0000925950-13-000007.txt : 20130122 0000925950-13-000007.hdr.sgml : 20130121 20130122155741 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0000925950-13-000007 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: 485BPOS PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 10 FILED AS OF DATE: 20130122 DATE AS OF CHANGE: 20130122 EFFECTIVENESS DATE: 20130122 FILER: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: AMERICAN FUNDS COLLEGE TARGET DATE SERIES CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0001547011 IRS NUMBER: 000000000 STATE OF INCORPORATION: DE FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: 485BPOS SEC ACT: 1933 Act SEC FILE NUMBER: 333-180729 FILM NUMBER: 13540305 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 333 SOUTH HOPE STREET, 55TH FLOOR CITY: LOS ANGELES STATE: CA ZIP: 90071 BUSINESS PHONE: 213-486-9200 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: 333 SOUTH HOPE STREET, 55TH FLOOR CITY: LOS ANGELES STATE: CA ZIP: 90071 FORMER COMPANY: FORMER CONFORMED NAME: AMERICAN FUNDS COLLEGE SAVINGS SERIES DATE OF NAME CHANGE: 20120410 FILER: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: AMERICAN FUNDS COLLEGE TARGET DATE SERIES CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0001547011 IRS NUMBER: 000000000 STATE OF INCORPORATION: DE FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: 485BPOS SEC ACT: 1940 Act SEC FILE NUMBER: 811-22692 FILM NUMBER: 13540306 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 333 SOUTH HOPE STREET, 55TH FLOOR CITY: LOS ANGELES STATE: CA ZIP: 90071 BUSINESS PHONE: 213-486-9200 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: 333 SOUTH HOPE STREET, 55TH FLOOR CITY: LOS ANGELES STATE: CA ZIP: 90071 FORMER COMPANY: FORMER CONFORMED NAME: AMERICAN FUNDS COLLEGE SAVINGS SERIES DATE OF NAME CHANGE: 20120410 0001547011 S000037534 American Funds College 2030 Fund C000115875 Class 529-A CTHAX C000115876 Class 529-B CTHBX C000115877 Class 529-C CTYCX C000115878 Class 529-E CTHEX C000115879 Class 529-F-1 CTHFX 0001547011 S000037535 American Funds College 2027 Fund C000115880 Class 529-F-1 CTSFX C000115881 Class 529-A CSTAX C000115882 Class 529-B CTSBX C000115883 Class 529-C CTSCX C000115884 Class 529-E CTSEX 0001547011 S000037536 American Funds College 2024 Fund C000115885 Class 529-A CFTAX C000115886 Class 529-B CCFBX C000115887 Class 529-C CTFCX C000115888 Class 529-E CTFEX C000115889 Class 529-F-1 CTFFX 0001547011 S000037537 American Funds College 2021 Fund C000115890 Class 529-A CTOAX C000115891 Class 529-B CTOBX C000115892 Class 529-C CTOCX C000115893 Class 529-E CTOEX C000115894 Class 529-F-1 CTOFX 0001547011 S000037538 American Funds College 2018 Fund C000115895 Class 529-A CNEAX C000115896 Class 529-B CNEBX C000115897 Class 529-C CNECX C000115898 Class 529-E CNEEX C000115899 Class 529-F-1 CNEFX 0001547011 S000037539 American Funds College 2015 Fund C000115900 Class 529-A CFFAX C000115901 Class 529-B CFIBX C000115902 Class 529-C CFFCX C000115903 Class 529-E CFIEX C000115904 Class 529-F-1 CFIFX 0001547011 S000037540 American Funds College Enrollment Fund C000115905 Class 529-A CENAX C000115906 Class 529-B CENBX C000115907 Class 529-C CENCX C000115908 Class 529-E CENEX C000115909 Class 529-F-1 CENFX 485BPOS 1 afctd485bxbrl.htm AMERICAN FUNDS COLLEGE TARGET DATE SERIES

 SEC. File Nos. 333-180729

811-22692

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM N-1A

Registration Statement

Under

the Securities Act of 1933

Post-Effective Amendment No. 2

and

Registration Statement

Under

the Investment Company Act of 1940

Amendment No. 4

 

 

 

AMERICAN FUNDS COLLEGE TARGET DATE SERIES

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

 

6455 Irvine Center Drive
Irvine, CA 92618-4518

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

 

Registrant's telephone number, including area code:

(213) 486-9200

 

 

 

Steven I. Koszalka, Secretary

American Funds College Target Date Series

333 South Hope Street

Los Angeles, California 90071-1447

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

__________________

 

Copies to:

Michael Glazer

Bingham McCutchen LLP

355 South Grand Avenue, Suite 4400

Los Angeles, CA 90071-3106

(Counsel for the Registrant)

__________________

 

Approximate date of proposed public offering:

It is proposed that this filing become effective immediately pursuant to paragraph (b) of rule 485.

 
 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for effectiveness of this registration statement under Rule 485(b) under the Securities Act of 1933 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of Los Angeles, and State of California, on the 22nd day of January, 2013.

 

AMERICAN FUNDS COLLEGE TARGET DATE SERIES

 

By /s/ Bradley J. Vogt

(Bradley J. Vogt, Vice Chairman)

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed below on January 22, 2013, by the following persons in the capacities indicated.

 

  Signature Title
(1) Principal Executive Officer:
 

 

/s/ Walter R. Burkley

 

President

  (Walter R. Burkley)
 
(2) Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer:
 

 

/s/ Gregory F. Niland

 

Treasurer

  (Gregory F. Niland)
 
(3) Trustees:
  William H. Baribault* Trustee
  James G. Ellis* Trustee
  Leonard R. Fuller* Trustee
  W. Scott Hedrick* Trustee
  R. Clark Hooper* Chairman of the Board (Independent and Non-Executive)
  Merit E. Janow* Trustee
  Laurel B. Mitchell* Trustee
  Frank M. Sanchez* Trustee
  Margaret Spellings* Trustee
  Steadman Upham* Trustee
  /s/ Bradley J. Vogt Vice Chairman
  Bradley J. Vogt  
 

 

*By: /s/ Steven I. Koszalka

 
  (Steven I. Koszalka, pursuant to a power of attorney filed herewith)  
       

 

Counsel represents that this amendment does not contain disclosures that would make the amendment ineligible for effectiveness under the provisions of rule 485(b).

 

 

/s/ Liliane Corzo

(Liliane Corzo)

 
 

POWER OF ATTORNEY

 

I, William H. Baribault, the undersigned Board member of the following registered investment companies (collectively, the “Funds”):

 

-American Funds College Target Date Series (File No. 333-180729, File No. 811-22692)
-American Funds Corporate Bond Fund (File No. 333-183929, File No. 811-22744)
-American Funds Global High-Income Opportunities Fund (File No. 333-183930, File No. 811-22745)
-The American Funds Income Series – U.S. Government Securities Fund (File No. 002-98199, File No. 811-04318)
-American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund (File No. 333-183931, File No. 811-22746)
-American Funds Insurance Series (File No. 002-86838, File No. 811-03857)
-American Funds Money Market Fund (File No. 333-157162, File No. 811-22277)
-American Funds Mortgage Fund (File No. 333-168595, File No. 811-22449)
-American Funds Portfolio Series (File No. 333-178936, File No. 811-22656)
-American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund (File No. 033-26431, File No. 811-05750)
-American Funds Target Date Retirement Series (File No. 333-138648, File No. 811-21981)
-American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York (File No. 333-168594, File No. 811-22448)
-The American Funds Tax-Exempt Series II – The Tax-Exempt Fund of California (File No. 033-06180, File No. 811-04694)
-American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund (File No. 033-80630, File No. 811-08576)
-American High-Income Trust (File No. 033-17917, File No. 811-05364)
-The Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-50700, File No. 811-02444)
-Capital World Bond Fund (File No. 033-12447, File No. 811-05104)
-Intermediate Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-19514, File No. 811-05446)
-Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-66214, File No. 811-07888)
-Short-Term Bond Fund of America (File No. 333-135770, File No. 811-21928)
-The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-49291, File No. 811-02421)

 

hereby revoke all previous powers of attorney I have signed and otherwise act in my name and behalf in matters involving the Funds and do hereby constitute and appoint

 

Vincent P. Corti

Steven I. Koszalka

Patrick F. Quan

Courtney R. Taylor

Julie E. Lawton

Tanya Schneider

Raymond F. Sullivan, Jr.

Karl C. Grauman

Brian C. Janssen

Dori Laskin

Gregory F. Niland

 

each of them singularly, my true and lawful attorneys-in-fact, with full power of substitution, and with full power to each of them, to sign for me and in my name in the appropriate capacities, all Registration Statements of the Funds on Form N-1A, any and all subsequent Amendments, or Post-Effective Amendments to said Registration Statement on Form N-1A or any successor thereto, and any supplements or other instruments in connection therewith, and generally to do all such things in my name and behalf in connection therewith as said attorneys-in-fact deem necessary or appropriate, to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 as amended, and all related requirements of the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. I hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorneys-in-fact or their substitutes may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

EXECUTED at Los Angeles, CA, this 5th day of December, 2012.

(City, State)

 

 

/s/ William H. Baribault

William H. Baribault, Board member

 
 

POWER OF ATTORNEY

 

I, James G. Ellis, the undersigned Board member of the following registered investment companies (collectively, the “Funds”):

 

-AMCAP Fund (File No. 002-26516, File No. 811-01435)
-American Funds College Target Date Series (File No. 333-180729, File No. 811-22692)
-American Funds Corporate Bond Fund (File No. 333-183929, File No. 811-22744)
-American Funds Global High-Income Opportunities Fund (File No. 333-183930, File No. 811-
-American Funds Global Balanced Fund (File No. 333-170605, File No. 811-22496)
-The American Funds Income Series – U.S. Government Securities Fund (File No. 002-98199, File No. 811-04318)
-American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund (File No. 333-183931, File No. 811-22746)
-American Funds Insurance Series (File No. 002-86838, File No. 811-03857)
-American Funds Money Market Fund (File No. 333-157162, File No. 811-22277)
-American Funds Mortgage Fund (File No. 333-168595, File No. 811-22449)
-American Funds Portfolio Series (File No. 333-178936, File No. 811-22656)
-American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund (File No. 033-26431, File No. 811-05750)
-American Funds Target Date Retirement Series (File No. 333-138648, File No. 811-21981)
-American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York (File No. 333-168594, File No. 811-22448)
-The American Funds Tax-Exempt Series II – The Tax-Exempt Fund of California (File No. 033-06180, File No. 811-04694)
-American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund (File No. 033-80630, File No. 811-08576)
-American High-Income Trust (File No. 033-17917, File No. 811-05364)
-American Mutual Fund (File No. 002-10607, File No. 811-00572)
-The Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-50700, File No. 811-02444)
-Capital World Bond Fund (File No. 033-12447, File No. 811-05104)
-Intermediate Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-19514, File No. 811-05446)
-The Investment Company of America (File No. 002-10811, File No. 811-00116)
-Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-66214, File No. 811-07888)
-Short-Term Bond Fund of America (File No. 333-135770, File No. 811-21928)
-The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-49291, File No. 811-02421)

 

hereby revoke all previous powers of attorney I have signed and otherwise act in my name and behalf in matters involving the Funds and do hereby constitute and appoint

 

Vincent P. Corti

Steven I. Koszalka

Patrick F. Quan

Courtney R. Taylor

Julie E. Lawton

Tanya Schneider

Raymond F. Sullivan, Jr.

Brian D. Bullard

Karl C. Grauman

Brian C. Janssen

Dori Laskin

Gregory F. Niland

Ari M. Vinocor

 

each of them singularly, my true and lawful attorneys-in-fact, with full power of substitution, and with full power to each of them, to sign for me and in my name in the appropriate capacities, all Registration Statements of the Funds on Form N-1A, any and all subsequent Amendments, or Post-Effective Amendments to said Registration Statement on Form N-1A or any successor thereto, and any supplements or other instruments in connection therewith, and generally to do all such things in my name and behalf in connection therewith as said attorneys-in-fact deem necessary or appropriate, to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 as amended, and all related requirements of the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. I hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorneys-in-fact or their substitutes may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

EXECUTED at Los Angeles, CA, this 5th day of December, 2012.

(City, State)

 

 

/s/ James G. Ellis

James G. Ellis, Board member

 
 

POWER OF ATTORNEY

 

I, Leonard R. Fuller, the undersigned Board member of the following registered investment companies (collectively, the “Funds”):

 

-AMCAP Fund (File No. 002-26516, File No. 811-01435)
-American Funds College Target Date Series (File No. 333-180729, File No. 811-22692)
-American Funds Corporate Bond Fund (File No. 333-183929, File No. 811-22744)
-American Funds Global High-Income Opportunities Fund (File No. 333-183930, File No. 811-22745)
-American Funds Global Balanced Fund (File No. 333-170605, File No. 811-22496)
-The American Funds Income Series – U.S. Government Securities Fund (File No. 002-98199, File No. 811-04318)
-American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund (File No. 333-183931, File No. 811-22746)
-American Funds Insurance Series (File No. 002-86838, File No. 811-03857)
-American Funds Money Market Fund (File No. 333-157162, File No. 811-22277)
-American Funds Mortgage Fund (File No. 333-168595, File No. 811-22449)
-American Funds Portfolio Series (File No. 333-178936, File No. 811-22656)
-American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund (File No. 033-26431, File No. 811-05750)
-American Funds Target Date Retirement Series (File No. 333-138648, File No. 811-21981)
-American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York (File No. 333-168594, File No. 811-22448)
-The American Funds Tax-Exempt Series II – The Tax-Exempt Fund of California (File No. 033-06180, File No. 811-04694)
-American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund (File No. 033-80630, File No. 811-08576)
-American High-Income Trust (File No. 033-17917, File No. 811-05364)
-American Mutual Fund (File No. 002-10607, File No. 811-00572)
-The Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-50700, File No. 811-02444)
-Capital World Bond Fund (File No. 033-12447, File No. 811-05104)
-Intermediate Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-19514, File No. 811-05446)
-The Investment Company of America (File No. 002-10811, File No. 811-00116)
-Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-66214, File No. 811-07888)
-Short-Term Bond Fund of America (File No. 333-135770, File No. 811-21928)
-The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-49291, File No. 811-02421)

 

hereby revoke all previous powers of attorney I have signed and otherwise act in my name and behalf in matters involving the Funds and do hereby constitute and appoint

 

Vincent P. Corti

Steven I. Koszalka

Patrick F. Quan

Courtney R. Taylor

Julie E. Lawton

Tanya Schneider

Raymond F. Sullivan, Jr.

