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Reducing sales charges on Class A, 529-A and ABLE-A shares

There are a number of ways you can reduce your sales charge. Learn about options that may be available to you.

When you purchase Class A, 529-A and ABLE-A shares, your sales charge is based on the total value of all the accounts that you, your spouse or equivalent (if recognized by law) and children under 21 have with American Funds. 


To ensure your investment receives the appropriate sales charge, you or your financial professional should notify us when a purchase is eligible for a reduced sales charge; otherwise, the maximum sales charge may be applied.

Logo. CollegeAmerica and AbleAmerica are nationwide plans sponsored by Commonwealth Savers

Sales charges and breakpoints for Class A shares

Funds with 5.75% maximum sales charge

Growth funds

Growth-and-income funds

Equity-income funds

Balanced funds

Target date funds

Most portfolio series funds*

Retirement income portfolio series funds

 

Investment Amount and Account Value

Sales Charge

Less than $25,000

5.75%

$25,000 to $49,999

5.00

$50,000 to $99,999

4.50

$100,000 to $249,999

3.50

$250,000 to $499,999

2.50

$500,000 to $749,999

2.00

$750,000 to $999,999

1.50

$1 million and above

0.00†

Funds with 3.75% maximum sales charge

Most bond funds§,ǁ † †

American Funds® Tax-Aware Conservative Growth and Income Portfolio

Investment Amount and Account Value

Sales Charge

Less than $100,000

3.75%

$100,000 to $249,999

3.50

$250,000 to $499,999

2.50

$500,000 and above

0.00

American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York®

American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund®

The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America®

The Tax-Exempt Fund of California®

 

Investment Amount and Account Value

Sales Charge

Less than $100,000

3.75%

$100,000 to $249,999

3.25%

$250,000 and above

0.00**

Funds with 2.50% maximum sales charge

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund®

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund®

Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America®

Short-Term Bond Fund of America®

Intermediate Bond Fund of America®

American Funds® Preservation Portfolio

American Funds® Tax-Exempt Preservation Portfolio

 

Investment Amount and Account Value

Sales Charge

Less than $100,000

2.50%

$100,000 to $249,999

1.75%

$250,000 and above

0.00**

Sales charges and breakpoints for Class 529-A and ABLE-A shares

Funds with 3.50% maximum sales charge

Growth funds

Growth-and-income funds

Equity-income funds

Balanced funds

Most portfolio series funds*

 

Investment Amount and Account Value

Sales Charge

Less than $25,000

3.50%

$25,000 to $49,999

3.50

$50,000 to $99,999

3.50

$100,000 to $249,999

3.50

$250,000 to $499,999

2.50

$500,000 to $749,999

2.00

$750,000 to $999,999

1.50

$1 million and above

0.00†

Most American Funds College Target Date Series® funds‡

Investment Amount and Account Value

Sales Charge

Less than $100,000

3.50%

$100,000 to $249,999

3.50

$250,000 to $499,999

2.50

$500,000 to $749,999

2.00

$750,000 to $999,999

1.50

$1 million and above

0.00†

Most bond funds§ † †

Investment Amount and Account Value

Sales Charge

Less than $100,000

3.50%

$100,000 to $249,999

3.50

$250,000 to $499,999

2.50

$500,000 to $749,999

2.00

$750,000 to $999,999

1.50

$1 million and above

0.00†

Funds with 2.50% maximum sales charge

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund®

Intermediate Bond Fund of America®

Short-Term Bond Fund of America®

American Funds® Preservation Portfolio

American Funds College Enrollment Fund®

Investment Amount and Account Value

Sales Charge

Less than $500,000

2.50%

$500,000 to $749,999

2.00

$750,000 to $999,999

1.50

$1 million and above

0.00†

* Excludes American Funds Preservation Portfolio, American Funds Tax-Exempt Preservation Portfolio and American Funds Tax-Aware Conservative Growth and Income Portfolio. Sales charge information for these funds is included in subsequent tables showing funds that have a 3.75% and 2.50% maximum sales charge. Please see the funds’ prospectuses for more information.

