497 1 multi497.htm

 

Text Box: Prospectus Supplement
January 5, 2024

   

 

For the following funds with prospectuses dated


February 1, 2023 – December 1, 2023 (as supplemented to date)

AMCAP Fund®

American Balanced Fund®

American Funds® Developing World Growth and Income Fund
American Funds Corporate Bond Fund®

American Funds Emerging Markets Bond Fund®

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund®

American Funds Mortgage Fund®

American Funds® Multi-Sector Income Fund

American Funds® Strategic Bond Fund
American Funds® U.S. Government Money Market Fund
American High-Income Trust®

The Bond Fund of America®

Capital World Bond Fund®

 

Capital World Growth and Income Fund®

EuroPacific Growth Fund®

Fundamental Investors®

The Growth Fund of America®

The Income Fund of America®

Intermediate Bond Fund of America®

International Growth and Income Fund

The Investment Company of America®

The New Economy Fund®

New Perspective Fund®

Short-Term Bond Fund of America®

SMALLCAP World Fund®

U.S. Government Securities Fund®

Washington Mutual Investors Fund

 

1. Effective January 1, 2024, the following paragraph will be added to the “Sales charge reductions and waivers” section of the prospectus for all the funds listed above except for American Funds U.S. Government Money Market Fund.

 

Rollovers from CollegeAmerica to Roth IRAs Proceeds of a CollegeAmerica plan account may be rolled over in a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer to the plan beneficiary’s Capital Bank and Trust Roth IRA and invested in Class A shares without a sales charge, provided that such rollover is intended to satisfy the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code. If you hold 529-A shares through a financial intermediary their polices may differ.

 

2. Effective January 1, 2024, the following paragraph will be added to the “Sales charge waivers” section of the prospectus for American Funds U.S. Government Money Market Fund:

 

Rollovers from CollegeAmerica to Roth IRAs Proceeds of a CollegeAmerica plan account may be rolled over in a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer to the plan beneficiary’s Capital Bank and Trust Roth IRA and invested in Class A shares without a sales charge, provided that such rollover is intended to satisfy the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code. If you hold 529-A shares through a financial intermediary their polices may differ.

 

3. The information under “Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P. (“Edward Jones”)” in the “Appendix” section of the prospectus is amended to read as follows:

 

Policies Regarding Transactions Through Edward Jones

The following information has been provided by Edward Jones:

 
 

Effective on or after January 1, 2024, the following information supersedes prior information with respect to transactions and positions held in fund shares through an Edward Jones system. Clients of Edward Jones (also referred to as “shareholders”) purchasing fund shares on the Edward Jones commission and fee-based platforms are eligible only for the following sales charge discounts (also referred to as “breakpoints”) and waivers, which can differ from discounts and waivers described elsewhere in the mutual fund prospectus or statement of additional information (“SAI”) or through another broker-dealer. In all instances, it is the shareholder's responsibility to inform Edward Jones at the time of purchase of any relationship, holdings of American Funds, or other facts qualifying the purchaser for discounts or waivers. Edward Jones can ask for documentation of such circumstance. Shareholders should contact Edward Jones if they have questions regarding their eligibility for these discounts and waivers. 

Breakpoints
·Breakpoint pricing, otherwise known as volume pricing, at dollar thresholds as described in the prospectus

Rights of Accumulation (“ROA”)

·The applicable sales charge on a purchase of Class A shares is determined by taking into account all share classes (except certain money market funds and any assets held in group retirement plans) of American Funds held by the shareholder or in an account grouped by Edward Jones with other accounts for the purpose of providing certain pricing considerations (“pricing groups”).  If grouping assets as a shareholder, this includes all share classes held on the Edward Jones platform and/or held on another platform. The inclusion of eligible fund family assets in the ROA calculation is dependent on the shareholder notifying Edward Jones of such assets at the time of calculation. Money market funds are included only if such shares were sold with a sales charge at the time of purchase or acquired in exchange for shares purchased with a sales charge
·The employer maintaining a SEP IRA plan and/or SIMPLE IRA plan may elect to establish or change ROA for the IRA accounts associated with the plan to a plan-level grouping as opposed to including all share classes at a shareholder or pricing group level
·ROA is determined by calculating the higher of cost minus redemptions or market value (current shares x NAV)