Brian D. Bullard

Karl C. Grauman

Brian C. Janssen

Dori Laskin

Gregory F. Niland

Ari M. Vinocor

 

each of them singularly, my true and lawful attorneys-in-fact, with full power of substitution, and with full power to each of them, to sign for me and in my name in the appropriate capacities, all Registration Statements of the Funds on Form N-1A, any and all subsequent Amendments, or Post-Effective Amendments to said Registration Statement on Form N-1A or any successor thereto, and any supplements or other instruments in connection therewith, and generally to do all such things in my name and behalf in connection therewith as said attorneys-in-fact deem necessary or appropriate, to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 as amended, and all related requirements of the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. I hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorneys-in-fact or their substitutes may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

EXECUTED at Los Angeles, CA, this 5th day of December, 2012.

(City, State)

 

/s/ Leonard R. Fuller

Leonard R. Fuller, Board member

 
 

POWER OF ATTORNEY

 

I, W. Scott Hedrick, the undersigned Board member of the following registered investment companies (collectively, the “Funds”):

 

-American Funds College Target Date Series (File No. 333-180729, File No. 811-22692)
-American Funds Corporate Bond Fund (File No. 333-183929, File No. 811-22744)
-American Funds Global High-Income Opportunities Fund (File No. 333-183930, File No. 811-22745)
-The American Funds Income Series – U.S. Government Securities Fund (File No. 002-98199, File No. 811-04318)
-American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund (File No. 333-183931, File No. 811-22746)
-American Funds Insurance Series (File No. 002-86838, File No. 811-03857)
-American Funds Money Market Fund (File No. 333-157162, File No. 811-22277)
-American Funds Mortgage Fund (File No. 333-168595, File No. 811-22449)
-American Funds Portfolio Series (File No. 333-178936, File No. 811-22656)
-American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund (File No. 033-26431, File No. 811-05750)
-American Funds Target Date Retirement Series (File No. 333-138648, File No. 811-21981)
-American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York (File No. 333-168594, File No. 811-22448)
-The American Funds Tax-Exempt Series II – The Tax-Exempt Fund of California (File No. 033-06180, File No. 811-04694)
-American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund (File No. 033-80630, File No. 811-08576)
-American High-Income Trust (File No. 033-17917, File No. 811-05364)
-The Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-50700, File No. 811-02444)
-Capital World Bond Fund (File No. 033-12447, File No. 811-05104)
-Intermediate Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-19514, File No. 811-05446)
-Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-66214, File No. 811-07888)
-Short-Term Bond Fund of America (File No. 333-135770, File No. 811-21928)
-The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-49291, File No. 811-02421)

 

hereby revoke all previous powers of attorney I have signed and otherwise act in my name and behalf in matters involving the Funds and do hereby constitute and appoint

 

Vincent P. Corti

Steven I. Koszalka

Patrick F. Quan

Courtney R. Taylor

Julie E. Lawton

Tanya Schneider

Raymond F. Sullivan, Jr.

Karl C. Grauman

Brian C. Janssen

Dori Laskin

Gregory F. Niland

 

each of them singularly, my true and lawful attorneys-in-fact, with full power of substitution, and with full power to each of them, to sign for me and in my name in the appropriate capacities, all Registration Statements of the Funds on Form N-1A, any and all subsequent Amendments, or Post-Effective Amendments to said Registration Statement on Form N-1A or any successor thereto, and any supplements or other instruments in connection therewith, and generally to do all such things in my name and behalf in connection therewith as said attorneys-in-fact deem necessary or appropriate, to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 as amended, and all related requirements of the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. I hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorneys-in-fact or their substitutes may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

EXECUTED at Santa Barbara, CA, this 10th day of December, 2012.

(City, State)

 

 

/s/ W. Scott Hedrick

W. Scott Hedrick, Board member

 
 

POWER OF ATTORNEY

 

I, R. Clark Hooper, the undersigned Board member of the following registered investment companies (collectively, the “Funds”):

 

-American Funds College Target Date Series (File No. 333-180729, File No. 811-22692)
-American Funds Corporate Bond Fund (File No. 333-183929, File No. 811-22744)
-American Funds Global High-Income Opportunities Fund (File No. 333-183930, File No. 811-22745)
-The American Funds Income Series – U.S. Government Securities Fund (File No. 002-98199, File No. 811-04318)
-American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund (File No. 333-183931, File No. 811-22746)
-American Funds Insurance Series (File No. 002-86838, File No. 811-03857)
-American Funds Money Market Fund (File No. 333-157162, File No. 811-22277)
-American Funds Mortgage Fund (File No. 333-168595, File No. 811-22449)
-American Funds Portfolio Series (File No. 333-178936, File No. 811-22656)
-American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund (File No. 033-26431, File No. 811-05750)
-American Funds Target Date Retirement Series (File No. 333-138648, File No. 811-21981)
-American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York (File No. 333-168594, File No. 811-22448)
-The American Funds Tax-Exempt Series II – The Tax-Exempt Fund of California (File No. 033-06180, File No. 811-04694)
-American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund (File No. 033-80630, File No. 811-08576)
-American High-Income Trust (File No. 033-17917, File No. 811-05364)
-The Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-50700, File No. 811-02444)
-Capital Income Builder (File No. 033-12967, File No. 811-05085)
-Capital World Bond Fund (File No. 033-12447, File No. 811-05104)
-Capital World Growth and Income Fund, Inc. (File No. 033-54444, File No. 811-07338)
-Capital World Growth and Income Fund
-Intermediate Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-19514, File No. 811-05446)
-Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-66214, File No. 811-07888)
-The New Economy Fund (File No. 002-83848, File No. 811-03735)
-The New Economy Fund
-Short-Term Bond Fund of America (File No. 333-135770, File No. 811-21928)
-The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-49291, File No. 811-02421)

 

hereby revoke all previous powers of attorney I have signed and otherwise act in my name and behalf in matters involving the Funds and do hereby constitute and appoint

 

Vincent P. Corti

Steven I. Koszalka

Patrick F. Quan

Courtney R. Taylor

Julie E. Lawton

Tanya Schneider

Raymond F. Sullivan, Jr.

Karl C. Grauman

Brian C. Janssen

Dori Laskin

Gregory F. Niland

Neal F. Wellons

 

each of them singularly, my true and lawful attorneys-in-fact, with full power of substitution, and with full power to each of them, to sign for me and in my name in the appropriate capacities, all Registration Statements of the Funds on Form N-1A, any and all subsequent Amendments, or Post-Effective Amendments to said Registration Statement on Form N-1A or any successor thereto, and any supplements or other instruments in connection therewith, and generally to do all such things in my name and behalf in connection therewith as said attorneys-in-fact deem necessary or appropriate, to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 as amended, and all related requirements of the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. I hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorneys-in-fact or their substitutes may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

EXECUTED at Los Angeles, CA, this 5th day of December, 2012.

(City, State)

 

 

/s/ R. Clark Hooper

R. Clark Hooper, Board member

 
 

POWER OF ATTORNEY

 

I, Merit E. Janow, the undersigned Board member of the following registered investment companies (collectively, the “Funds”):

 

-American Funds College Target Date Series (File No. 333-180729, File No. 811-22692)
-American Funds Corporate Bond Fund (File No. 333-183929, File No. 811-22744)
-American Funds Global High-Income Opportunities Fund (File No. 333-183930, File No. 811-22745)
-The American Funds Income Series – U.S. Government Securities Fund (File No. 002-98199, File No. 811-04318)
-American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund (File No. 333-183931, File No. 811-22746)
-American Funds Insurance Series (File No. 002-86838, File No. 811-03857)
-American Funds Money Market Fund (File No. 333-157162, File No. 811-22277)
-American Funds Mortgage Fund (File No. 333-168595, File No. 811-22449)
-American Funds Portfolio Series (File No. 333-178936, File No. 811-22656)
-American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund (File No. 033-26431, File No. 811-05750)
-American Funds Target Date Retirement Series (File No. 333-138648, File No. 811-21981)
-American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York (File No. 333-168594, File No. 811-22448)
-The American Funds Tax-Exempt Series II – The Tax-Exempt Fund of California (File No. 033-06180, File No. 811-04694)
-American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund (File No. 033-80630, File No. 811-08576)
-American High-Income Trust (File No. 033-17917, File No. 811-05364)
-The Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-50700, File No. 811-02444)
-Capital Income Builder (File No. 033-12967, File No. 811-05085)
-Capital World Bond Fund (File No. 033-12447, File No. 811-05104)
-Capital World Growth and Income Fund, Inc. (File No. 033-54444, File No. 811-07338)
-Capital World Growth and Income Fund
-Intermediate Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-19514, File No. 811-05446)
-Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-66214, File No. 811-07888)
-The New Economy Fund (File No. 002-83848, File No. 811-03735)
-The New Economy Fund
-Short-Term Bond Fund of America (File No. 333-135770, File No. 811-21928)
-The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-49291, File No. 811-02421)

 

hereby revoke all previous powers of attorney I have signed and otherwise act in my name and behalf in matters involving the Funds and do hereby constitute and appoint

 

Vincent P. Corti

Steven I. Koszalka

Patrick F. Quan

Courtney R. Taylor

Julie E. Lawton

Tanya Schneider

Raymond F. Sullivan, Jr.

Karl C. Grauman

Brian C. Janssen

Dori Laskin

Gregory F. Niland

Neal F. Wellons

 

each of them singularly, my true and lawful attorneys-in-fact, with full power of substitution, and with full power to each of them, to sign for me and in my name in the appropriate capacities, all Registration Statements of the Funds on Form N-1A, any and all subsequent Amendments, or Post-Effective Amendments to said Registration Statement on Form N-1A or any successor thereto, and any supplements or other instruments in connection therewith, and generally to do all such things in my name and behalf in connection therewith as said attorneys-in-fact deem necessary or appropriate, to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 as amended, and all related requirements of the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. I hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorneys-in-fact or their substitutes may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

EXECUTED at Los Angeles, CA, this 5th day of December, 2012.

(City, State)

 

 

/s/ Merit E. Janow

Merit E. Janow, Board member

 
 

POWER OF ATTORNEY

 

I, Laurel B. Mitchell, the undersigned Board member of the following registered investment companies (collectively, the “Funds”):

 

-American Funds College Target Date Series (File No. 333-180729, File No. 811-22692)
-American Funds Corporate Bond Fund (File No. 333-183929, File No. 811-22744)
-American Funds Global High-Income Opportunities Fund (File No. 333-183930, File No. 811-22745)
-The American Funds Income Series – U.S. Government Securities Fund (File No. 002-98199, File No. 811-04318)
-American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund (File No. 333-183931, File No. 811-22746)
-American Funds Insurance Series (File No. 002-86838, File No. 811-03857)
-American Funds Money Market Fund (File No. 333-157162, File No. 811-22277)
-American Funds Mortgage Fund (File No. 333-168595, File No. 811-22449)
-American Funds Portfolio Series (File No. 333-178936, File No. 811-22656)
-American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund (File No. 033-26431, File No. 811-05750)
-American Funds Target Date Retirement Series (File No. 333-138648, File No. 811-21981)
-American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York (File No. 333-168594, File No. 811-22448)
-The American Funds Tax-Exempt Series II – The Tax-Exempt Fund of California (File No. 033-06180, File No. 811-04694)
-American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund (File No. 033-80630, File No. 811-08576)
-American High-Income Trust (File No. 033-17917, File No. 811-05364)
-The Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-50700, File No. 811-02444)
-Capital World Bond Fund (File No. 033-12447, File No. 811-05104)
-Intermediate Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-19514, File No. 811-05446)
-Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-66214, File No. 811-07888)
-Short-Term Bond Fund of America (File No. 333-135770, File No. 811-21928)
-The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-49291, File No. 811-02421)

 

hereby revoke all previous powers of attorney I have signed and otherwise act in my name and behalf in matters involving the Funds and do hereby constitute and appoint

 

Vincent P. Corti

Steven I. Koszalka

Patrick F. Quan

Courtney R. Taylor

Julie E. Lawton

Tanya Schneider

Raymond F. Sullivan, Jr.

Karl C. Grauman

Brian C. Janssen

Dori Laskin

Gregory F. Niland

 

each of them singularly, my true and lawful attorneys-in-fact, with full power of substitution, and with full power to each of them, to sign for me and in my name in the appropriate capacities, all Registration Statements of the Funds on Form N-1A, any and all subsequent Amendments, or Post-Effective Amendments to said Registration Statement on Form N-1A or any successor thereto, and any supplements or other instruments in connection therewith, and generally to do all such things in my name and behalf in connection therewith as said attorneys-in-fact deem necessary or appropriate, to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 as amended, and all related requirements of the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. I hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorneys-in-fact or their substitutes may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

EXECUTED at Los Angeles, CA, this 5th day of December, 2012.

(City, State)

 

 

/s/ Laurel B. Mitchell

Laurel B. Mitchell, Board member

 
 

POWER OF ATTORNEY

 

I, Frank M. Sanchez, the undersigned Board member of the following registered investment companies (collectively, the “Funds”):

 

-American Funds College Target Date Series (File No. 333-180729, File No. 811-22692)
-American Funds Corporate Bond Fund (File No. 333-183929, File No. 811-22744)
-American Funds Global High-Income Opportunities Fund (File No. 333-183930, File No. 811-22745)
-The American Funds Income Series – U.S. Government Securities Fund (File No. 002-98199, File No. 811-04318)
-American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund (File No. 333-183931, File No. 811-22746)
-American Funds Insurance Series (File No. 002-86838, File No. 811-03857)
-American Funds Money Market Fund (File No. 333-157162, File No. 811-22277)
-American Funds Mortgage Fund (File No. 333-168595, File No. 811-22449)
-American Funds Portfolio Series (File No. 333-178936, File No. 811-22656)
-American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund (File No. 033-26431, File No. 811-05750)
-American Funds Target Date Retirement Series (File No. 333-138648, File No. 811-21981)
-American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York (File No. 333-168594, File No. 811-22448)
-The American Funds Tax-Exempt Series II – The Tax-Exempt Fund of California (File No. 033-06180, File No. 811-04694)
-American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund (File No. 033-80630, File No. 811-08576)
-American High-Income Trust (File No. 033-17917, File No. 811-05364)
-The Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-50700, File No. 811-02444)
-Capital World Bond Fund (File No. 033-12447, File No. 811-05104)
-Intermediate Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-19514, File No. 811-05446)
-Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-66214, File No. 811-07888)
-Short-Term Bond Fund of America (File No. 333-135770, File No. 811-21928)
-The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-49291, File No. 811-02421)

 

hereby revoke all previous powers of attorney I have signed and otherwise act in my name and behalf in matters involving the Funds and do hereby constitute and appoint

 

Vincent P. Corti

Steven I. Koszalka

Patrick F. Quan

Courtney R. Taylor

Julie E. Lawton

Tanya Schneider

Raymond F. Sullivan, Jr.

