485BPOS 2012-12-13 0001553196 2012-12-14 AMERICAN FUNDS GLOBAL HIGH-INCOME OPPORTUNITIES FUND false 2012-12-13 2012-12-14 As a nondiversified fund, the fund has the ability to invest a larger percentage of its assets in the securities of a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund. Although the fund does not intend to limit its investments to the securities of a small number of issuers, if it were to do so, poor performance by a single large holding would adversely impact the fund's investment results more than if the fund were invested in a larger number of issuers. <tt>The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities <br />(or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher <br />transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable <br />account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the <br />example, affect the fund's investment results.</tt> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ExpenseExample_S000039113Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <tt>The fund's investment objective is to provide, over the long term, a high level<br />of total return largely comprised of current income.</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 the<br />fund's operating expenses remain the same.</tt> <tt>The fund seeks to provide, over the long term, a high level of total return<br />largely comprised of current income by investing significantly in higher<br />yielding and generally lower quality debt securities of global issuers (rated<br />Ba1 or below or BB+ or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating<br />Organizations or unrated but determined by the fund's investment adviser to <br />be of equivalent quality). Such lower quality debt securities are sometimes<br />referred to as "junk bonds" or high yield bonds and are often described by<br />rating agencies as speculative. The fund may invest in such debt securities with<br />a wide range of maturities and with the lowest rating by Nationally Recognized<br />Statistical Rating Organizations designated by the fund's investment adviser.<br /> <br />The fund also seeks to achieve its investment objective of providing, over the<br />long term, a high level of total return comprised largely of current income by<br />investing in debt securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States,<br />including issuers domiciled in developing countries. As such, the fund may<br />invest significantly in securities denominated in various currencies.<br /> <br />As a fund that seeks to invest globally, the fund will allocate its assets among<br />various countries including the United States (but in no fewer than three<br />countries). Under normal market conditions, the fund seeks to invest at least<br />30% of its net assets in issuers outside the United States.<br /> <br />The fund is designed for investors seeking a high level of current income and<br />who are able to tolerate greater credit risk and price fluctuations than those<br />that exist in funds investing in higher quality debt securities.<br /> <br />The fund is nondiversified, which allows it to invest a greater percentage of<br />its assets in any one issuer than would otherwise be the case. However, the fund<br />intends to limit its investments in the securities of any single issuer.<br /> <br />The investment adviser uses a system of multiple portfolio counselors in<br />managing the fund's assets. Under this approach, the portfolio of the fund is<br />divided into segments managed by individual counselors who decide how their<br />respective segments will be invested.<br /> <br />The fund relies on the professional judgment of its investment adviser to make<br />decisions about the fund's portfolio investments. The basic investment philosophy <br />of the investment adviser is to seek to invest in attractively priced securities <br />that, in its opinion, represent good, long-term investment opportunities. The <br />investment adviser believes that an important way to accomplish this is through <br />fundamental research, which may include analysis of credit quality, general <br />economic conditions and various quantitative measures and, in the case of corporate <br />obligations, meeting with company executives and employees, suppliers, customers <br />and competitors. Securities may be sold when the investment adviser believes that <br />they no longer represent relatively attractive investment opportunities.</tt> American Funds Global High-Income Opportunities FundSM You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in American Funds. Example Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. Because the fund began investment operations on December 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 100000 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 /> <br />Market conditions - The prices of, and the income generated by, the securities<br />held by the fund may decline due to market conditions and other factors,<br />including those directly involving the issuers of securities held by the fund.<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 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. Lower quality debt securities generally<br />have higher rates of interest and may be subject to greater price fluctuations<br />than higher quality debt securities. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the<br />credit ratings of the securities in which the fund invests. However, ratings are<br />only the opinions of the rating agencies issuing them and are not guarantees as<br />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 junk bonds.<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 />Thinly traded securities - There may be little trading in the secondary market<br />for particular bonds or other debt securities, which may make them more<br />difficult to value, acquire or sell.