Letter of Intent (“LOI”)

·Through a LOI, shareholders can receive the sales charge and breakpoint discounts for purchases shareholders intend to make over a 13-month period from the date Edward Jones receives the LOI. The LOI is determined by calculating the higher of cost or market value of qualifying holdings at LOI initiation in combination with the value that the shareholder intends to buy over a 13-month period to calculate the front-end sales charge and any breakpoint discounts. Each purchase the shareholder makes during that 13-month period will receive the sales charge and breakpoint discount that applies to the total amount. The inclusion of eligible fund family assets in the LOI calculation is dependent on the shareholder notifying Edward Jones of such assets at the time of calculation. Purchases made before the LOI is received by Edward Jones are not adjusted under the LOI and will not reduce the sales charge previously paid. Sales charges will be adjusted if LOI is not met
·If the employer maintaining a SEP IRA plan and/or SIMPLE IRA plan has elected to establish or change ROA for the IRA accounts associated with the plan to a plan-level grouping, LOIs will also be at the plan-level and may only be established by the employer

 

 
 

Sales Charge Waivers

Sales charges are waived for the following shareholders and in the following situations:

·Associates of Edward Jones and its affiliates and other accounts in the same pricing group (as determined by Edward Jones under its policies and procedures) as the associate. This waiver will continue for the remainder of the associate's life if the associate retires from Edward Jones in good-standing and remains in good standing pursuant to Edward Jones' policies and procedures
·Shares purchased in an Edward Jones fee-based program
·Shares purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend reinvestment
·Shares purchased from the proceeds of redeemed shares of the same fund family so long as the following conditions are met: the proceeds are from the sale of shares within 60 days of the purchase, the sale and purchase are made from a share class that charges a front end load and one of the following:  
The redemption and repurchase occur in the same account
The redemption proceeds are used to process an: IRA contribution, excess contributions, conversion, recharacterizing of contributions, or distribution, and the repurchase is done in an account within the same Edward Jones grouping for ROA  
·Shares exchanged into Class A shares from another share class so long as the exchange is into the same fund and was initiated at the discretion of Edward Jones. Edward Jones is responsible for any remaining CDSC due to the fund company, if applicable. Any future purchases are subject to the applicable sales charge as disclosed in the prospectus
·Exchanges from Class C shares to Class A shares of the same fund, generally, in the 84th month following the anniversary of the purchase date or earlier at the discretion of Edward Jones
·Purchases of Class 529-A shares through a rollover from either another education savings plan or a security used for qualified distributions  
·Purchases of Class 529-A shares made for recontribution of refunded amounts

Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (“CDSC”) Waivers

If the shareholder purchases shares that are subject to a CDSC and those shares are redeemed before the CDSC is expired, the shareholder is responsible to pay the CDSC except in the following conditions:

·The death or disability of the shareholder
·Systematic withdrawals with up to 10% per year of the account value
·Return of excess contributions from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA)
·Shares redeemed as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts if the redemption is taken in or after the year the shareholder reaches qualified age based on applicable IRS regulations 
·Shares redeemed to pay Edward Jones fees or costs in such cases where the transaction is initiated by Edward Jones
·Shares exchanged in an Edward Jones fee-based program
·Shares acquired through NAV reinstatement
 
 
·Shares redeemed at the discretion of Edward Jones for Minimum Balances, as described below

Other Important Information Regarding Transactions Through Edward Jones

Minimum Purchase Amounts

·Initial purchase minimum: $250
·Subsequent purchase minimum: none

Minimum Balances

·Edward Jones has the right to redeem at its discretion fund holdings with a balance of $250 or less. The following are examples of accounts that are not included in this policy:
A fee-based account held on an Edward Jones platform
A 529 account held on an Edward Jones platform
An account with an active systematic investment plan or LOI

Exchanging Share Classes

·At any time it deems necessary, Edward Jones has the authority to exchange at NAV a shareholder's holdings in a fund to Class A shares of the same fund, or Class R-4 shares for retirement plans with at least $1 million, so long as the shareholder is eligible to purchase the Class A or R-4 shares pursuant to the prospectus. 