Karl C. Grauman

Brian C. Janssen

Dori Laskin

Gregory F. Niland

 

each of them singularly, my true and lawful attorneys-in-fact, with full power of substitution, and with full power to each of them, to sign for me and in my name in the appropriate capacities, all Registration Statements of the Funds on Form N-1A, any and all subsequent Amendments, or Post-Effective Amendments to said Registration Statement on Form N-1A or any successor thereto, and any supplements or other instruments in connection therewith, and generally to do all such things in my name and behalf in connection therewith as said attorneys-in-fact deem necessary or appropriate, to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 as amended, and all related requirements of the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. I hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorneys-in-fact or their substitutes may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

EXECUTED at Los Angeles, CA, this 5th day of December, 2012.

(City, State)

 

 

/s/ Frank M. Sanchez

Frank M. Sanchez, Board member

 
 

POWER OF ATTORNEY

 

I, Margaret Spellings, the undersigned Board member of the following registered investment companies (collectively, the “Funds”):

 

-American Balanced Fund (File No. 002-10758, File No. 811-00066)
-American Funds College Target Date Series (File No. 333-180729, File No. 811-22692)
-American Funds Corporate Bond Fund (File No. 333-183929, File No. 811-22744)
-American Funds Global High-Income Opportunities Fund (File No. 333-183930, File No. 811-22745)
-The American Funds Income Series – U.S. Government Securities Fund (File No. 002-98199, File No. 811-04318)
-American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund (File No. 333-183931, File No. 811-22746)
-American Funds Insurance Series (File No. 002-86838, File No. 811-03857)
-American Funds Money Market Fund (File No. 333-157162, File No. 811-22277)
-American Funds Mortgage Fund (File No. 333-168595, File No. 811-22449)
-American Funds Portfolio Series (File No. 333-178936, File No. 811-22656)
-American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund (File No. 033-26431, File No. 811-05750)
-American Funds Target Date Retirement Series (File No. 333-138648, File No. 811-21981)
-American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York (File No. 333-168594, File No. 811-22448)
-The American Funds Tax-Exempt Series II – The Tax-Exempt Fund of California (File No. 033-06180, File No. 811-04694)
-American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund (File No. 033-80630, File No. 811-08576)
-American High-Income Trust (File No. 033-17917, File No. 811-05364)
-The Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-50700, File No. 811-02444)
-Capital World Bond Fund (File No. 033-12447, File No. 811-05104)
-The Income Fund of America (File No. 002-33371, File No. 811-01880)
-Intermediate Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-19514, File No. 811-05446)
-International Growth and Income Fund (File No. 333-152323, File No. 811-22215)
-Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-66214, File No. 811-07888)
-Short-Term Bond Fund of America (File No. 333-135770, File No. 811-21928)
-The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-49291, File No. 811-02421)

 

hereby revoke all previous powers of attorney I have signed and otherwise act in my name and behalf in matters involving the Funds and do hereby constitute and appoint

 

Vincent P. Corti

Steven I. Koszalka

Patrick F. Quan

Courtney R. Taylor

Julie E. Lawton

Tanya Schneider

Raymond F. Sullivan, Jr.

Karl C. Grauman

Brian C. Janssen

Dori Laskin

Gregory F. Niland

Jeffrey P. Regal

 

each of them singularly, my true and lawful attorneys-in-fact, with full power of substitution, and with full power to each of them, to sign for me and in my name in the appropriate capacities, all Registration Statements of the Funds on Form N-1A, any and all subsequent Amendments, or Post-Effective Amendments to said Registration Statement on Form N-1A or any successor thereto, and any supplements or other instruments in connection therewith, and generally to do all such things in my name and behalf in connection therewith as said attorneys-in-fact deem necessary or appropriate, to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 as amended, and all related requirements of the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. I hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorneys-in-fact or their substitutes may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

EXECUTED at Los Angeles, CA, this 5th day of December, 2012.

(City, State)

 

 

/s/ Margaret Spellings

Margaret Spellings, Board member

 
 

POWER OF ATTORNEY

 

I, Steadman Upham, the undersigned Board member of the following registered investment companies (collectively, the “Funds”):

 

-American Funds College Target Date Series (File No. 333-180729, File No. 811-22692)
-American Funds Corporate Bond Fund (File No. 333-183929, File No. 811-22744)
-American Funds Global High-Income Opportunities Fund (File No. 333-183930, File No. 811-22745)
-The American Funds Income Series – U.S. Government Securities Fund (File No. 002-98199, File No. 811-04318)
-American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund (File No. 333-183931, File No. 811-22746)
-American Funds Insurance Series (File No. 002-86838, File No. 811-03857)
-American Funds Money Market Fund (File No. 333-157162, File No. 811-22277)
-American Funds Mortgage Fund (File No. 333-168595, File No. 811-22449)
-American Funds Portfolio Series (File No. 333-178936, File No. 811-22656)
-American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund (File No. 033-26431, File No. 811-05750)
-American Funds Target Date Retirement Series (File No. 333-138648, File No. 811-21981)
-American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York (File No. 333-168594, File No. 811-22448)
-The American Funds Tax-Exempt Series II – The Tax-Exempt Fund of California (File No. 033-06180, File No. 811-04694)
-American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund (File No. 033-80630, File No. 811-08576)
-American High-Income Trust (File No. 033-17917, File No. 811-05364)
-The Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-50700, File No. 811-02444)
-Capital Income Builder (File No. 033-12967, File No. 811-05085)
-Capital World Bond Fund (File No. 033-12447, File No. 811-05104)
-Capital World Growth and Income Fund, Inc. (File No. 033-54444, File No. 811-07338)
-Capital World Growth and Income Fund
-Intermediate Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-19514, File No. 811-05446)
-Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-66214, File No. 811-07888)
-The New Economy Fund (File No. 002-83848, File No. 811-03735)
-The New Economy Fund
-Short-Term Bond Fund of America (File No. 333-135770, File No. 811-21928)
-The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-49291, File No. 811-02421)

 

hereby revoke all previous powers of attorney I have signed and otherwise act in my name and behalf in matters involving the Funds and do hereby constitute and appoint

 

Vincent P. Corti

Steven I. Koszalka

Patrick F. Quan

Courtney R. Taylor

Julie E. Lawton

Tanya Schneider

Raymond F. Sullivan, Jr.

Karl C. Grauman

Brian C. Janssen

Dori Laskin

Gregory F. Niland

Neal F. Wellons

 

each of them singularly, my true and lawful attorneys-in-fact, with full power of substitution, and with full power to each of them, to sign for me and in my name in the appropriate capacities, all Registration Statements of the Funds on Form N-1A, any and all subsequent Amendments, or Post-Effective Amendments to said Registration Statement on Form N-1A or any successor thereto, and any supplements or other instruments in connection therewith, and generally to do all such things in my name and behalf in connection therewith as said attorneys-in-fact deem necessary or appropriate, to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 as amended, and all related requirements of the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. I hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorneys-in-fact or their substitutes may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

EXECUTED at Tulsa, OK, this 5th day of December, 2012.

(City, State)

 

 

/s/ Steadman Upham

Steadman Upham, Board member

 
 

Exhibit Index

 

Exhibit No. Description
   
EX-101.INS XBRL Instance Document
EX-101.SCH XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
EX-101.CAL XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase
EX-101.DEF XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase
EX-101.LAB XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Linkbase
EX-101.PRE XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase

 

