Office address: 333 S. Hope Street, 53rd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: capitalgroup.com
Year established: 1931 Company type: financial services
Employees: N/A Expertise: mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, equity management, fixed income management, retirement planning, 529 college savings plans, variable annuities, portfolio construction, target-date funds, risk management solutions
Parent company: Capital Group
Key people: Mike Gitlin (CEO), Martin Romo (chief investment officer), Jody Jonsson (vice chair), Canise Arredondo (CFO), Rob Klausner (COO), Greg Miliotes and Noriko Honda Chen (portfolio managers)
Financing status: privately held corporation
American Funds operates in Los Angeles as Capital Group's mutual fund division. The firm offers mutual funds, ETFs, target date funds, 529 college savings plans, and variable annuities. Products are also available through financial advisors and major brokerage platforms.
American Funds began as the mutual fund division under Capital Group's umbrella structure. Jonathan Bell Lovelace founded Capital Group in Los Angeles during the Great Depression in 1931.
The parent organization opened a New York office in 1943 but relocated headquarters back to Los Angeles. It also introduced the Capital System in 1958 as a fresh portfolio management approach.
American Funds expanded internationally starting in 1962 to reach major financial centers globally. Service centers specifically for American Funds shareholders operated in California starting in 1983.
American Funds' Growth Fund of America, launched in 1973, became a flagship offering. The division also entered the ETF market in 2022 with actively managed fund products.
In 2023, the division launched 12 model portfolios combining active mutual funds with passive ETFs from Schwab, Vanguard, and BlackRock. This move showed the firm's commitment to modernizing offerings for financial advisors and investors. The new portfolios became available through Fidelity, Envestnet, and Orion platforms shortly after.
American Funds offers investment products managed through in-house research and multi-manager accountability. The division serves individual and institutional investors with long-term focused strategies:
The firm's range of products spans multiple asset classes and investor goals across life stages. The division's in-house research and multi-manager approach ensures consistent quality across all offerings.
As a division of Capital Group, American Funds operates within the parent organization's values and culture. The parent company aims to foster a collaborative workplace where diverse perspectives drive better investment outcomes.
Diversity and inclusion remain central to American Funds' operations. Since Capital Group prioritizes diverse perspectives and inclusive teams, the firm also works to increase women and underrepresented minorities in leadership positions.
American Funds also integrates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into its investment approach. The organization remains committed to promoting sustainability and expanding access to financial services globally.
Mike Gitlin serves as president and CEO of Capital Group, American Funds' parent organization. Gitlin joined Capital Group after leading fixed income operations at T. Rowe Price. He holds a degree from Colgate University and has over 31 years of investment experience.
Key people are made up of leaders from the management committee:
The leadership team from Capital Group provides strategic oversight across global operations, including American Funds. Most committee members bring deep expertise from lengthy careers within the organization.
American Funds' parent organization Capital Group expanded its RecordkeeperDirect retirement plan platform to serve small and mid-sized businesses. American Funds integration into the platform allows advisors to offer clients more investment flexibility options. The updates position the division to capture growing retirement plan opportunities as advisors embrace customizable solutions for business owners.
The division is also a key mutual fund provider for advisors using direct-to-fund business models with firms like LPL Financial. In 2025, a new five basis point fee that LPL introduced will increase costs for advisors holding American Funds directly. This fee may push advisors toward advisory platforms, potentially affecting American Funds' access to LPL's large advisor network.
More layoffs are expected at American Funds this year, although the announcement will not be finalized until June.
When the equity markets began their dramatic slide in the second half of last year, advisers and their clients researched the investment offerings of Los Angeles-based American Funds more than any other mutual fund group.
American Funds Investment Co. filed last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission to create a new money market mutual fund.
Net outflows were down 63% across the mutual fund industry in November, but most money managers still bled billions in assets, according to research released last week by Morningstar Inc.
Fund companies and service providers are offering webinars, seminars and handouts to help advisers handle the onslaught of questions they're getting from 401(k) participants and employers in this volatile market.
Investors pulled $21.9 billion out of stock and bond mutual funds in September, according to estimates from the Financial Research Corp. of Boston.
Lauded for its ability to make use of advanced technology to make its website user-friendly, Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Co. of Boston was ranked as the financial intermediary with the best website by kasina LLC.
Declining variable annuity sales will likely lead to enhancements to and new uses for VAs as carriers look for additional ways to appeal to high-net-worth investors.
Products of some top fund companies included on Doug Fabian's roster.
Following Invesco AIM were American Funds Group, Fidelity Investments and OppenheimerFunds Inc.
For the first time in almost a decade, American Funds plans to launch a new equity fund.
First American Funds Inc. of Minneapolis is hoping to leverage the growing popularity of infrastructure investing by opening its seven-month-old previously institutional-class mutual fund to retail-class investors.
Stock and bond funds had net inflows of $34.6 billion last month, up from $24.7 billion in April, according to FRC.
In 2018, the mutual fund business will look much like today's, industry experts predict.
The firm had added American Funds, JennisonDryden, OppenheimerFunds Inc. and Van Eck Global to its mutual fund platform.
