Putnam shareholders to vote on fund

Shareholders willl decide whether to convert Putnam Master Intermediate Income Trust into an open-end fund.

Putnam Investments of Boston announced today that the agenda for the next annual meeting of shareholders of Putnam Master Intermediate Income Trust will include a vote on whether to convert the closed-end fund to an open-end investment company.
The next annual meeting is expected to be held in January 2008, although it could occur at an earlier or later date.
The fund’s Declaration of Trust requires the submission of the proposal to shareholders at the next annual meeting if the average discount of its share price to net asset value exceeds 10% during the last 12 calendar weeks of its fiscal year.
The requirement has been triggered for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.
The conversion proposal requires approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote.
In 2006 and 2007, shareholders of the fund voted, in accordance with the recommendations of the fund’s trustees, to defeat identical proposals.
In each case, fewer than 15% of the fund’s outstanding shares were voted in favor of conversion. Similar conversion proposals that other Putnam closed-end funds have submitted to their shareholders in recent years likewise have also failed.
As of Sept. 30, Putnam managed $191 billion in assets.