 EX-101.INS 2 ck0001547011-20121031.xml XBRL INSTANCE FILE 485BPOS 2012-10-31 0001547011 2013-01-01 AMERICAN FUNDS COLLEGE TARGET DATE SERIES false 2012-12-31 2013-01-01 <tt>The fund may pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and <br />sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover <br />rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected <br />in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's investment<br />results.</tt> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ExpenseExample_S000037540Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <tt>The fund's investment objective is to provide current income, consistent with<br />preservation of capital.</tt> <tt>This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in<br />the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.<br /> <br />The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods<br />indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The<br />example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that <br />the fund's operating expenses remain the same.</tt> <tt>The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objective by investing in a mix<br />of American Funds bond funds. The fund will principally invest in funds that<br />seek current income through bond investments.<br /> <br />When determining in which bond funds to invest, the investment adviser will<br />predominately seek exposure to higher quality bonds (rated A- or better or A3 <br />or better by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations designated by<br />the fund's investment adviser, or unrated but determined by the fund's investment <br />adviser to be of equivalent quality) with intermediate to short-term durations. <br />The fund may, however, invest in underlying funds with exposure to lower quality, <br />higher yielding securities rated BBB+ or below and Baa1 or below (including those <br />rated BB+ or below and Ba1 or below) or unrated but determined by the fund's <br />investment adviser to be of equivalent quality, and to bonds with longer durations.<br /> <br />The underlying funds may hold securities issued and guaranteed by the U.S.<br />government, securities issued by federal agencies and instrumentalities and<br />securities backed by mortgages or other assets. The investment adviser anticipates <br />that exposure to mortgage-backed securities and asset-backed securities may help <br />the fund generate current income. The underlying funds may also invest in the debt <br />securities of governments, agencies, corporations and other entities domiciled <br />outside the United States.<br /> <br />The fund's investment adviser seeks to create a combination of underlying <br />funds that complement each other with a goal of achieving the fund's investment<br />objective of providing current income, consistent with preservation of capital.<br />In making this determination, the fund's investment adviser considers the<br />historical volatility and returns of the underlying funds and how various<br />combinations would have behaved in past market environments. Consideration is<br />also given to, among other topics, current market conditions and the investment<br />positions of the underlying funds.</tt> American Funds College Enrollment FundSM You may qualify for a Class 529-A sales charge discount if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in American Funds. Example Because the fund began investment operations on September 14, 2012, information regarding investment results is not available as of the date of this prospectus. Investment objective You may lose money by investing in the fund. Principal risks Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment) Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: Investment results 25000 Annual fund operating expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) Portfolio turnover <tt>This section describes the principal risks associated with the fund's principal<br />investment strategies. You may lose money by investing in the fund. The<br />likelihood of loss may be greater if you invest for a shorter period of time.<br />Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to<br />tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.<br /> <br />Allocation risk - Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the<br />investment adviser's allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds<br />and the allocation of the fund's assets could cause the fund to lose value or<br />its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.<br /> <br />Fund structure - The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses<br />related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur<br />fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An<br />investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as<br />the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit <br />of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund.<br /> <br />Because the fund's investments consist of underlying funds, the fund's risks are<br />directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is<br />important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying<br />funds.<br /> <br />Market conditions - The prices of, and the income generated by, the common<br />stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds may decline due<br />to market conditions and other factors, including those directly involving the<br />issuers of securities held by the underlying funds.<br /> <br />Investing in bonds - Rising interest rates will generally cause the prices of<br />bonds and other debt securities to fall. Longer maturity debt securities may be<br />subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities. In<br />addition, falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem, call or refinance <br />a security before its stated maturity, which may result in the underlying fund <br />having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities.<br /> <br />Bonds and other debt securities are subject to credit risk, which is the<br />possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer<br />of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest<br />and the security will go into default. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the<br />credit ratings of the securities in which the underlying fund invests. However,<br />ratings are only the opinions of the rating agencies issuing them and are not<br />guarantees as to credit quality or an evaluation of market risk.<br /> <br />Investing in lower rated bonds - Lower rated bonds and other lower rated debt<br />securities generally have higher rates of interest and involve greater risk of<br />default or price declines due to changes in the issuer's creditworthiness than<br />those of higher quality debt securities. The market prices of these securities<br />may fluctuate more than the prices of higher quality debt securities and may<br />decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. These risks may<br />be increased with respect to investments in bonds rated Ba1 or BB+ or below by<br />Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations or unrated but determined<br />by the underlying fund's investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. Such<br />securities are considered speculative and are sometimes referred to as "junk<br />bonds." The value of the underlying funds may be similarly affected.<br /> <br />Investing outside the United States - Securities of issuers domiciled outside<br />the United States, or with significant operations outside the United States, <br />may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market <br />developments in the countries or regions in which the issuer operates. These <br />securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates <br />against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Securities markets <br />in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the <br />United States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to <br />different settlement and accounting practices and different regulatory, legal <br />and reporting standards, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the<br />United States. The risks of investing outside the United States may be<br />heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.<br /> <br />Investing in mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities - Many types of bonds<br />and other debt securities, including mortgage-backed/related securities, are<br />subject to prepayment risk as well as the risks associated with investing in<br />debt securities in general. If interest rates fall and the loans underlying<br />these securities are prepaid faster than expected, the underlying fund may have<br />to reinvest the prepaid principal in lower yielding securities, thus reducing<br />the fund's income. Conversely, if interest rates increase and the loans<br />underlying the securities are prepaid more slowly than expected, the expected<br />duration of the securities may be extended, reducing the cash flow for potential<br />reinvestment in higher yielding securities.<br /> <br />Investing in U.S. government securities - Securities backed by the U.S. Treasury<br />or the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are guaranteed only as to<br />the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. Accordingly,<br />the current market values for these securities will fluctuate with changes in<br />interest rates. Securities issued by government-sponsored entities and federal<br />agencies and instrumentalities that are not backed by the full faith and credit<br />of the U.S. government are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. government.<br /> <br />Investing in future delivery contracts - Contracts for future delivery of<br />mortgage-related securities, such as to be announced contracts and mortgage<br />dollar rolls, involve the fund selling mortgage-related securities and<br />simultaneously contracting to repurchase similar securities for delivery at a<br />future date at a predetermined price. This can increase the underlying fund's<br />market exposure, and the market price of the securities the fund contracts to<br />repurchase could drop below their purchase price. While the fund can preserve<br />and generate capital through the use of such contracts by, for example,<br />realizing the difference between the sale price and the future purchase price,<br />the income generated by the fund may be reduced by engaging in such transactions. <br />In addition, these transactions may increase the turnover rate of the fund.<br /> <br />Management - The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds<br />actively manages each underlying fund's investments. Consequently, the underlying <br />funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses employed by the <br />investment adviser in this process may not produce the desired results. This could <br />cause an underlying fund to lose value or its investment results to lag relevant <br />benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.<br /> <br />Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed <br />by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, <br />entity or person. You should consider how this fund fits into your overall investment <br />program.</tt> Fees and expenses of the fund Principal investment strategies <tt>Because the fund began investment operations on September 14, 2012, information<br />regarding investment results is not available as of the date of this prospectus.</tt> <tt>This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold<br />shares of the fund. You may qualify for a Class 529-A sales charge discount if<br />you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000<br />in American Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available<br />from your financial professional and in the "Sales charge reductions and<br />waivers" section on page 51 of the prospectus and on page 65 of the fund's<br />statement of additional information.</tt> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/OperatingExpensesData_S000037540Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> For the share classes listed below, you would pay the following if you did not redeem your shares: Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, entity or person. <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ExpenseExampleNoRedemption_S000037540Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ShareholderFeesData_S000037540Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> CENFX 0 0.0000 88 290 -0.0017 1126 508 0.0041 0.0010 2013-12-31 0.00 0.0000 0.0067 0.0084 10 0.0033 0.0000 CENEX 0 0.0000 133 428 -0.0017 1632 744 0.0035 0.0010 2013-12-31 0.00 0.0050 0.0111 0.0128 10 0.0033 0.0000 CENCX 0 0.0000 287 187 592 -0.0017 2211 1021 0.0038 0.0010 2013-12-31 2211 592 1021 0.00 0.0100 0.0164 0.0181 10 0.0033 0.0100 CENBX 0 0.0000 693 193 1010 -0.0017 2064 1252 0.0044 0.0010 2013-12-31 2064 610 1052 0.00 0.0100 0.0170 0.0187 10 0.0033 0.0500 CENAX 0 0.0250 358 602 -0.0017 1600 862 0.0038 0.0010 2013-12-31 0.00 0.0025 0.0089 0.0106 10 0.0033 0.0100 <tt>The fund may pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and <br />sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover <br />rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected <br />in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's investment<br />results.</tt> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ExpenseExample_S000037539Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <tt>The fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees:<br />growth, income and preservation of capital, depending on the proximity to its<br />target date. The target date is meant to roughly correspond to the year in which<br />the fund beneficiary will start to withdraw funds to meet higher education<br />expenses. The fund will increasingly emphasize income and preservation of<br />capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in bond, equity-income and<br />balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date. In this way, the<br />fund seeks to achieve an appropriate balance of total return and stability<br />during different time periods.</tt> <tt>This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund <br />with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.<br /> <br />The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods<br />indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The<br />example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that <br />the fund's operating expenses remain the same.</tt> <tt>The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a <br />mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying<br />American Funds represent a variety of fund categories such as equity-income<br />funds, balanced funds and bond funds. The fund categories represent differing<br />investment objectives. For example, equity-income and balanced funds generally<br />strive for income and growth through stocks and/or bond investments, while bond<br />funds seek current income through bond investments.<br /> <br />The investment adviser may periodically rebalance or modify the asset mix of <br />the funds and change the underlying fund investments. According to its current<br />investment approach, the percentage of the fund invested in different categories<br />will change until the fund reaches its target date. Upon reaching its target<br />date, the fund will be principally invested in fixed-income funds and may merge<br />into the Enrollment Fund, which will also be principally invested in<br />fixed-income funds.<br /> <br />The fund's investment adviser periodically reviews the investment strategies and<br />asset mix of the underlying funds. The investment adviser will also consider<br />whether overall market conditions would favor a change in the exposure of the<br />fund to various asset types or geographic regions. Based on these considerations, <br />the investment adviser may make adjustments to underlying fund holdings by <br />adjusting the percentage of individual underlying funds within the fund, or <br />adding or removing underlying funds. The investment adviser may also determine <br />not to change the underlying fund allocations, particularly in response to <br />short-term market movements, if in its opinion the combination of underlying <br />funds is appropriate to meet the fund's investment objective.<br /> <br />With respect to its fixed-income investments, the underlying funds in which the<br />fund invests may hold debt securities with a wide range of quality and maturities. <br />The fund may invest in underlying funds with significant exposure to bonds rated <br />BB+ or below and Ba1 or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating <br />Organizations designated by the fund's investment adviser, or unrated but <br />determined by the fund's investment adviser to be of equivalent quality.<br />Securities rated BB+ or below and Ba1 or below are sometimes referred to as<br />"junk bonds." Exposure to lower rated securities may help the fund achieve its<br />objective of providing current income.<br /> <br />The underlying funds may hold securities issued and guaranteed by the U.S.<br />government, securities issued by federal agencies and instrumentalities and<br />securities backed by mortgages or other assets. The underlying funds may also<br />invest in the debt securities of governments, agencies, corporations and other<br />entities domiciled outside the United States.<br /><br />The following chart illustrates the current investment approach of the fund by<br />showing how its investment in the various fund categories will change over time.<br /> <br />&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;Current investment approach <br /><br />&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2030&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2027&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2024&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2021&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2018&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2015&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;Enrollment<br /><br />Growth funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;15%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;<br />Growth-and-income funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;70%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;55%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;45%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;40%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%<br />Equity-income and balanced funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;15%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%<br />Bond funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;35%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;45%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;60%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;90%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;100%<br /><br />Years to distribution&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;15-18&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;12-15&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;9-12&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;6-9&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;3-6&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0-3&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;target date<br /><br /><br />The investment adviser anticipates that the fund will invest its assets within a<br />range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach set<br />forth above. For example, a 20% target allocation to growth funds is not expected <br />to be greater than 30% or less than 10%. The investment adviser will continuously <br />monitor the fund and may make modifications to either the investment approach or <br />the underlying fund allocations that the investment adviser believes could benefit <br />shareholders.</tt> American Funds College 2015 FundSM You may qualify for a Class 529-A sales charge discount if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in American Funds. Example Because the fund began investment operations on September 14, 2012, information regarding investment results is not available as of the date of this prospectus. Investment objectives You may lose money by investing in the fund. Principal risks Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment) Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: Investment results 25000 Annual fund operating expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) Portfolio turnover <tt>This section describes the principal risks associated with the fund's principal<br />investment strategies. You may lose money by investing in the fund. The<br />likelihood of loss may be greater if you invest for a shorter period of time.<br />Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to<br />tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.<br /> <br />Allocation risk - Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the<br />investment adviser's allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds<br />and the allocation of the fund's assets could cause the fund to lose value or<br />its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.<br /> <br />Fund structure - The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses<br />related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur<br />fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An<br />investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as<br />the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit <br />of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund.<br /> <br />Because the fund's investments consist of underlying funds, the fund's risks are<br />directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is<br />important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying<br />funds.<br /> <br />Market conditions - The prices of, and the income generated by, the common<br />stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds may decline <br />due to market conditions and other factors, including those directly involving <br />the issuers of securities held by the underlying funds.<br /> <br />Investing in stocks - Investing in stocks may involve larger price swings and<br />greater potential for loss than other types of investments. As a result, the<br />value of the underlying funds may be subject to sharp, short-term declines in<br />value. Income provided by an underlying fund may be reduced by changes in the<br />dividend policies of, and the capital resources available at, the companies in<br />which the underlying fund invests.<br /> <br />Investing in income-oriented stocks - Income provided by an underlying fund may<br />be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources<br />available at, the companies in which the underlying fund invests.<br /> <br />Investing in bonds - Rising interest rates will generally cause the prices of<br />bonds and other debt securities to fall. Longer maturity debt securities may <br />be subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities. <br />In addition, falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem, call or<br />refinance a security before its stated maturity, which may result in the<br />underlying fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities.<br /> <br />Bonds and other debt securities are subject to credit risk, which is the<br />possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer<br />of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest<br />and the security will go into default. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the<br />credit ratings of the securities in which the underlying fund invests. However,<br />ratings are only the opinions of the rating agencies issuing them and are not<br />guarantees as to credit quality or an evaluation of market risk.<br />&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;<br />Investing in lower rated bonds - Lower rated bonds and other lower rated debt<br />securities generally have higher rates of interest and involve greater risk of<br />default or price declines due to changes in the issuer's creditworthiness than<br />those of higher quality debt securities. The market prices of these securities<br />may fluctuate more than the prices of higher quality debt securities and may<br />decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. These risks may<br />be increased with respect to investments in bonds rated Ba1 or BB+ or below by<br />Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations or unrated but determined<br />by the underlying fund's investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. Such<br />securities are considered speculative and are sometimes referred to as "junk<br />bonds." The value of the underlying funds may be similarly affected.