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Class 1 Prospectus | Washington Mutual Investors Fund
Washington Mutual Investors Fund
Investment objective

The fund’s investment objective is to produce income and to provide an opportunity for growth of principal consistent with sound common stock investing.

Fees and expenses of the fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell an interest in Class 1 shares of the fund. You may pay other fees, such as insurance contract fees and expenses, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. If insurance contract fees and expenses were reflected, expenses shown would be higher.

Annual fund operating expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
Class 1 Prospectus
Washington Mutual Investors Fund
Class 1
Management fee 0.37% [1]
Other expenses 0.04%
Total annual fund operating expenses 0.41%
Fee waiver 0.14% [2]
Total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver 0.27%
[1] Restated to reflect current fees.
[2] The investment adviser is currently waiving a portion of its management fee equal to .14% of the fund's net assets. This waiver will be in effect through at least May 1, 2023. The waiver may only be modified or terminated with the approval of the fund’s board.
Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in Class 1 shares of the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The example does not reflect insurance contract expenses. If insurance contract expenses were reflected, expenses shown would be higher. The example reflects the fee waiver described above through the expiration date of such waiver and total annual fund operating expenses thereafter. No sales charge (load) or other fees are charged by the fund upon redemption, so you would incur these hypothetical costs whether or not you were to redeem your shares at the end of the given period.

Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Expense Example
1 year
3 years
5 years
10 years
Class 1 Prospectus | Washington Mutual Investors Fund | Class 1 | USD ($) 28 118 216 504
Portfolio turnover

The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s investment results. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 90% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies

The fund invests primarily in common stocks of established companies that are listed on, or meet the financial listing requirements of, the New York Stock Exchange and have a strong record of earnings and dividends. The fund strives to accomplish its objective through fundamental research, careful selection and broad diversification. In the selection of common stocks and other securities for investment, current and potential income as well as the potential for long-term capital appreciation are considered. The fund seeks to provide an above-average yield in its quarterly income distribution in relation to the S&P 500 Index (a broad, unmanaged index). The fund strives to maintain a fully invested, diversified portfolio, consisting primarily of high-quality common stocks.

The fund has an “Eligible List” of investments considered appropriate for a prudent investor seeking opportunities for income and growth of principal consistent with common stock investing. The investment adviser generates and maintains the Eligible List and selects the fund’s investments exclusively from the issuers on the Eligible List.

The investment adviser uses a system of multiple portfolio managers in managing the fund’s assets. Under this approach, the portfolio of the fund is divided into segments managed by individual managers.

The fund relies on the professional judgment of its investment adviser to make decisions about the fund’s portfolio investments. The basic investment philosophy of the investment adviser is to seek to invest in attractively valued securities that, in its opinion, represent good, long-term investment opportunities. Securities may be sold when the investment adviser believes that they no longer represent relatively attractive investment opportunities.

Principal risks

This section describes the principal risks associated with investing in the fund. You may lose money by investing in the fund. The likelihood of loss may be greater if you invest for a shorter period of time. Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the common stocks and other securities held by the fund may decline – sometimes rapidly or unpredictably – due to various factors, including events or conditions affecting the general economy or particular industries; overall market changes; local, regional or global political, social or economic instability; governmental, governmental agency or central bank responses to economic conditions; and currency exchange rate, interest rate and commodity price fluctuations.

Economies and financial markets throughout the world are highly interconnected. Economic, financial or political events, trading and tariff arrangements, wars, terrorism, cybersecurity events, natural disasters, public health emergencies (such as the spread of infectious disease) and other circumstances in one country or region, including actions taken by governmental or quasi-governmental authorities in response to any of the foregoing, could have impacts on global economies or markets. As a result, whether or not the fund invests in securities of issuers located in or with significant exposure to the countries affected, the value and liquidity of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected by developments in other countries and regions.

Issuer risks — The prices of, and the income generated by, securities held by the fund may decline in response to various factors directly related to the issuers of such securities, including reduced demand for an issuer’s goods or services, poor management performance, major litigation, investigations or other controversies related to the issuer, changes in government regulations affecting the issuer or its competitive environment and strategic initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions or dispositions and the market response to any such initiatives.

Investing in income-oriented stocks — The value of the fund’s securities and income provided by the fund may be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources available for dividend payments at, the companies in which the fund invests.

Investing in growth-oriented stocks — Growth-oriented common stocks and other equity-type securities (such as preferred stocks, convertible preferred stocks and convertible bonds) may involve larger price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments.

Management — The investment adviser to the fund actively manages the fund’s investments. Consequently, the fund is subject to the risk that the methods and analyses, including models, tools and data, employed by the investment adviser in this process may be flawed or incorrect and may not produce the desired results. This could cause the fund to lose value or its investment results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

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. You should consider how this fund fits into your overall investment program.

Investment results

The following bar chart shows how the investment results of the Class 1 shares of the fund have varied from year to year, and the following table shows how the fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of securities market results. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. Past investment results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future investment results. Figures shown reflect fees and expenses associated with an investment in the fund, but do not reflect insurance contract fees and expenses. If insurance contract fees and expenses were included, results would have been lower. The results for all of the years shown reflect the operation of the fund as the Blue Chip Income and Growth Fund prior to May 1, 2021. Accordingly, results for such periods may not be representative of the fund’s results had the fund been operated under its current strategy during the entire period. Updated information on the fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting capitalgroup.com/afis.

The following bar chart shows how the investment results of the Class 1 shares of the fund have varied from year to year, and the following table shows how the fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of securities market results. 

 

Calendar year total returns
Bar Chart

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

 

Highest  19.72% (quarter ended June 30, 2020)

 

Lowest  -23.38% (quarter ended March 31, 2020)

Average annual total returns For the periods ended December 31, 2021:
Average Annual Returns - Class 1 Prospectus - Washington Mutual Investors Fund
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years
Average Annual Returns, Since Inception
Average Annual Returns, Inception Date
Class 1 28.12% 12.79% 14.04% 7.78% Jul. 05, 2001
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for sales charges, account fees, expenses or U.S. federal income taxes) 28.71% 18.47% 16.55% 9.00% Jul. 05, 2001