<br /> <br />Nondiversification risks - As a nondiversified fund, the fund has the ability to<br />invest a larger percentage of its assets in the securities of a smaller number<br />of issuers than a diversified fund. Although the fund does not intend to limit<br />its investments to the securities of a small number of issuers, if it were to do<br />so, poor performance by a single large holding would adversely impact the fund's<br />investment results more than if the fund were invested in a larger number of<br />issuers.<br />&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;<br />Management - The investment adviser to the fund actively manages the fund's<br />investments. Consequently, the fund is subject to the risk that the methods <br />and analyses employed by the investment adviser in this process may not produce <br />the desired results. This could cause the fund to lose value or its investment<br />results to 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 December 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 sales charge discounts if you and your<br />family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in American<br />Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your<br />financial professional and in the "Sales charge reductions and waivers" section<br />on page 25 of the prospectus and on page 60 of the fund's statement of<br />additional information.</tt> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/OperatingExpensesData_S000039113Member 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_S000039113Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.americanfunds.com/role/ShareholderFeesData_S000039113Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> 0 0.0000 155 561 -0.0048 0.0074 0.0057 2014-04-30 0.00 0.0050 0.0133 0.0181 10 0.0000 0 0.0000 311 211 743 -0.0055 0.0086 0.0057 2014-04-30 743 0.00 0.0100 0.0188 0.0243 10 0.0100 0 0.0000 709 209 1110 -0.0042 0.0071 0.0057 2014-04-30 710 0.00 0.0100 0.0186 0.0228 10 0.0500 0 0.0375 510 886 -0.0056 0.0086 0.0057 2014-04-30 0.00 0.0030 0.0117 0.0173 10 0.0100 0 0.0000 83 381 -0.0057 0.0081 0.0057 2014-04-30 0.00 0.0000 0.0081 0.0138 0.0000 0 0.0000 108 458 -0.0057 0.0081 0.0057 2014-04-30 0.00 0.0025 0.0106 0.0163 0.0000 0 0.0000 283 183 683 -0.0056 0.0079 0.0057 2014-04-30 683 0.00 0.0100 0.0180 0.0236 0.0100 0 0.0000 680 180 1072 -0.0055 0.0075 0.0057 2014-04-30 672 0.00 0.0100 0.0177 0.0232 0.0500 0 0.0000 69 265 -0.0022 0.0033 0.0057 2014-04-30 0.00 0.0000 0.0068 0.0090 0.0000 0 0.0000 72 289 -0.0030 0.0043 0.0057 April 30, 2014 0.00 0.0000 0.0070 0.0100 0.0000 0 0.0000 98 355 -0.0023 0.0037 0.0057 April 30, 2014 0.00 0.0025 0.0096 0.0119 0.0000 0 0.0000 127 464 -0.0032 0.0050 0.0057 April 30, 2014 0.00 0.0050 0.0125 0.0157 0.0000 0 0.0000 159 543 -0.0024 0.0048 0.0057 April 30, 2014 0.00 0.0075 0.0156 0.0180 0.0000 0 0.0000 171 530 0.0000 0.0011 0.0057 April 30, 2014 0.00 0.0100 0.0168 0.0168 0.0000 0 0.0000 108 423 -0.0051 0.0080 0.0057 April 30, 2014 0.00 0.0000 0.0086 0.0137 10 0.0000 0 0.0375 479 737 -0.0018 0.0037 0.0057 2014-04-30 0.00 0.0030 0.0106 0.0124 0.0100 0001553196 ck0001553196:SummaryS000039113Memberck0001553196:S000039113Memberck0001553196:C000120290Member 2012-12-14 2012-12-14 0001553196 ck0001553196:SummaryS000039113Memberck0001553196:S000039113Memberck0001553196:C000120291Member 2012-12-14 2012-12-14 0001553196 ck0001553196:SummaryS000039113Memberck0001553196:S000039113Memberck0001553196:C000120292Member 2012-12-14 2012-12-14 0001553196 ck0001553196:SummaryS000039113Memberck0001553196:S000039113Memberck0001553196:C000120293Member 2012-12-14 2012-12-14 0001553196 ck0001553196:SummaryS000039113Memberck0001553196:S000039113Memberck0001553196:C000120294Member 2012-12-14 2012-12-14 0001553196 ck0001553196:SummaryS000039113Memberck0001553196:S000039113Memberck0001553196:C000120295Member 2012-12-14 2012-12-14 0001553196 ck0001553196:SummaryS000039113Memberck0001553196:S000039113Memberck0001553196:C000120296Member 2012-12-14 2012-12-14 0001553196 ck0001553196:SummaryS000039113Memberck0001553196:S000039113Memberck0001553196:C000120297Member 2012-12-14 2012-12-14 0001553196 ck0001553196:SummaryS000039113Memberck0001553196:S000039113Memberck0001553196:C000120298Member 2012-12-14 2012-12-14 0001553196 ck0001553196:SummaryS000039113Memberck0001553196:S000039113Memberck0001553196:C000120299Member 2012-12-14 2012-12-14 0001553196 ck0001553196:SummaryS000039113Memberck0001553196:S000039113Memberck0001553196:C000120300Member 2012-12-14 2012-12-14 0001553196 ck0001553196:SummaryS000039113Memberck0001553196:S000039113Memberck0001553196:C000120301Member 2012-12-14 2012-12-14 0001553196 ck0001553196:SummaryS000039113Memberck0001553196:S000039113Memberck0001553196:C000120302Member 2012-12-14 2012-12-14 0001553196 ck0001553196:SummaryS000039113Memberck0001553196:S000039113Memberck0001553196:C000120303Member 2012-12-14 2012-12-14 0001553196 ck0001553196:SummaryS000039113Memberck0001553196:S000039113Memberck0001553196:C000120304Member 2012-12-14 2012-12-14 0001553196 ck0001553196:SummaryS000039113Memberck0001553196:S000039113Memberck0001553196:C000120305Member 2012-12-14 2012-12-14 0001553196 ck0001553196:SummaryS000039113Memberck0001553196:S000039113Member 2012-12-14 2012-12-14 0001553196 2012-12-14 2012-12-14 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 the current fiscal year. The investment adviser is currently reimbursing a portion of the other expenses for each share class. This reimbursement will be in effect through at least April 30, 2014, unless modified or terminated by the fund's board. The adviser may elect at its discretion to extend, modify or terminate the reimbursement at that time.