<br /> <br />Investing outside the United States - Securities of issuers domiciled outside<br />the United States, or with significant operations outside the United States, <br />may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market <br />developments in the countries or regions in which the issuer operates. These <br />securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates <br />against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Securities markets <br />in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the <br />United States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to <br />different settlement and accounting practices and different regulatory, legal <br />and reporting standards, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the<br />United States. The risks of investing outside the United States may be<br />heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.<br /> <br />Investing in emerging markets - Investing in emerging markets may involve risks<br />in addition to and greater than those generally associated with investing in<br />developed countries. For instance, developing countries may have less developed<br />legal and accounting systems than those in developed countries. The governments<br />of these countries may be less stable and more likely to impose capital controls, <br />nationalize a company or industry, place restrictions on foreign ownership and <br />on withdrawing sale proceeds of securities from the country, and/or impose punitive <br />taxes that could adversely affect the prices of securities. In addition, the <br />economies of these countries may be dependent on relatively few industries that <br />are more susceptible to local and global changes. Securities markets in these <br />countries can also be relatively small and have substantially lower trading <br />volumes. As a result, securities issued in these countries may be more volatile <br />and less liquid, and may be more difficult to value, than securities issued in <br />countries with more developed economies and/or markets. Additionally, there may <br />be increased settlement risks for transactions in local securities.<br /> <br />Investing in mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities - Many types of bonds<br />and other debt securities, including mortgage-backed/related securities, are<br />subject to prepayment risk as well as the risks associated with investing in<br />debt securities in general. If interest rates fall and the loans underlying<br />these securities are prepaid faster than expected, the underlying fund may have<br />to reinvest the prepaid principal in lower yielding securities, thus reducing<br />the fund's income. Conversely, if interest rates increase and the loans<br />underlying the securities are prepaid more slowly than expected, the expected<br />duration of the securities may be extended, reducing the cash flow for potential<br />reinvestment in higher yielding securities.<br /> <br />Investing in U.S. government securities - Securities backed by the U.S. Treasury<br />or the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are guaranteed only as to<br />the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. Accordingly,<br />the current market values for these securities will fluctuate with changes in<br />interest rates. Securities issued by government-sponsored entities and federal<br />agencies and instrumentalities that are not backed by the full faith and credit<br />of the U.S. government are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. government.<br /> <br />Investing in future delivery contracts - Contracts for future delivery of<br />mortgage-related securities, such as to be announced contracts and mortgage<br />dollar rolls, involve the fund selling mortgage-related securities and<br />simultaneously contracting to repurchase similar securities for delivery at a<br />future date at a predetermined price. This can increase the underlying fund's<br />market exposure, and the market price of the securities the fund contracts to<br />repurchase could drop below their purchase price. While the fund can preserve<br />and generate capital through the use of such contracts by, for example,<br />realizing the difference between the sale price and the future purchase price,<br />the income generated by the fund may be reduced by engaging in such transactions. <br />In addition, these transactions may increase the turnover rate of the fund.<br /> <br />Management - The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds<br />actively manages each underlying fund's investments. Consequently, the<br />underlying funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses employed<br />by the investment adviser in this process may not produce the desired results.<br />This could cause an underlying fund to lose value or its investment results to<br />lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.<br /> <br />Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured <br />or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other<br />governmental agency, entity or person. You should consider how this fund <br />fits into your overall investment program.</tt> Fees and expenses of the fund Principal investment strategies <tt>Because the fund began investment operations on September 14, 2012, information<br />regarding investment results is not available as of the date of this prospectus.</tt> <tt>This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold<br />shares of the fund. You may qualify for a Class 529-A sales charge discount if<br />you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000<br />in American Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available<br />from your financial professional and in the "Sales charge reductions and<br />waivers" section on page 51 of the prospectus and on page 65 of the fund's<br />statement of additional information.</tt> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/OperatingExpensesData_S000037539Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> For the share classes listed below, you would pay the following if you did not redeem your shares: Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, entity or person. <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ExpenseExampleNoRedemption_S000037539Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ShareholderFeesData_S000037539Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> CFIFX 0 0.0000 85 268 -0.0011 1025 465 0.0035 0.0010 2013-12-31 0.00 0.0000 0.0064 0.0075 10 0.0030 0.0000 CFIEX 0 0.0000 130 406 -0.0011 1535 702 0.0029 0.0010 2013-12-31 0.00 0.0050 0.0108 0.0119 10 0.0030 0.0000 CFFCX 0 0.0000 283 183 570 -0.0011 2120 980 0.0032 0.0010 2013-12-31 2120 570 980 0.00 0.0100 0.0161 0.0172 10 0.0030 0.0100 CFIBX 0 0.0000 690 190 988 -0.0011 1972 1211 0.0038 0.0010 2013-12-31 1972 588 1011 0.00 0.0100 0.0167 0.0178 10 0.0030 0.0500 CFFAX 0 0.0425 529 750 -0.0011 1658 986 0.0032 0.0010 2013-12-31 0.00 0.0025 0.0086 0.0097 10 0.0030 0.0100 <tt>The fund may pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and <br />sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover <br />rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected <br />in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's investment<br />results.</tt> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ExpenseExample_S000037538Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <tt>The fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees:<br />growth, income and preservation of capital, depending on the proximity to <br />its target date. The target date is meant to roughly correspond to the year <br />in which the fund beneficiary will start to withdraw funds to meet higher <br />education expenses. The fund will increasingly emphasize income and preservation <br />of capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in bond, equity-income <br />and balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date. In this way, <br />the fund seeks to achieve an appropriate balance of total return and stability<br />during different time periods.</tt> <tt>This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund <br />with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.<br /> <br />The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods<br />indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The<br />example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that <br />the fund's operating expenses remain the same.</tt> <tt>The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a <br />mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying<br />American Funds represent a variety of fund categories such as growth-and-income<br />funds, equity-income funds, balanced funds and bond funds. The fund categories<br />represent differing investment objectives. For example, growth-and-income funds<br />seek long-term growth-and-income primarily through investments in stocks.<br />Equity-income and balanced funds generally strive for income and growth through<br />stocks and/or bond investments, while bond funds seek current income through<br />bond investments.<br /> <br />The investment adviser may periodically rebalance or modify the asset mix of <br />the funds and change the underlying fund investments. According to its current<br />investment approach, the percentage of the fund invested in different categories<br />will change until the fund reaches its target date. Upon reaching its target<br />date, the fund will be principally invested in fixed-income funds and may merge<br />into the Enrollment Fund, which will also be principally invested in fixed-income <br />funds.<br /> <br />The fund's investment adviser periodically reviews the investment strategies <br />and asset mix of the underlying funds. The investment adviser will also consider<br />whether overall market conditions would favor a change in the exposure of the<br />fund to various asset types or geographic regions. Based on these considerations, <br />the investment adviser may make adjustments to underlying fund holdings by <br />adjusting the percentage of individual underlying funds within the fund, or <br />adding or removing underlying funds. The investment adviser may also determine <br />not to change the underlying fund allocations, particularly in response to <br />short-term market movements, if in its opinion the combination of underlying <br />funds is appropriate to meet the fund's investment objective.<br /> <br />With respect to its fixed-income investments, the underlying funds in which the<br />fund invests may hold debt securities with a wide range of quality and maturities. <br />The fund may invest in underlying funds with significant exposure to bonds rated <br />BB+ or below and Ba1 or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating <br />Organizations designated by the fund's investment adviser, or unrated but<br />determined by the fund's investment adviser to be of equivalent quality.<br />Securities rated BB+ or below and Ba1 or below are sometimes referred to as<br />"junk bonds." Exposure to lower rated securities may help the fund achieve <br />its objective of providing current income.<br /> <br />The underlying funds may hold securities issued and guaranteed by the U.S.<br />government, securities issued by federal agencies and instrumentalities and<br />securities backed by mortgages or other assets. The underlying funds may <br />also invest in the debt securities of governments, agencies, corporations <br />and other entities domiciled outside the United States.<br />&#xA0;&#xA0;<br />The following chart illustrates the current investment approach of the fund by<br />showing how its investment in the various fund categories will change over time.<br /> <br />&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;Current investment approach <br /><br />&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2030&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2027&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2024&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2021&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2018&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2015&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;Enrollment<br /><br />Growth funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;15%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;<br />Growth-and-income funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;70%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;55%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;45%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;40%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%<br />Equity-income and balanced funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;15%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%<br />Bond funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;35%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;45%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;60%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;90%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;100%<br /><br />Years to distribution&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;15-18&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;12-15&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;9-12&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;6-9&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;3-6&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0-3&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;target date<br /><br /><br />The investment adviser anticipates that the fund will invest its assets within <br />a range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach<br />set forth above. For example, a 20% target allocation to growth funds is not<br />expected to be greater than 30% or less than 10%. The investment adviser will<br />continuously monitor the fund and may make modifications to either the<br />investment approach or the underlying fund allocations that the investment<br />adviser believes could benefit shareholders.</tt> American Funds College 2018 FundSM You may qualify for a Class 529-A sales charge discount if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in American Funds. Example Because the fund began investment operations on September 14, 2012, information regarding investment results is not available as of the date of this prospectus. Investment objectives You may lose money by investing in the fund. Principal risks Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment) Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: Investment results 25000 Annual fund operating expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) Portfolio turnover <tt>This section describes the principal risks associated with the fund's principal<br />investment strategies. You may lose money by investing in the fund. The<br />likelihood of loss may be greater if you invest for a shorter period of time.<br />Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to<br />tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.<br /> <br />Allocation risk - Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the<br />investment adviser's allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds<br />and the allocation of the fund's assets could cause the fund to lose value or<br />its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.<br /> <br />Fund structure - The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses<br />related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur<br />fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An<br />investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as<br />the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit <br />of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund.<br /> <br />Because the fund's investments consist of underlying funds, the fund's risks are<br />directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is<br />important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying<br />funds.<br /> <br />Market conditions - The prices of, and the income generated by, the common<br />stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds may decline <br />due to market conditions and other factors, including those directly involving <br />the issuers of securities held by the underlying funds.<br /> <br />Investing in stocks - Investing in stocks may involve larger price swings and<br />greater potential for loss than other types of investments. As a result, the<br />value of the underlying funds may be subject to sharp, short-term declines in<br />value. Income provided by an underlying fund may be reduced by changes in the<br />dividend policies of, and the capital resources available at, the companies in<br />which the underlying fund invests.<br /> <br />Investing in growth-oriented stocks - Growth-oriented stocks may involve larger<br />price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments.<br /> <br />Investing in income-oriented stocks - Income provided by an underlying fund may<br />be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources<br />available at, the companies in which the underlying fund invests.<br /> <br />Investing in bonds - Rising interest rates will generally cause the prices of<br />bonds and other debt securities to fall. Longer maturity debt securities may be<br />subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities. In<br />addition, falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem, call or<br />refinance a security before its stated maturity, which may result in the<br />underlying fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities.<br /> <br />Bonds and other debt securities are subject to credit risk, which is the<br />possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer<br />of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest<br />and the security will go into default. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the<br />credit ratings of the securities in which the underlying fund invests. However,<br />ratings are only the opinions of the rating agencies issuing them and are not<br />guarantees as to credit quality or an evaluation of market risk.<br />&#xA0;&#xA0;<br />Investing in lower rated bonds - Lower rated bonds and other lower rated debt<br />securities generally have higher rates of interest and involve greater risk of<br />default or price declines due to changes in the issuer's creditworthiness than<br />those of higher quality debt securities. The market prices of these securities<br />may fluctuate more than the prices of higher quality debt securities and may<br />decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. These risks may<br />be increased with respect to investments in bonds rated Ba1 or BB+ or below by<br />Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations or unrated but determined<br />by the underlying fund's investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. Such<br />securities are considered speculative and are sometimes referred to as "junk<br />bonds." The value of the underlying funds may be similarly affected.<br /> <br />Investing in small companies - Investing in smaller companies may pose<br />additional risks. For example, it is often more difficult to value or dispose <br />of small company stocks and more difficult to obtain information about smaller<br />companies than about larger companies. In addition, the prices of these stocks<br />may be more volatile than stocks of larger, more established companies.<br /> <br />Investing outside the United States - Securities of issuers domiciled outside<br />the United States, or with significant operations outside the United States, may<br />lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments<br />in the countries or regions in which the issuer operates. These securities may<br />also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the<br />U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Securities markets in certain<br />countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the United<br />States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to different<br />settlement and accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and<br />reporting standards, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the<br />United States. The risks of investing outside the United States may be<br />heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.<br /> <br />Investing in emerging markets - Investing in emerging markets may involve risks<br />in addition to and greater than those generally associated with investing in<br />developed countries. For instance, developing countries may have less developed<br />legal and accounting systems than those in developed countries. The governments<br />of these countries may be less stable and more likely to impose capital controls, <br />nationalize a company or industry, place restrictions on foreign ownership and <br />on withdrawing sale proceeds of securities from the country, and/or impose <br />punitive taxes that could adversely affect the prices of securities. In addition, <br />the economies of these countries may be dependent on relatively few industries <br />that are more susceptible to local and global changes. Securities markets in <br />these countries can also be relatively small and have substantially lower trading <br />volumes. As a result, securities issued in these countries may be more volatile <br />and less liquid, and may be more difficult to value, than securities issued in <br />countries with more developed economies and/or markets. Additionally, there may <br />be increased settlement risks for transactions in local securities.<br /> <br />Investing in mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities - Many types of bonds<br />and other debt securities, including mortgage-backed/related securities, are<br />subject to prepayment risk as well as the risks associated with investing in<br />debt securities in general. If interest rates fall and the loans underlying<br />these securities are prepaid faster than expected, the underlying fund may have<br />to reinvest the prepaid principal in lower yielding securities, thus reducing<br />the fund's income. Conversely, if interest rates increase and the loans<br />underlying the securities are prepaid more slowly than expected, the expected<br />duration of the securities may be extended, reducing the cash flow for potential<br />reinvestment in higher yielding securities.<br /> <br />Investing in U.S. government securities - Securities backed by the U.S. Treasury<br />or the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are guaranteed only as to<br />the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. Accordingly,<br />the current market values for these securities will fluctuate with changes in<br />interest rates. Securities issued by government-sponsored entities and federal<br />agencies and instrumentalities that are not backed by the full faith and credit<br />of the U.S. government are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. government.<br /> <br />Investing in future delivery contracts - Contracts for future delivery of<br />mortgage-related securities, such as to be announced contracts and mortgage<br />dollar rolls, involve the fund selling mortgage-related securities and<br />simultaneously contracting to repurchase similar securities for delivery at a<br />future date at a predetermined price. This can increase the underlying fund's<br />market exposure, and the market price of the securities the fund contracts to<br />repurchase could drop below their purchase price. While the fund can preserve<br />and generate capital through the use of such contracts by, for example, realizing <br />the difference between the sale price and the future purchase price, the income <br />generated by the fund may be reduced by engaging in such transactions. In addition, <br />these transactions may increase the turnover rate of the fund.<br /> <br />Management - The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds<br />actively manages each underlying fund's investments. Consequently, the<br />underlying funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses employed<br />by the investment adviser in this process may not produce the desired results.<br />This could cause an underlying fund to lose value or its investment results to<br />lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.<br /> <br />Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or<br />guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other<br />governmental agency, entity or person. You should consider how this fund <br />fits into your overall investment program.</tt> Fees and expenses of the fund Principal investment strategies <tt>Because the fund began investment operations on September 14, 2012, information<br />regarding investment results is not available as of the date of this prospectus.