest mainly in mortgages, mortgage-related fixed income securities and related derivatives that are either investment-grade or below-investment-grade in quality (sometimes referred to as junk bonds). Under normal circumstances, we invest at least 80% of the funds net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in mortgages, mortgage-related fixed income securities and related derivatives (i.e., derivatives used to acquire exposure to, or whose underlying securities are, mortgages or mortgage-related securities). The fund generally uses the net unrealized gain or loss, or market value, of mortgage-related derivatives for purposes of this policy, but may use the notional value of a derivative if that is determined to be a more appropriate measure of the funds investment exposure. This policy may be … Investments We invest mainly in mortgages, mortgage-related fixed income securities and related derivatives that are either investment-grade or below-investment-grade in quality (sometimes referred to as junk bonds). Under normal circumstances, we invest at least 80% of the funds net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in mortgages, mortgage-related fixed income securities and related derivatives (i.e., derivatives used to acquire exposure to, or whose underlying securities are, mortgages or mortgage-related securities). The fund generally uses the net unrealized gain or loss, or market value, of mortgage-related derivatives for purposes of this policy, but may use the notional value of a derivative if that is determined to be a more appropriate measure of the funds investment exposure. This policy may be changed only after 60 days notice to shareholders. We expect to invest in mortgage-backed investments that are obligations of U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities and accordingly are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States (e.g., Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed bonds) as well as in mortgage-backed investments that are backed by only the credit of a federal agency or government-sponsored entity (e.g., Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed bonds), and that have short- to long-term maturities. We also expect to invest in lower-rated, higher-yielding mortgage-backed securities, including non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (which may be backed by non-qualified or sub-prime mortgages), commercial mortgage-backed securities, and collateralized mortgage obligations (including interest only, principal only, and other prepayment derivatives). Non-agency (i.e., privately issued) securities typically are lower-rated and higher yielding than securities issued or backed by agencies such as Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The fund currently has significant investment exposure to commercial mortgage-backed securities. While our emphasis will be on mortgage-backed securities, we may also invest to a lesser extent in other types of asset-backed securities. We may consider, among other factors, credit, interest rate, prepayment and liquidity risks, as well as general market conditions, when deciding whether to buy or sell investments. We typically use to a significant extent derivatives, including credit default swaps, interest rate swaps, total return swaps, to-be-announced (TBA) commitments, futures, options and swaptions, including on mortgage-backed securities and indices, for both hedging and non-hedging purposes, including to obtain or adjust exposure to mortgage-backed investments.

Top holdings

As of March 31, 2026 · N-PORT
SecurityTickerValue% of fund
FNCL 5.5 4/26 $6.63M 26.59%
FNCL 6 4/26 $6.12M 24.53%
FNCL 2 4/26 $4.03M 16.15%
Putnam Short Term Investment Fund, Class P $2.98M 11.95%
FNCL 2.5 4/26 $2.52M 10.12%
FNCL 3.5 4/26 $2.11M 8.46%
FNCL 3 4/26 $1.23M 4.93%
G2SF 6.5 4/25 $1.04M 4.17%
G2SF 6 4/25 $1.02M 4.08%
G2SF 5.5 4/25 $1.01M 4.04%
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Allocation by sector

As of March 31, 2026 · N-PORT
View portfolio breakdown →

Portfolio moves

Dec 31, 2025 → Mar 31, 2026
Opened
44
Exited
29
Increased
2
Decreased
194
Unchanged
89

How many positions this fund opened, exited, grew, trimmed, or left unchanged between its two most recent N-PORT snapshots — net changes between point-in-time reports, not a trade log.

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Advisers

As of December 31, 2025 · N-CEN
FirmRole
Franklin Advisers, Inc. Adviser
Franklin Templeton Investment Management Limited Sub-adviser
Putnam Investment Management, LLC Sub-adviser

Footnotes

  1. Net assets and holdings count as of March 31, 2026, from the fund's N-PORT filing.

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