** There is no initial sales charge on purchases of $250,000 or more. A 0.75% contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) may be assessed if a redemption occurs within 18 months of purchase. Tax-exempt bond funds are not available through the CollegeAmerica 529 plan or ABLEAmerica. Please see the funds’ prospectuses for more information.

† There is no initial sales charge on purchases of $1 million or more. A 1% contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) may be assessed if a redemption occurs within 18 months of purchase. Tax-exempt bond funds are not available through the CollegeAmerica 529 plan or ABLEAmerica. Please see the funds’ prospectuses for more information.

‡ Excludes American Funds College Enrollment Fund. Sales charge information for this fund is included in the table showing funds that have a 2.50% maximum sales charge. Please see the fund prospectus for more information.

§ Excludes American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund, American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund, Intermediate Bond Fund of America, Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America and Short-Term Bond Fund of America. Sales charge information for these funds is included in the table showing funds that have a 2.50% maximum sales charge. Please see the funds’ prospectuses for more information.

ǁ Excludes American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York, American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund, The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America and The Tax-Exempt Fund of California. Information for these funds is included in the table showing funds that have a 3.75% maximum sales charge with a different sales charge schedule. Please see the funds' prospectuses for more information.

 There is no initial sales charge on purchases of $500,000 or more. A 0.75% contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) may be assessed if a redemption occurs within 18 months of purchase. Tax-exempt bond funds are not available through the CollegeAmerica 529 plan or ABLEAmerica. Please see the funds’ prospectuses for more information.

† † Excludes American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund, Intermediate Bond Fund of America, and Short-Term Bond Fund of America. Sales charge information for these funds is included in the table showing funds that have a 2.50% maximum sales charge. Please see the funds’ prospectuses for more information.

In determining sales charges, your American Funds and American Legacy account values can be combined with those of your spouse or spouse equivalent (if recognized by law) and children under 21 or ABLE accounts for disabled adult children, including:

  • Trust accounts established by the above family members. If the person(s) who established the trust is deceased, the primary beneficiary can combine accounts.
  • Solely controlled business accounts
  • Single-participant retirement plans
  • Endowments or foundations established and controlled by the investor or immediate family member
  • CollegeAmerica® accounts, which will be aggregated at the account owner level (except Class 529-E accounts, which may only be aggregated with an eligible employer plan)
  • ABLEAmerica® accounts


Direct purchases of money market funds, and American Legacy accounts established after March 31, 2007, cannot be aggregated.

Trustees or other fiduciaries

Investments made by a trustee or other fiduciary for a single trust estate or fiduciary account and multiple-employee benefit plans of a single employer or affiliated employers, provided they are not aggregated with personal accounts, can be aggregated.

We do not aggregate accounts of investors who are affiliated with each other by virtue of being in an association.

403(b) plans

Investments made for participant accounts of a 403(b) plan that is treated like an employer-sponsored plan, or multiple 403(b) plans of a single employer or affiliated employers, can be aggregated.

Nonprofit and charitable organizations

Investments made for nonprofit, charitable or educational organizations (or any employer-sponsored retirement plan for such an endowment or foundation) or any endowments or foundations established and controlled by the organization can be aggregated.

SEP and SIMPLE IRAs

Aggregation of participant IRA accounts under a SEP or SIMPLE IRA plan depend on the plan agreement selected by the plan sponsor. When a plan sponsor signs an American Funds prototype agreement, all plan contributions are required to come to American Funds.

When a sponsor selects another prototype of an IRA Model Agreement, some of the contributions may come to American Funds, but the participants are not required to establish an account with American Funds. As a result, accounts will be aggregated as follows:

  • Using the American Funds prototype SEP or SIMPLE IRA plan agreement will cause the participant account values to be aggregated for reduced sales charges on Class A shares. When the group assets reach a breakpoint, all plan participants benefit from the reduced sales charge. Participants’ accounts will not be linked with personal accounts.
  • When the plan sponsor does not use an AFD prototype agreement for the plan, the participants’ accounts will be linked to any other personal accounts they may have with American Funds. This may be advantageous for participants already invested in American Funds or those who plan to establish personal accounts in the future.

Trust funds and pooled accounts

Investments made by a common trust fund or other diversified pooled accounts that are not specifically formed for the purpose of accumulating fund shares may be aggregated.