</tt> <tt>This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold<br />shares of the fund. You may qualify for a Class 529-A sales charge discount if<br />you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000<br />in American Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available<br />from your financial professional and in the "Sales charge reductions and<br />waivers" section on page 51 of the prospectus and on page 65 of the fund's<br />statement of additional information.</tt> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/OperatingExpensesData_S000037538Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> For the share classes listed below, you would pay the following if you did not redeem your shares: Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, entity or person. <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ExpenseExampleNoRedemption_S000037538Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ShareholderFeesData_S000037538Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> CNEFX 0 0.0000 85 266 -0.0010 1014 460 0.0034 0.0010 2013-12-31 0.00 0.0000 0.0064 0.0074 10 0.0030 0.0000 CNEEX 0 0.0000 130 404 -0.0010 1525 697 0.0028 0.0010 2013-12-31 0.00 0.0050 0.0108 0.0118 10 0.0030 0.0000 CNECX 0 0.0000 283 183 568 -0.0010 2110 976 0.0031 0.0010 2013-12-31 2110 568 976 0.00 0.0100 0.0161 0.0171 10 0.0030 0.0100 CNEBX 0 0.0000 690 190 986 -0.0010 1962 1207 0.0037 0.0010 2013-12-31 1962 586 1007 0.00 0.0100 0.0167 0.0177 10 0.0030 0.0500 CNEAX 0 0.0425 529 748 -0.0010 1648 982 0.0031 0.0010 2013-12-31 0.00 0.0025 0.0086 0.0096 10 0.0030 0.0100 <tt>The fund may pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and <br />sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover <br />rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected <br />in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's investment <br />results.</tt> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ExpenseExample_S000037537Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <tt>The fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees:<br />growth, income and preservation of capital, depending on the proximity to its<br />target date. The target date is meant to roughly correspond to the year in which<br />the fund beneficiary will start to withdraw funds to meet higher education<br />expenses. The fund will increasingly emphasize income and preservation of<br />capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in bond, equity-income and<br />balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date. In this way, the<br />fund seeks to achieve an appropriate balance of total return and stability<br />during different time periods.</tt> <tt>This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund <br />with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.<br /> <br />The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods<br />indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The<br />example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that <br />the fund's operating expenses remain the same.</tt> <tt>The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a mix<br />of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying<br />American Funds represent a variety of fund categories such as growth-and-income<br />funds, equity-income funds, balanced funds and bond funds. The fund categories<br />represent differing investment objectives. For example, growth-and-income funds<br />seek long-term growth-and-income primarily through investments in stocks.<br />Equity-income and balanced funds generally strive for income and growth through<br />stocks and/or bond investments, while bond funds seek current income through<br />bond investments.<br /> <br />The investment adviser may periodically rebalance or modify the asset mix of the<br />funds and change the underlying fund investments. According to its current<br />investment approach, the percentage of the fund invested in different categories<br />will change until the fund reaches its target date. Upon reaching its target<br />date, the fund will be principally invested in fixed-income funds and may merge<br />into the Enrollment Fund, which will also be principally invested in<br />fixed-income funds.<br /> <br />The fund's investment adviser periodically reviews the investment strategies and<br />asset mix of the underlying funds. The investment adviser will also consider<br />whether overall market conditions would favor a change in the exposure of the<br />fund to various asset types or geographic regions. Based on these considerations, <br />the investment adviser may make adjustments to underlying fund holdings by <br />adjusting the percentage of individual underlying funds within the fund, or <br />adding or removing underlying funds. The investment adviser may also determine <br />not to change the underlying fund allocations, particularly in response to <br />short-term market movements, if in its opinion the combination of underlying <br />funds is appropriate to meet the fund's investment objective.<br /> <br />With respect to its fixed-income investments, the underlying funds in which <br />the fund invests may hold debt securities with a wide range of quality and <br />maturities. The fund may invest in underlying funds with significant exposure <br />to bonds rated BB+ or below and Ba1 or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical <br />Rating Organizations designated by the fund's investment adviser, or unrated but<br />determined by the fund's investment adviser to be of equivalent quality.<br />Securities rated BB+ or below and Ba1 or below are sometimes referred to as<br />"junk bonds." Exposure to lower rated securities may help the fund achieve its<br />objective of providing current income.<br /> <br />The underlying funds may hold securities issued and guaranteed by the U.S.<br />government, securities issued by federal agencies and instrumentalities and<br />securities backed by mortgages or other assets. The underlying funds may also<br />invest in the debt securities of governments, agencies, corporations and other<br />entities domiciled outside the United States.<br />&#xA0;&#xA0;<br />The following chart illustrates the current investment approach of the fund by<br />showing how its investment in the various fund categories will change over time.<br /> <br />&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;Current investment approach<br /><br />&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2030&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2027&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2024&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2021&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2018&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2015&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;Enrollment<br /><br />Growth funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;15%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;<br />Growth-and-income funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;70%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;55%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;45%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;40%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%<br />Equity-income and balanced funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;15%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%<br />Bond funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;35%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;45%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;60%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;90%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;100%<br /><br />Years to distribution&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;15-18&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;12-15&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;9-12&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;6-9&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;3-6&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0-3&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;target date<br /><br /><br />The investment adviser anticipates that the fund will invest its assets within a<br />range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach set<br />forth above. For example, a 20% target allocation to growth funds is not expected <br />to be greater than 30% or less than 10%. The investment adviser will continuously <br />monitor the fund and may make modifications to either the investment approach or <br />the underlying fund allocations that the investment adviser believes could benefit <br />shareholders.</tt> American Funds College 2021 FundSM You may qualify for a Class 529-A sales charge discount if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in American Funds. Example Because the fund began investment operations on September 14, 2012, information regarding investment results is not available as of the date of this prospectus. Investment objectives You may lose money by investing in the fund. Principal risks Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment) Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: Investment results 25000 Annual fund operating expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) Portfolio turnover <tt>This section describes the principal risks associated with the fund's principal<br />investment strategies. You may lose money by investing in the fund. The<br />likelihood of loss may be greater if you invest for a shorter period of time.<br />Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to<br />tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.<br /> <br />Allocation risk - Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the<br />investment adviser's allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds<br />and the allocation of the fund's assets could cause the fund to lose value or<br />its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.<br /> <br />Fund structure - The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses<br />related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur<br />fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An<br />investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as<br />the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit <br />of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund.<br /> <br />Because the fund's investments consist of underlying funds, the fund's risks are<br />directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is<br />important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying<br />funds.<br /> <br />Market conditions - The prices of, and the income generated by, the common<br />stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds may decline <br />due to market conditions and other factors, including those directly involving <br />the issuers of securities held by the underlying funds.<br /> <br />Investing in stocks - Investing in stocks may involve larger price swings and<br />greater potential for loss than other types of investments. As a result, the<br />value of the underlying funds may be subject to sharp, short-term declines in<br />value. Income provided by an underlying fund may be reduced by changes in the<br />dividend policies of, and the capital resources available at, the companies in<br />which the underlying fund invests.<br /> <br />Investing in growth-oriented stocks - Growth-oriented stocks may involve larger<br />price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments.<br /> <br />Investing in income-oriented stocks - Income provided by an underlying fund may<br />be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources<br />available at, the companies in which the underlying fund invests.<br /> <br />Investing in bonds - Rising interest rates will generally cause the prices of<br />bonds and other debt securities to fall. Longer maturity debt securities may be<br />subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities. <br />In addition, falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem, call or<br />refinance a security before its stated maturity, which may result in the<br />underlying fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities.<br /> <br />Bonds and other debt securities are subject to credit risk, which is the<br />possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer<br />of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest<br />and the security will go into default. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the<br />credit ratings of the securities in which the underlying fund invests. However,<br />ratings are only the opinions of the rating agencies issuing them and are not<br />guarantees as to credit quality or an evaluation of market risk.<br /> <br />Investing in lower rated bonds - Lower rated bonds and other lower rated debt<br />securities generally have higher rates of interest and involve greater risk of<br />default or price declines due to changes in the issuer's creditworthiness than<br />those of higher quality debt securities. The market prices of these securities<br />may fluctuate more than the prices of higher quality debt securities and may<br />decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. These risks may<br />be increased with respect to investments in bonds rated Ba1 or BB+ or below by<br />Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations or unrated but determined<br />by the underlying fund's investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. Such<br />securities are considered speculative and are sometimes referred to as "junk<br />bonds." The value of the underlying funds may be similarly affected.<br /> <br />Investing in small companies - Investing in smaller companies may pose<br />additional risks. For example, it is often more difficult to value or dispose <br />of small company stocks and more difficult to obtain information about smaller<br />companies than about larger companies. In addition, the prices of these stocks<br />may be more volatile than stocks of larger, more established companies.<br /> <br />Investing outside the United States - Securities of issuers domiciled outside<br />the United States, or with significant operations outside the United States, may<br />lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments<br />in the countries or regions in which the issuer operates. These securities may<br />also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the<br />U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Securities markets in certain<br />countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the United<br />States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to different<br />settlement and accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and<br />reporting standards, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the<br />United States. The risks of investing outside the United States may be<br />heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.<br /> <br />Investing in emerging markets - Investing in emerging markets may involve risks<br />in addition to and greater than those generally associated with investing in<br />developed countries. For instance, developing countries may have less developed<br />legal and accounting systems than those in developed countries. The governments<br />of these countries may be less stable and more likely to impose capital controls, <br />nationalize a company or industry, place restrictions on foreign ownership and <br />on withdrawing sale proceeds of securities from the country, and/or impose <br />punitive taxes that could adversely affect the prices of securities. In addition, <br />the economies of these countries may be dependent on relatively few industries <br />that are more susceptible to local and global changes. Securities markets in <br />these countries can also be relatively small and have substantially lower trading <br />volumes. As a result, securities issued in these countries may be more volatile <br />and less liquid, and may be more difficult to value, than securities issued in <br />countries with more developed economies and/or markets. Additionally, there may <br />be increased settlement risks for transactions in local securities.<br /> <br />Investing in mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities - Many types of bonds<br />and other debt securities, including mortgage-backed/related securities, are<br />subject to prepayment risk as well as the risks associated with investing in<br />debt securities in general. If interest rates fall and the loans underlying<br />these securities are prepaid faster than expected, the underlying fund may have<br />to reinvest the prepaid principal in lower yielding securities, thus reducing<br />the fund's income. Conversely, if interest rates increase and the loans<br />underlying the securities are prepaid more slowly than expected, the expected<br />duration of the securities may be extended, reducing the cash flow for potential<br />reinvestment in higher yielding securities.<br /> <br />Investing in U.S. government securities - Securities backed by the U.S. Treasury<br />or the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are guaranteed only as to<br />the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. Accordingly,<br />the current market values for these securities will fluctuate with changes in<br />interest rates. Securities issued by government-sponsored entities and federal<br />agencies and instrumentalities that are not backed by the full faith and credit<br />of the U.S. government are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. government.<br /> <br />Investing in future delivery contracts - Contracts for future delivery of<br />mortgage-related securities, such as to be announced contracts and mortgage<br />dollar rolls, involve the fund selling mortgage-related securities and<br />simultaneously contracting to repurchase similar securities for delivery at a<br />future date at a predetermined price. This can increase the underlying fund's<br />market exposure, and the market price of the securities the fund contracts to<br />repurchase could drop below their purchase price. While the fund can preserve<br />and generate capital through the use of such contracts by, for example,<br />realizing the difference between the sale price and the future purchase price,<br />the income generated by the fund may be reduced by engaging in such transactions. <br />In addition, these transactions may increase the turnover rate of the fund.<br /> <br />Management - The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds<br />actively manages each underlying fund's investments. Consequently, the underlying <br />funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses employed by the <br />investment adviser in this process may not produce the desired results. This <br />could cause an underlying fund to lose value or its investment results to lag <br />relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.<br /> <br />Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed <br />by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, <br />entity or person. You should consider how this fund fits into your overall <br />investment program.</tt> Fees and expenses of the fund Principal investment strategies <tt>Because the fund began investment operations on September 14, 2012, information<br />regarding investment results is not available as of the date of this prospectus.</tt> <tt>This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold<br />shares of the fund. You may qualify for a Class 529-A sales charge discount if<br />you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000<br />in American Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available<br />from your financial professional and in the "Sales charge reductions and<br />waivers" section on page 51 of the prospectus and on page 65 of the fund's<br />statement of additional information.</tt> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/OperatingExpensesData_S000037537Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> For the share classes listed below, you would pay the following if you did not redeem your shares: Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, entity or person. <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ExpenseExampleNoRedemption_S000037537Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ShareholderFeesData_S000037537Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> CTOFX 0 0.0000 92 288 -0.0010 1097 498 0.0033 0.0010 2013-12-31 0.00 0.0000 0.0071 0.0081 10 0.0038 0.0000 CTOEX 0 0.0000 137 426 -0.0010 1604 734 0.0027 0.0010 2013-12-31 0.00 0.0050 0.0115 0.0125 10 0.0038 0.0000 CTOCX 0 0.0000 291 191 589 -0.0010 2184 1012 0.0030 0.0010 2013-12-31 2184 589 1012 0.00 0.0100 0.0168 0.0178 10 0.0038 0.0100 CTOBX 0 0.0000 697 197 1008 -0.0010 2038 1243 0.0036 0.0010 2013-12-31 2038 608 1043 0.00 0.0100 0.0174 0.0184 10 0.0038 0.0500 CTOAX 0 0.0425 536 769 -0.0010 1725 1018 0.0030 0.0010 2013-12-31 0.00 0.0025 0.0093 0.0103 10 0.0038 0.0100 <tt>The fund may pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and <br />sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover <br />rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected <br />in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's investment<br />results.</tt> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ExpenseExample_S000037536Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <tt>The fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees:<br />growth, income and preservation of capital, depending on the proximity to its<br />target date. The target date is meant to roughly correspond to the year in which<br />the fund beneficiary will start to withdraw funds to meet higher education<br />expenses. The fund will increasingly emphasize income and preservation of<br />capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in bond, equity-income and<br />balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date. In this way, the<br />fund seeks to achieve an appropriate balance of total return and stability<br />during different time periods.</tt> <tt>This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund <br />with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.<br /> <br />The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods<br />indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The<br />example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that <br />the fund's operating expenses remain the same.</tt> <tt>The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a <br />mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying<br />American Funds represent a variety of fund categories such as growth funds,<br />growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds, balanced funds and bond funds. <br />The fund categories represent differing investment objectives. For example, <br />growth funds seek long-term growth primarily through investing in both U.S. <br />stocks and stocks of issuers domiciled outside the U.S. Growth-and-income <br />funds seek long-term growth-and-income primarily through investments in stocks.<br />Equity-income and balanced funds generally strive for income and growth through<br />stocks and/or bond investments, while bond funds seek current income through<br />bond investments.<br /> <br />The investment adviser may periodically rebalance or modify the asset mix of <br />the funds and change the underlying fund investments. According to its current<br />investment approach, the percentage of the fund invested in different categories<br />will change until the fund reaches its target date. Upon reaching its target<br />date, the fund will be principally invested in fixed-income funds and may merge<br />into the Enrollment Fund, which will also be principally invested in<br />fixed-income funds.<br /> <br />The fund's investment adviser periodically reviews the investment strategies and<br />asset mix of the underlying funds. The investment adviser will also consider<br />whether overall market conditions would favor a change in the exposure of the<br />fund to various asset types or geographic regions. Based on these considerations, <br />the investment adviser may make adjustments to underlying fund holdings by <br />adjusting the percentage of individual underlying funds within the fund, or <br />adding or removing underlying funds. The investment adviser may also determine <br />not to change the underlying fund allocations, particularly in response to <br />short-term market movements, if in its opinion the combination of underlying <br />funds is appropriate to meet the fund's investment objective.