The is the latest installment in the weekly series - The Mutual Fund Series.

During each part of this weekly series, I will be looking at a specific mutual fund company.

Today's company is American Funds.



American Funds has been around since 1931 and is one of the largest mutual fund companies in the world with over $900 Billion in investments and over 40,000,000 shareholder accounts. American Funds is owned by a larger company - The Capital Group Companies.

What I Like About American Funds
* Great performance long-term. The track record of American Funds has been terrific!
* Long-Term Approach. They use a team-approach to manage their mutual funds. They manage money extremely well in down markets. They have absorbed hits like the 1987 crash and the bear market of the early 70s and have performed well.
* Experience. Their advisors have an average of 22 years of experience with American Funds. That is unheard of in today's world!
* Low Initial Investment Requirement. Most American Fund mutual fund investments can be started with just $250 and a commitment to invest at least $25/month. That is great! It allows anyone to start investing!
* Low Expense Ratios. They have low expense ratios when compared to most mutual funds. They are higher than Vanguard, but are about half of comparable mutual funds.
* Tools. They have a nice retirement planning website

HERE. I really like their "quick analysis" retirement planning calculator HERE. It told me good news - that they believe I can retire someday! What does it tell you? You can also check out my "retirement nest-egg required" calculator (located HERE).

What I Would Like To See Improved At American Funds
* Sales Charges. To purchase American Funds directly, one has to be savvy with on-line trading websites or else one will have to work through an advisor. This means that there will be a "load" when one purchases American Fund mutual funds through a broker. If one is just starting out, it could mean that one will have to pay up to 5.75% for all new money invested. This load drops as more money is held in one's account, but the lower charges start after one achieves six figures in their account.

American Fund Mutual Funds I Own
I currently own six American Fund mutual funds.

* AMCAP Fund A [Ticker: AMCPX]
* Capital World Growth and Income Fund [Ticker: CWGIX]
* Fundamental Investors A [Ticker: ANCFX]
* New World Fund [Ticker: NEWFX]
* The Growth Fund of America [Ticker: AGTHX]
* The Investment Company of America [Ticker: AIVSX]

American Fund Mutual Funds That I Am Considering Purchasing
* The New Economy Fund [Ticker: ANEFX] I like the growth potential of the markets this fund will be investing in.
* EuroPacific Growth Fund [Ticker: AEPGX] Same as The New Economy Fund - I really like the potential of the markets this fund will be investing in.

What American Fund mutual funds do you own? Do you have any American Fund mutual funds that you really like? Any you really dislike?

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