Accounts ineligible for aggregation

Some investment firms request accounts to be set up as “street name” or “nominee” accounts. This simply means that the investment firm has sole access, or that we have limited access, to their clients’ account information.

Since American Funds Service Company has little or no access to certain nominee or street name account information, we are generally unable to aggregate those accounts. You should check with your financial professional to determine if this applies to your account(s).

You can combine simultaneous purchases (including purchases for gifts) of two or more American Funds of any share class, as well as holdings in CollegeAmerica and ABLEAmerica, as another way to reduce your Class A, 529-A and ABLE-A sales charges. This applies to all direct fund purchases (except the money market fund) into multiple accounts that you and/or your immediate family own.

For example, if you simultaneously invested $25,000 in New Perspective Fund® Class A shares and $25,000 in The Growth Fund of America® Class C shares, you could purchase the Class A shares at the $50,000 sales charge of 4.50%.

If you currently have individual holdings in American Legacy accounts that were established on or before March 31, 2007, you can continue to combine purchases made under such contracts and policies to reduce your Class A sales charge.

You can add the value of any American Funds share class that you already own to new Class A, 529-A and ABLE-A share purchases in order to qualify for a reduced sales charge.

If you are making a gift of shares, you can purchase the shares at the sales charge discount allowed under the rights of accumulation of all your American Funds accounts.

American Legacy accounts established on or before March 31, 2007, can also be applied to qualify for a discount on Class A, 529-A and ABLE-A purchases.

Direct purchases of the money market fund are excluded.

You can reduce the sales charge you pay on Class A, 529-A and ABLE-A share purchases by establishing a statement of intention. A statement of intention allows you to combine non-money market fund purchases of all share classes that you intend to make over a 13-month period in order to determine your applicable sales charge.

A statement of intention lets you take immediate advantage of the maximum quantity discount* available.

  • Capital appreciation and reinvested dividends/capital gains do not apply toward your combined purchases.
  • If you do not complete your statement of intention during the 13-month period, an additional sales charge will be due on the investment(s) made under the agreement. This additional sales charge represents the difference between the sales charge actually paid and the higher sales charge due. Any adjustments will be reflected in an Account Confirmation and may result in corrected tax forms.


Special statement of intention rules apply to shareholders investing by payroll deduction. Please see the statement of additional information for details.

Contact your financial professional or call us to establish a statement of intention.

*American Legacy accounts established on or before March 31, 2007, may count toward a statement of intention.

You can reinvest proceeds from a redemption, dividend payment or capital gain distribution back into the same account from which the proceeds came without a sales charge, provided the reinvestment occurs within 90 days after the date of the transaction.

If your account has been closed, the money can be reinvested into another fund provided:

  • the reinvestment occurs within 90 days after the date of the sale
  • the money is reinvested in the same type of account as the account from which it came
  • the account has the same owner


See your financial professional or the fund’s statement of additional information for details.

If you want to buy shares as a gift, we’ll take into account the current value of your holdings with us when determining the sales charge on your gift purchase. You’ll need to send a letter of instruction along with a new account application, if needed.

Investments are not FDIC-insured, nor are they deposits of or guaranteed by a bank or any other entity, so they may lose value.
Investors should carefully consider investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other important information is contained in the fund prospectuses and summary prospectuses, which can be obtained from a financial professional and should be read carefully before investing. Similar information is contained in the CollegeAmerica Program Description and ABLEAmerica Program Description, which can be obtained from a financial professional and should be read carefully before investing. CollegeAmerica and ABLEAmerica are distributed by Capital Client Group, Inc., and sold through unaffiliated intermediaries.
Depending on your state of residence, there may be an in-state plan that provides state tax and other state benefits not available through CollegeAmerica (such as financial aid, scholarship funds and protection from creditors) or ABLEAmerica. Before investing in any state's 529 plan, investors should consult a tax advisor. CollegeAmerica and ABLEAmerica are nationwide plans sponsored by Commonwealth Savers.
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Capital Client Group, Inc.
This content, developed by Capital Group, home of American Funds, should not be used as a primary basis for investment decisions and is not intended to serve as impartial investment or fiduciary advice.