<br /> <br />With respect to its fixed-income investments, the underlying funds in which <br />the fund invests may hold debt securities with a wide range of quality and <br />maturities. The fund may invest in underlying funds with significant exposure <br />to bonds rated BB+ or below and Ba1 or below by Nationally Recognized <br />Statistical Rating Organizations designated by the fund's investment adviser, <br />or unrated but determined by the fund's investment adviser to be of equivalent <br />quality. Securities rated BB+ or below and Ba1 or below are sometimes referred <br />to as "junk bonds." Exposure to lower rated securities may help the fund achieve <br />its objective of providing current income.<br /> <br />The underlying funds may hold securities issued and guaranteed by the U.S.<br />government, securities issued by federal agencies and instrumentalities and<br />securities backed by mortgages or other assets. The underlying funds may also<br />invest in the debt securities of governments, agencies, corporations and other<br />entities domiciled outside the United States.<br />&#xA0;&#xA0;<br />The following chart illustrates the current investment approach of the fund by<br />showing how its investment in the various fund categories will change over time.<br /> <br />&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;Current investment approach <br /><br />&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2030&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2027&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2024&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2021&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2018&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2015&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;Enrollment<br /><br />Growth funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;15%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;<br />Growth-and-income funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;70%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;55%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;45%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;40%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%<br />Equity-income and balanced funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;15%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%<br />Bond funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;35%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;45%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;60%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;90%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;100%<br /><br />Years to distribution&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;15-18&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;12-15&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;9-12&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;6-9&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;3-6&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0-3&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;target date<br /><br /><br />The investment adviser anticipates that the fund will invest its assets within a<br />range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach set<br />forth above. For example, a 20% target allocation to growth funds is not<br />expected to be greater than 30% or less than 10%. The investment adviser will<br />continuously monitor the fund and may make modifications to either the<br />investment approach or the underlying fund allocations that the investment<br />adviser believes could benefit shareholders.</tt> American Funds College 2024 FundSM You may qualify for a Class 529-A sales charge discount if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in American Funds. Example Because the fund began investment operations on September 14, 2012, information regarding investment results is not available as of the date of this prospectus. Investment objectives You may lose money by investing in the fund. Principal risks Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment) Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: Investment results 25000 Annual fund operating expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) Portfolio turnover <tt>This section describes the principal risks associated with the fund's principal<br />investment strategies. You may lose money by investing in the fund. The<br />likelihood of loss may be greater if you invest for a shorter period of time.<br />Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to<br />tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.<br /> <br />Allocation risk - Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the<br />investment adviser's allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds<br />and the allocation of the fund's assets could cause the fund to lose value or<br />its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.<br /> <br />Fund structure - The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses<br />related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur<br />fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An<br />investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as<br />the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit <br />of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund.<br /> <br />Because the fund's investments consist of underlying funds, the fund's risks are<br />directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is<br />important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying<br />funds.<br /> <br />Market conditions - The prices of, and the income generated by, the common<br />stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds may decline due<br />to market conditions and other factors, including those directly involving the<br />issuers of securities held by the underlying funds.<br /> <br />Investing in stocks - Investing in stocks may involve larger price swings and<br />greater potential for loss than other types of investments. As a result, the<br />value of the underlying funds may be subject to sharp, short-term declines in<br />value. Income provided by an underlying fund may be reduced by changes in the<br />dividend policies of, and the capital resources available at, the companies in<br />which the underlying fund invests.<br /> <br />Investing in growth-oriented stocks - Growth-oriented stocks may involve larger<br />price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments.<br /> <br />Investing in income-oriented stocks - Income provided by an underlying fund may<br />be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources<br />available at, the companies in which the underlying fund invests.<br /> <br />Investing in bonds - Rising interest rates will generally cause the prices of<br />bonds and other debt securities to fall. Longer maturity debt securities may be<br />subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities. In<br />addition, falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem, call or<br />refinance a security before its stated maturity, which may result in the<br />underlying fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities.<br /> <br />Bonds and other debt securities are subject to credit risk, which is the<br />possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer<br />of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest<br />and the security will go into default. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the<br />credit ratings of the securities in which the underlying fund invests. However,<br />ratings are only the opinions of the rating agencies issuing them and are not<br />guarantees as to credit quality or an evaluation of market risk.<br /> <br />Investing in lower rated bonds - Lower rated bonds and other lower rated debt<br />securities generally have higher rates of interest and involve greater risk of<br />default or price declines due to changes in the issuer's creditworthiness than<br />those of higher quality debt securities. The market prices of these securities<br />may fluctuate more than the prices of higher quality debt securities and may<br />decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. These risks may<br />be increased with respect to investments in bonds rated Ba1 or BB+ or below by<br />Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations or unrated but determined<br />by the underlying fund's investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. Such<br />securities are considered speculative and are sometimes referred to as "junk<br />bonds." The value of the underlying funds may be similarly affected.<br /> <br />Investing in small companies - Investing in smaller companies may pose<br />additional risks. For example, it is often more difficult to value or dispose <br />of small company stocks and more difficult to obtain information about smaller<br />companies than about larger companies. In addition, the prices of these stocks<br />may be more volatile than stocks of larger, more established companies.<br /> <br />Investing outside the United States - Securities of issuers domiciled outside<br />the United States, or with significant operations outside the United States, may<br />lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments<br />in the countries or regions in which the issuer operates. These securities may<br />also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the<br />U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Securities markets in certain<br />countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the United<br />States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to different<br />settlement and accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and<br />reporting standards, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the<br />United States. The risks of investing outside the United States may be<br />heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.<br /> <br />Investing in emerging markets - Investing in emerging markets may involve risks<br />in addition to and greater than those generally associated with investing in<br />developed countries. For instance, developing countries may have less developed<br />legal and accounting systems than those in developed countries. The governments<br />of these countries may be less stable and more likely to impose capital controls, <br />nationalize a company or industry, place restrictions on foreign ownership and <br />on withdrawing sale proceeds of securities from the country, and/or impose <br />punitive taxes that could adversely affect the prices of securities. In addition, <br />the economies of these countries may be dependent on relatively few industries <br />that are more susceptible to local and global changes. Securities markets in <br />these countries can also be relatively small and have substantially lower trading <br />volumes. As a result, securities issued in these countries may be more volatile <br />and less liquid, and may be more difficult to value, than securities issued in <br />countries with more developed economies and/or markets. Additionally, there may <br />be increased settlement risks for transactions in local securities.<br /> <br />Investing in mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities - Many types of bonds<br />and other debt securities, including mortgage-backed/related securities, are<br />subject to prepayment risk as well as the risks associated with investing in<br />debt securities in general. If interest rates fall and the loans underlying<br />these securities are prepaid faster than expected, the underlying fund may have<br />to reinvest the prepaid principal in lower yielding securities, thus reducing<br />the fund's income. Conversely, if interest rates increase and the loans<br />underlying the securities are prepaid more slowly than expected, the expected<br />duration of the securities may be extended, reducing the cash flow for potential<br />reinvestment in higher yielding securities.<br /> <br />Investing in U.S. government securities - Securities backed by the U.S. Treasury<br />or the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are guaranteed only as to<br />the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. Accordingly,<br />the current market values for these securities will fluctuate with changes in<br />interest rates. Securities issued by government-sponsored entities and federal<br />agencies and instrumentalities that are not backed by the full faith and credit<br />of the U.S. government are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. government.<br /> <br />Management - The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds<br />actively manages each underlying fund's investments. Consequently, the<br />underlying funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses employed<br />by the investment adviser in this process may not produce the desired results.<br />This could cause an underlying fund to lose value or its investment results to<br />lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.<br /> <br />Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or<br />guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other<br />governmental agency, entity or person. You should consider how this fund <br />fits into your overall investment program.</tt> Fees and expenses of the fund Principal investment strategies <tt>Because the fund began investment operations on September 14, 2012, information<br />regarding investment results is not available as of the date of this prospectus.</tt> <tt>This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold<br />shares of the fund. You may qualify for a Class 529-A sales charge discount if<br />you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000<br />in American Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available<br />from your financial professional and in the "Sales charge reductions and waivers" <br />section on page 51 of the prospectus and on page 65 of the fund's statement of <br />additional information.</tt> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/OperatingExpensesData_S000037536Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> For the share classes listed below, you would pay the following if you did not redeem your shares: Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, entity or person. <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ExpenseExampleNoRedemption_S000037536Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ShareholderFeesData_S000037536Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> CTFFX 0 0.0000 93 291 -0.0010 1109 504 0.0034 0.0010 2013-12-31 0.00 0.0000 0.0072 0.0082 10 0.0038 0.0000 CTFEX 0 0.0000 138 429 -0.0010 1615 740 0.0028 0.0010 2013-12-31 0.00 0.0050 0.0116 0.0126 10 0.0038 0.0000 CTFCX 0 0.0000 292 192 592 -0.0010 2195 1017 0.0031 0.0010 2013-12-31 2195 592 1017 0.00 0.0100 0.0169 0.0179 10 0.0038 0.0100 CCFBX 0 0.0000 698 198 1011 -0.0010 2048 1248 0.0037 0.0010 2013-12-31 2048 611 1048 0.00 0.0100 0.0175 0.0185 10 0.0038 0.0500 CFTAX 0 0.0425 537 772 -0.0010 1736 1023 0.0031 0.0010 2013-12-31 0.00 0.0025 0.0094 0.0104 10 0.0038 0.0100 <tt>The fund may pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and <br />sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover <br />rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected <br />in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's investment <br />results.</tt> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ExpenseExample_S000037535Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <tt>The fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees:<br />growth, income and preservation of capital, depending on the proximity to <br />its target date. The target date is meant to roughly correspond to the year <br />in which the fund beneficiary will start to withdraw funds to meet higher <br />education expenses. The fund will increasingly emphasize income and <br />preservation of capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in bond, <br />equity-income and balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date. <br />In this way, the fund seeks to achieve an appropriate balance of total return <br />and stability during different time periods.</tt> <tt>This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund <br />with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.<br /> <br />The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods<br />indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The<br />example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that <br />the fund's operating expenses remain the same.</tt> <tt>The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a mix<br />of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying<br />American Funds represent a variety of fund categories such as growth funds,<br />growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds, balanced funds and bond funds. The<br />fund categories represent differing investment objectives. For example, growth<br />funds seek long-term growth primarily through investing in both U.S. stocks and<br />stocks of issuers domiciled outside the U.S. Growth-and-income funds seek<br />long-term growth-and-income primarily through investments in stocks. Equity-income <br />and balanced funds generally strive for income and growth through stocks and/or <br />bond investments, while bond funds seek current income through bond investments.<br /> <br />The investment adviser may periodically rebalance or modify the asset mix of the<br />funds and change the underlying fund investments. According to its current<br />investment approach, the percentage of the fund invested in different categories<br />will change until the fund reaches its target date. Upon reaching its target<br />date, the fund will be principally invested in fixed-income funds and may merge<br />into the Enrollment Fund, which will also be principally invested in<br />fixed-income funds.<br /> <br />The fund's investment adviser periodically reviews the investment strategies and<br />asset mix of the underlying funds. The investment adviser will also consider<br />whether overall market conditions would favor a change in the exposure of the<br />fund to various asset types or geographic regions. Based on these considerations, <br />the investment adviser may make adjustments to underlying fund holdings by <br />adjusting the percentage of individual underlying funds within the fund, or <br />adding or removing underlying funds. The investment adviser may also determine <br />not to change the underlying fund allocations, particularly in response to <br />short-term market movements, if in its opinion the combination of underlying <br />funds is appropriate to meet the fund's investment objective.<br /> <br />With respect to its fixed-income investments, the underlying funds in which <br />the fund invests may hold debt securities with a wide range of quality and <br />maturities. The fund may invest in underlying funds with significant exposure <br />to bonds rated BB+ or below and Ba1 or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical <br />Rating Organizations designated by the fund's investment adviser, or unrated but<br />determined by the fund's investment adviser to be of equivalent quality.<br />Securities rated BB+ or below and Ba1 or below are sometimes referred to as<br />"junk bonds." Exposure to lower rated securities may help the fund achieve its<br />objective of providing current income.<br /> <br />The underlying funds may hold securities issued and guaranteed by the U.S.<br />government, securities issued by federal agencies and instrumentalities and<br />securities backed by mortgages or other assets. The underlying funds may also<br />invest in the debt securities of governments, agencies, corporations and other<br />entities domiciled outside the United States.<br />&#xA0;&#xA0;<br />The following chart illustrates the current investment approach of the fund by<br />showing how its investment in the various fund categories will change over time.<br /> <br />&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;Current investment approach <br /><br />&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2030&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2027&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2024&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2021&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2018&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2015&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;Enrollment<br /><br />Growth funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;15%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;<br />Growth-and-income funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;70%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;55%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;45%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;40%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%<br />Equity-income and balanced funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;15%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%<br />Bond funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;35%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;45%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;60%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;90%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;100%<br /><br />Years to distribution&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;15-18&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;12-15&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;9-12&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;6-9&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;3-6&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0-3&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;target date<br /><br />The investment adviser anticipates that the fund will invest its assets within a<br />range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach set<br />forth above. For example, a 20% target allocation to growth funds is not expected <br />to be greater than 30% or less than 10%. The investment adviser will continuously <br />monitor the fund and may make modifications to either the investment approach or <br />the underlying fund allocations that the investment adviser believes could benefit <br />shareholders.</tt> American Funds College 2027 FundSM You may qualify for a Class 529-A sales charge discount if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in American Funds. Example Because the fund began investment operations on September 14, 2012, information regarding investment results is not available as of the date of this prospectus. Investment objective You may lose money by investing in the fund. Principal risks Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment) Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: Investment results 25000 Annual fund operating expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) Portfolio turnover <tt>This section describes the principal risks associated with the fund's principal<br />investment strategies. You may lose money by investing in the fund. The<br />likelihood of loss may be greater if you invest for a shorter period of time.<br />Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to<br />tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.<br /> <br />Allocation risk - Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the<br />investment adviser's allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds<br />and the allocation of the fund's assets could cause the fund to lose value or<br />its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.<br /> <br />Fund structure - The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses<br />related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur<br />fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An<br />investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as<br />the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit <br />of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund.<br /> <br />Because the fund's investments consist of underlying funds, the fund's risks are<br />directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is<br />important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying<br />funds.<br /> <br />Market conditions - The prices of, and the income generated by, the common<br />stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds may decline due<br />to market conditions and other factors, including those directly involving the<br />issuers of securities held by the underlying funds.<br /> <br />Investing in stocks - Investing in stocks may involve larger price swings and<br />greater potential for loss than other types of investments. As a result, the<br />value of the underlying funds may be subject to sharp, short-term declines in<br />value. Income provided by an underlying fund may be reduced by changes in the<br />dividend policies of, and the capital resources available at, the companies in<br />which the underlying fund invests.