American Funds Wins Multiple Lipper Mutual Fund Awards

LOS ANGELES, April 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- American Funds, which manages more than $1.25 trillion for individuals and institutions worldwide, announced today that it has won multiple Lipper Fund Awards, including an overall award for Best Mixed-Asset Funds in the Large Fund Family asset class, and a near sweep in the target date funds category.

Nine of the firm's target date funds were honored — six for multiple time frames and three for single periods. One of its global growth-and-income funds was also honored for multiple time frames and two growth funds were honored for single periods. The Lipper Fund Awards recognize fund families and individual mutual funds that have achieved consistently strong risk-adjusted three-, five- and 10-year results relative to their peers.

"Winning these prestigious awards is recognition of American Funds' ongoing commitment to fundamental global research, a long-term orientation, an investment management system that emphasizes high-conviction ideas, and long-tenured portfolio managers," said Matt O'Connor, Executive Vice President and Director of North American Distribution.

"We are particularly pleased that Lipper honored so many of our target date retirement funds," he said. "Our target date funds play an important role in helping millions of individuals pursue their retirement goals, and these awards acknowledge our commitment to providing our shareholders with strong investment results for the long term."

O'Connor noted that American Funds target date funds employ a dynamic approach to managing the mix of equities and fixed-income securities in their portfolios, as opposed to simply following a formula that increases the proportion of bonds held by investors nearing and in retirement. 

"One of the reasons we believe our target date funds have been honored by Lipper is that we focus intently on a goal that is critically important for retirees — having enough income to sustain them through a lengthy retirement," he said.

"Many target date funds reduce their equity exposure as time goes by as a way of managing portfolio volatility. We take a different approach, maintaining a meaningful exposure to equities but also shifting the character of that exposure toward stocks that have a proven record of paying and growing their dividends. These historically less-volatile, income-oriented equities can help reduce overall portfolio volatility but also allow for meaningful equity exposure that can provide retirees with the potential for capital appreciation in their portfolios."

This approach, which American Funds calls "re-characterization of the equity exposure," also provides its target date funds with greater latitude in selecting fixed-income investments, O'Connor explained.

"Lower equity volatility and higher yields from equities can reduce the burden on fixed income to deliver the income and downside resilience needed late in retirement," he said. "This can provide more flexibility to pursue a broader set of fixed-income opportunities targeting higher yield and total return. Together, these strategies have enabled our target date funds to deliver results that have been recognized in the Lipper awards."

Here is a list of the American Funds honored by Lipper for multiple performance periods:

Here is a list of the American Funds honored by Lipper for single performance periods:

The 2015 Lipper Fund Awards were awarded on March 31, 2015. Fund awards were based on risk-adjusted returns as of November 30, 2014.

Each target date fund is composed of a mix of the American Funds and is subject to the risks and returns of the underlying funds. The target date is the year in which an investor is assumed to retire and begin taking withdrawals. Although the target date funds are managed for investors on a projected retirement date time frame, the fund's allocation strategy does not guarantee that investors' retirement goals will be met. American Funds investment professionals actively manage the Target Date Fund's portfolio, moving it from a more growth-oriented strategy to a more income-oriented focus as the fund gets closer to its target date.

Investors should carefully consider investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other important information is contained in the fund prospectuses and summary prospectuses, which can be obtained from a financial professional and should be read carefully before investing.

Investments are not FDIC-Insured, nor are they deposits of or guaranteed by a bank or any other entity, so they may lose value.

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SOURCE American Funds