 

4. The information under “Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (“Stifel”)” in the “Appendix” section of the prospectus is amended to read as follows:

 

Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (“Stifel”) and its broker dealer affiliates

Effective January 1, 2024, shareholders purchasing or holding fund shares, including existing fund shareholders, through a Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated or affiliated platform that provides trade execution, clearance, and/or custody services, will be eligible for the following sales charge load waivers (including front-end sales charge waivers and contingent deferred, or back-end, (“CDSC”) sales charge waivers) and discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in the fund’s prospectus or SAI

Class A Shares

As described elsewhere in this prospectus, Stifel may receive compensation out of the front-end sales charge if you purchase Class A shares through Stifel

Rights of accumulation

·Rights of accumulation (“ROA”) that entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts on front-end sales charges will be calculated by Stifel based on the aggregated holding of eligible assets in the American Funds held by accounts within the purchaser’s household at Stifel. Eligible fund family assets not held at Stifel may be included in the calculation of ROA only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets
·The employer maintaining a SEP IRA plan and/or SIMPLE IRA plan may elect to establish or change ROA for the IRA accounts associated with the plan to a plan-level grouping as opposed to including all share classes at a shareholder or pricing group level

Front-end sales charge waivers on Class A shares available at Stifel

Sales charges may be waived for the following shareholders and in the following situations:

 
 
·Class C shares that have been held for more than seven (7) years may be converted to Class A or other Front-end share class(es) of the same fund pursuant to Stifel's policies and procedures. To the extent that this prospectus elsewhere provides for a waiver with respect to the exchange or conversion of such shares following a shorter holding period, those provisions shall continue to apply
·Shares purchased by employees and registered representatives of Stifel or its affiliates and their family members as designated by Stifel
·Shares purchased in a Stifel fee-based advisory program, often referred to as a “wrap” program
·Shares purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same or other fund within the fund family
·Shares purchased from the proceeds of redeemed shares of the same fund family so long as the proceeds are from the sale of shares from an account with the same owner/beneficiary within 90 days of the purchase. For the absence of doubt, shares redeemed through a Systematic Withdrawal Plan are not eligible for rights of reinstatement
·Shares from rollovers into Stifel custodied IRA from retirement plans.
·Shares exchanged into Class A shares from another share class so long as the exchange is into the same fund and was initiated at the direction of Stifel. Stifel is responsible for any remaining CDSC due to the fund company, if applicable. Any future purchases are subject to the applicable sales charge as disclosed in the prospectus
·Purchases of Class 529-A shares through a rollover from another 529 plan
·Purchases of Class 529-A shares made for reinvestment of refunded amounts
·All other sales charge waivers and reductions described elsewhere in the fund’s prospectus or SAI still apply

Contingent Deferred Sales Charges Waivers on Class A and C Shares

·Death or disability of the shareholder or, in the case of 529 plans, the account beneficiary
·Shares sold as part of a systematic withdrawal plan not to exceed 12% annually
·Return of excess contributions from an IRA Account
·Shares sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts due to the shareholder reaching the qualified age based on applicable IRS regulations.
·Shares acquired through a right of reinstatement
·Shares sold to pay Stifel fees or costs in such cases where the transaction is initiated by Stifel
·All other sales charge waivers and reductions described elsewhere in the fund’s prospectus or SAI still apply

Share Class Conversions in Advisory Accounts

Stifel continually looks to provide our clients with the lowest cost share class available based on account type. Stifel reserves the right to convert shares to the lowest cost share class available at Stifel upon transfer of shares into an advisory program.

 

Keep this supplement with your prospectus.

Lit. No. MFGEBS-571-0124P CGD/AFD/10039-S99076

 

 

 

THE FUND MAKES AVAILABLE A SPANISH TRANSLATION OF THE ABOVE PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT IN CONNECTION WITH THE PUBLIC OFFERING AND SALE OF ITS SHARES. THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT ABOVE IS A FAIR AND ACCURATE REPRESENTATION OF THE SPANISH EQUIVALENT.

 

/s/ JENNIFER L. BUTLER
  JENNIFER L. BUTLER
  SECRETARY
/s/ JULIE E. LAWTON
  JULIE E. LAWTON
  SECRETARY
/s/ COURTNEY R. TAYLOR
  COURTNEY R. TAYLOR
  SECRETARY