<br /> <br />Investing in growth-oriented stocks - Growth-oriented stocks may involve larger<br />price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments.<br /> <br />Investing in income-oriented stocks - Income provided by an underlying fund may<br />be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources<br />available at, the companies in which the underlying fund invests.<br /> <br />Investing in bonds - Rising interest rates will generally cause the prices of<br />bonds and other debt securities to fall. Longer maturity debt securities may be<br />subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities. In<br />addition, falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem, call or refinance <br />a security before its stated maturity, which may result in the underlying fund <br />having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities.<br /> <br />Bonds and other debt securities are subject to credit risk, which is the<br />possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer<br />of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest<br />and the security will go into default. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the<br />credit ratings of the securities in which the underlying fund invests. However,<br />ratings are only the opinions of the rating agencies issuing them and are not<br />guarantees as to credit quality or an evaluation of market risk.<br /> <br />Investing in lower rated bonds - Lower rated bonds and other lower rated debt<br />securities generally have higher rates of interest and involve greater risk of<br />default or price declines due to changes in the issuer's creditworthiness than<br />those of higher quality debt securities. The market prices of these securities<br />may fluctuate more than the prices of higher quality debt securities and may<br />decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. These risks <br />may be increased with respect to investments in bonds rated Ba1 or BB+ or <br />below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations or unrated <br />but determined by the underlying fund's investment adviser to be of equivalent <br />quality. Such securities are considered speculative and are sometimes referred <br />to as "junk bonds." The value of the underlying funds may be similarly affected.<br /> <br />Investing in small companies - Investing in smaller companies may pose additional <br />risks. For example, it is often more difficult to value or dispose of small <br />company stocks and more difficult to obtain information about smaller companies <br />than about larger companies. In addition, the prices of these stocks may be more <br />volatile than stocks of larger, more established companies.<br /> <br />Investing outside the United States - Securities of issuers domiciled outside<br />the United States, or with significant operations outside the United States, <br />may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market <br />developments in the countries or regions in which the issuer operates. These <br />securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange <br />rates against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Securities <br />markets in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those <br />in the United States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject <br />to different settlement and accounting practices and different regulatory, legal <br />and reporting standards, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the<br />United States. The risks of investing outside the United States may be heightened <br />in connection with investments in emerging markets.<br /> <br />Investing in emerging markets - Investing in emerging markets may involve risks<br />in addition to and greater than those generally associated with investing in<br />developed countries. For instance, developing countries may have less developed<br />legal and accounting systems than those in developed countries. The governments<br />of these countries may be less stable and more likely to impose capital controls, <br />nationalize a company or industry, place restrictions on foreign ownership and <br />on withdrawing sale proceeds of securities from the country, and/or impose <br />punitive taxes that could adversely affect the prices of securities. In addition, <br />the economies of these countries may be dependent on relatively few industries <br />that are more susceptible to local and global changes. Securities markets in <br />these countries can also be relatively small and have substantially lower trading <br />volumes. As a result, securities issued in these countries may be more volatile <br />and less liquid, and may be more difficult to value, than securities issued in <br />countries with more developed economies and/or markets. Additionally, there may <br />be increased settlement risks for transactions in local securities.<br /> <br />Management - The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds<br />actively manages each underlying fund's investments. Consequently, the<br />underlying funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses employed<br />by the investment adviser in this process may not produce the desired results.<br />This could cause an underlying fund to lose value or its investment results to<br />lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.<br /> <br />Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or<br />guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental <br />agency, entity or person. You should consider how this fund fits into your overall <br />investment program.</tt> Fees and expenses of the fund Principal investment strategies <tt>Because the fund began investment operations on September 14, 2012, information<br />regarding investment results is not available as of the date of this prospectus.</tt> <tt>This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold<br />shares of the fund. You may qualify for a Class 529-A sales charge discount if<br />you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000<br />in American Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available<br />from your financial professional and in the "Sales charge reductions and<br />waivers" section on page 51 of the prospectus and on page 65 of the fund's<br />statement of additional information.</tt> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/OperatingExpensesData_S000037535Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> For the share classes listed below, you would pay the following if you did not redeem your shares: Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, entity or person. <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ExpenseExampleNoRedemption_S000037535Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ShareholderFeesData_S000037535Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> CTSEX 0 0.0000 141 442 -0.0012 1670 764 0.0030 0.0010 2013-12-31 0.00 0.0050 0.0119 0.0131 10 0.0041 0.0000 CTSCX 0 0.0000 295 195 606 -0.0012 2247 1041 0.0033 0.0010 2013-12-31 2247 606 1041 0.00 0.0100 0.0172 0.0184 10 0.0041 0.0100 CTSBX 0 0.0000 701 201 1024 -0.0012 2100 1272 0.0039 0.0010 2013-12-31 2100 624 1072 0.00 0.0100 0.0178 0.0190 10 0.0041 0.0500 CSTAX 0 0.0425 540 785 -0.0012 1789 1047 0.0033 0.0010 2013-12-31 0.00 0.0025 0.0097 0.0109 10 0.0041 0.0100 CTSFX 0 0.0000 96 305 -0.0012 1166 529 0.0036 0.0010 2013-12-31 0.00 0.0000 0.0075 0.0087 10 0.0041 0.0000 <tt>The fund may pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and <br />sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover <br />rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected <br />in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's investment <br />results.</tt> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ExpenseExample_S000037534Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <tt>The fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees:<br />growth, income and preservation of capital, depending on the proximity to <br />its target date. The target date is meant to roughly correspond to the year <br />in which the fund beneficiary will start to withdraw funds to meet higher <br />education expenses. The fund will increasingly emphasize income and <br />preservation of capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in <br />bond, equity-income and balanced funds as it approaches and passes its <br />target date. In this way, the fund seeks to achieve an appropriate balance <br />of total return and stability during different time periods.</tt> <tt>This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund <br />with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.<br /> <br />The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods<br />indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The<br />example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that <br />the fund's operating expenses remain the same.</tt> <tt>The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in <br />a mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The <br />underlying American Funds represent a variety of fund categories such as <br />growth funds, growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds, balanced funds <br />and bond funds. The fund categories represent differing investment objectives. <br />For example, growth funds seek long-term growth primarily through investing <br />in both U.S. stocks and stocks of issuers domiciled outside the U.S. <br />Growth-and-income funds seek long-term growth-and-income primarily through <br />investments in stocks. Equity-income and balanced funds generally strive for <br />income and growth through stocks and/or bond investments, while bond funds <br />seek current income through bond investments.<br /> <br />The investment adviser may periodically rebalance or modify the asset mix of <br />the funds and change the underlying fund investments. According to its current<br />investment approach, the percentage of the fund invested in different categories<br />will change until the fund reaches its target date. Upon reaching its target<br />date, the fund will be principally invested in fixed-income funds and may merge<br />into the Enrollment Fund, which will also be principally invested in<br />fixed-income funds.<br /> <br />The fund's investment adviser periodically reviews the investment strategies and<br />asset mix of the underlying funds. The investment adviser will also consider<br />whether overall market conditions would favor a change in the exposure of the<br />fund to various asset types or geographic regions. Based on these considerations, <br />the investment adviser may make adjustments to underlying fund holdings by <br />adjusting the percentage of individual underlying funds within the fund, or <br />adding or removing underlying funds. The investment adviser may also determine <br />not to change the underlying fund allocations, particularly in response to <br />short-term market movements, if in its opinion the combination of underlying <br />funds is appropriate to meet the fund's investment objective.<br /> <br />With respect to its fixed-income investments, the underlying funds in which the<br />fund invests may hold debt securities with a wide range of quality and maturities. <br />The fund may invest in underlying funds with significant exposure to bonds rated <br />BB+ or below and Ba1 or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating <br />Organizations designated by the fund's investment adviser, or unrated but<br />determined by the fund's investment adviser to be of equivalent quality.<br />Securities rated BB+ or below and Ba1 or below are sometimes referred to as<br />"junk bonds." Exposure to lower rated securities may help the fund achieve its<br />objective of providing current income.<br /> <br />The underlying funds may hold securities issued and guaranteed by the U.S.<br />government, securities issued by federal agencies and instrumentalities and<br />securities backed by mortgages or other assets. The underlying funds may also<br />invest in the debt securities of governments, agencies, corporations and other<br />entities domiciled outside the United States.<br />&#xA0;&#xA0;<br />The following chart illustrates the current investment approach of the fund by<br />showing how its investment in the various fund categories will change over time.<br /> <br />&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;Current investment approach<br /><br />&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2030&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2027&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2024&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2021&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2018&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;2015&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;Enrollment<br /><br />Growth funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;15%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;<br />Growth-and-income funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;70%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;55%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;45%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;40%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%<br />Equity-income and balanced funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;15%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0%<br />Bond funds&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;10%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;20%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;35%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;45%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;60%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;90%&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;100%<br /><br />Years to distribution&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;15-18&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;12-15&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;9-12&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;6-9&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;3-6&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;0-3&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;target date<br /><br />The investment adviser anticipates that the fund will invest its assets within a<br />range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach set<br />forth above. For example, a 20% target allocation to growth funds is not expected <br />to be greater than 30% or less than 10%. The investment adviser will continuously <br />monitor the fund and may make modifications to either the investment approach or <br />the underlying fund allocations that the investment adviser believes could benefit <br />shareholders.</tt> American Funds College 2030 FundSM You may qualify for a Class 529-A sales charge discount if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in American Funds. Example Because the fund began investment operations on September 14, 2012, information regarding investment results is not available as of the date of this prospectus. Investment objective You may lose money by investing in the fund. Principal risks Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment) Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: Investment results 25000 Annual fund operating expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) Portfolio turnover <tt>This section describes the principal risks associated with the fund's principal<br />investment strategies. You may lose money by investing in the fund. The<br />likelihood of loss may be greater if you invest for a shorter period of time.<br />Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to<br />tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.<br /> <br />Allocation risk - Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the<br />investment adviser's allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds<br />and the allocation of the fund's assets could cause the fund to lose value or<br />its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.<br /> <br />Fund structure - The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses<br />related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur<br />fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An<br />investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as<br />the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit <br />of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund.<br /> <br />Because the fund's investments consist of underlying funds, the fund's risks are<br />directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is<br />important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying<br />funds.<br /> <br />Market conditions - The prices of, and the income generated by, the common<br />stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds may decline <br />due to market conditions and other factors, including those directly involving <br />the issuers of securities held by the underlying funds.<br /> <br />Investing in stocks - Investing in stocks may involve larger price swings and<br />greater potential for loss than other types of investments. As a result, the<br />value of the underlying funds may be subject to sharp, short-term declines in<br />value. Income provided by an underlying fund may be reduced by changes in the<br />dividend policies of, and the capital resources available at, the companies in<br />which the underlying fund invests.<br /> <br />Investing in growth-oriented stocks - Growth-oriented stocks may involve larger<br />price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments.<br /> <br />Investing in income-oriented stocks - Income provided by an underlying fund may<br />be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources<br />available at, the companies in which the underlying fund invests.<br /> <br />Investing in bonds - Rising interest rates will generally cause the prices of<br />bonds and other debt securities to fall. Longer maturity debt securities may be<br />subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities. In<br />addition, falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem, call or<br />refinance a security before its stated maturity, which may result in the<br />underlying fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities.<br /> <br />Bonds and other debt securities are subject to credit risk, which is the<br />possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer<br />of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest<br />and the security will go into default. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the<br />credit ratings of the securities in which the underlying fund invests. However,<br />ratings are only the opinions of the rating agencies issuing them and are not<br />guarantees as to credit quality or an evaluation of market risk.<br /> <br />Investing in lower rated bonds - Lower rated bonds and other lower rated debt<br />securities generally have higher rates of interest and involve greater risk of<br />default or price declines due to changes in the issuer's creditworthiness than<br />those of higher quality debt securities. The market prices of these securities<br />may fluctuate more than the prices of higher quality debt securities and may<br />decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. These risks <br />may be increased with respect to investments in bonds rated Ba1 or BB+ or below <br />by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations or unrated but <br />determined by the underlying fund's investment adviser to be of equivalent <br />quality. Such securities are considered speculative and are sometimes referred <br />to as "junk bonds." The value of the underlying funds may be similarly affected.<br /> <br />Investing in small companies - Investing in smaller companies may pose additional <br />risks. For example, it is often more difficult to value or dispose of small <br />company stocks and more difficult to obtain information about smaller companies <br />than about larger companies. In addition, the prices of these stocks may be more <br />volatile than stocks of larger, more established companies.<br /> <br />Investing outside the United States - Securities of issuers domiciled outside<br />the United States, or with significant operations outside the United States, <br />may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market <br />developments in the countries or regions in which the issuer operates. These <br />securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates <br />against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Securities markets <br />in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the <br />United States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to <br />different settlement and accounting practices and different regulatory, legal <br />and reporting standards, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the<br />United States. The risks of investing outside the United States may be<br />heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.<br /> <br />Investing in emerging markets - Investing in emerging markets may involve risks<br />in addition to and greater than those generally associated with investing in<br />developed countries. For instance, developing countries may have less developed<br />legal and accounting systems than those in developed countries. The governments<br />of these countries may be less stable and more likely to impose capital controls, <br />nationalize a company or industry, place restrictions on foreign ownership and <br />on withdrawing sale proceeds of securities from the country, and/or impose <br />punitive taxes that could adversely affect the prices of securities. In addition, <br />the economies of these countries may be dependent on relatively few industries <br />that are more susceptible to local and global changes. Securities markets in <br />these countries can also be relatively small and have substantially lower trading <br />volumes. As a result, securities issued in these countries may be more volatile <br />and less liquid, and may be more difficult to value, than securities issued in <br />countries with more developed economies and/or markets. Additionally, there may <br />be increased settlement risks for transactions in local securities.<br /> <br />Management - The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds<br />actively manages each underlying fund's investments. Consequently, the underlying <br />funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses employed by the <br />investment adviser in this process may not produce the desired results. This could <br />cause an underlying fund to lose value or its investment results to lag relevant <br />benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.<br /> <br />Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed <br />by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, <br />entity or person. You should consider how this fund fits into your overall investment <br />program.</tt> Fees and expenses of the fund Principal investment strategies <tt>Because the fund began investment operations on September 14, 2012, information<br />regarding investment results is not available as of the date of this prospectus.</tt> <tt>This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold<br />shares of the fund. You may qualify for a Class 529-A sales charge discount if<br />you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000<br />in American Funds. 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ck0001547011:SummaryS000037540Memberck0001547011:S000037540Member 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 0001547011 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 iso4217:USD pure A contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% applies on certain redemptions within one year following purchases of $1 million or more made without an initial sales charge. Based on estimated amounts for a full fiscal year. The investment adviser is currently waiving its management fee of .10%. In addition, the investment adviser is currently reimbursing a portion of the other expenses for each share class. This waiver and reimbursement will be in effect through at least December 31, 2013. The adviser may elect at its discretion to extend, modify or terminate the reimbursement at that time. The waiver may only be modified or terminated with the approval of the fund's board. The amounts of the reimbursements in the table are estimated. The investment adviser is currently waiving its management fee of .10%. This waiver will be in effect through at least December 31, 2013. The waiver may only be modified or terminated with the approval of the fund's board. 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