American Funds Extends Target Date Series

According to a regulatory filing, the American Funds 2055 Target Date Retirement Fund will increasingly emphasize income and conservation of capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in bond, equity income and balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date. In this way, the fund seeks to balance total return and stability over time, according to the filing, which was picked up by Strategic Insight’s Simfund Filing report. 

The fund’s portfolio managers are James B. Lovelace, Alan N. Berro, Joyce E. Gordon, Nicholas J. Grace and John H. Smet. 

The firm says that the fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The filing notes that the underlying American Funds represent a variety of fund categories such as growth funds, growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds and a balanced fund, and bond funds. Further, the fund categories represent differing investment objectives. 

The filing notes that the investment adviser may periodically rebalance or modify the asset mix of the funds and change the underlying fund investments, and that it will continue to manage the fund for approximately 30 years after the fund reaches its target date.  Further, the filing says that funds that have been managed for 20 years after their respective target dates may be combined, in accordance with applicable law. 

More information on the series is available in PLANSPONSOR’s Asset Allocation Fund Buyer’s Guide at http://www.plansponsor.com/survey_type1/?RECORD_ID=40798