UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-CSR
Certified Shareholder Report of
Registered Management Investment Companies
Investment Company Act File Number: 811-00116
The Investment Company of America
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
333 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, California 90071
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (213) 486-9200
Date of fiscal year end: December 31
Date of reporting period: June 30, 2015
Michael W. Stockton
The Investment Company of America
333 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, California 90071
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)
ITEM 1 – Reports to Stockholders
![]() | ICA The Investment
Semi-annual report |
ICA seeks to achieve long-term growth of capital and income.
The Investment Company of America is one of more than 40 funds offered by one of the nation’s largest mutual fund families, American Funds, from Capital Group. For more than 80 years, Capital has invested with a long-term focus based on thorough research and attention to risk.
Fund results shown in this report, unless otherwise indicated, are for Class A shares at net asset value. If a sales charge (maximum 5.75%) had been deducted, the results would have been lower. Results are for past periods and are not predictive of results for future periods. Current and future results may be lower or higher than those shown. Share prices and returns will vary, so investors may lose money. Investing for short periods makes losses more likely. Investments are not FDIC-insured, nor are they deposits of or guaranteed by a bank or any other entity, so they may lose value. For current information and month-end results, visit americanfunds.com.
Here are the average annual total returns on a $1,000 investment with all distributions reinvested for periods ended June 30, 2015:
Class A shares | 1 year | 5 years | 10 years | |||||||||
Reflecting 5.75% maximum sales charge | –1.61% | 14.23% | 6.81% |
The total annual fund operating expense ratio was 0.59% for Class A shares as of the prospectus dated March 1, 2015.
For other share class results, visit americanfunds.com and americanfundsretirement.com.
Investment results assume all distributions are reinvested and reflect applicable fees and expenses. When applicable, investment results reflect fee waivers, without which results would have been lower. Visit americanfunds.com for more information.
The fund’s 30-day yield for Class A Shares as of July 31, 2015, reflecting the 5.75% maximum sales charge and calculated in accordance with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission formula, was 1.72%.
Investing outside the United States may be subject to risks, such as currency fluctuations, political instability, differing securities regulations and periods of illiquidity. Global diversification can help reduce these risks. Refer to the fund prospectus and the Risk Factors section of this report for more information on these and other risks associated with investing in the fund.
Fellow investors:
Modest strength in the U.S. economy, and slight improvement in the equity markets, led The Investment Company of America 0.82% higher for the six-month period ended June 30, 2015, with distributions reinvested. In comparison, the unmanaged Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Index, a market capitalization-weighted index based on the results of 500 widely held common stocks, returned 1.23% during the same time period.
For the 20 years ended June 30, 2015, ICA posted an average annual total return of 9.39% with distributions reinvested, compared with 8.91% by the S&P 500. Over its 81-year history, ICA had an average annual total return of 12.18% with distributions reinvested, compared with 10.85% by the S&P 500. We believe that funds should be evaluated over long periods of time, as then everyday economic or market “noise” is lower and the issuer’s “signal” is higher. Such periods also illustrate the benefits of being a long-term investor.
Slow, grinding progress in the U.S. economy
The U.S. economy is improving in a slow, grinding manner but, overall, is looking moderately healthy. The employment picture continues to progress, and while the U.S. economy experienced negative gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the
Results at a glance
For the six months ended June 30, 2015, with all distributions reinvested
Standard & | Lipper | |||||||||||||
ICA | Poor’s 500 | Growth & Income | ||||||||||||
(Class A shares) | Composite Index* | Funds Index | ||||||||||||
Income return | 0.79 | % | 1.04 | % | n/a | |||||||||
Capital return | 0.03 | % | 0.19 | % | n/a | |||||||||
Total return | 0.82 | % | 1.23 | % | 1.91 | % |
* | The S&P 500 is unmanaged and, therefore, has no expenses. Investors cannot invest directly in an index. |
The Investment Company of America | 1 |
first quarter, many economists described that as a temporary blip due to weather and labor strikes at West Coast ports. The pace of progress may be slower than what investors might have hoped for in a post-recession recovery — there are issues such as stagnant wage growth and a lack of capital expenditures — yet most signals are positive.
The stock market has been surprisingly calm despite international events including conflict in Ukraine, the debt crisis in Greece, heightened terrorism in the Middle East and concerns about growth in China. It’s worth noting that bad headlines do not necessarily mean a bad stock market, and U.S. equities proved that axiom as they shrugged off geopolitical concerns and continued their positive run.
The Federal Reserve’s accommodative stance has contributed to the stock market’s rise, though the Fed has indicated it will raise interest rates at some point, and many investors expect a bump in September. Those initial hikes may cause trouble for the bond market and some high-yielding stocks, but will likely not slow the recovery dramatically as the Fed moves toward more normal monetary policy. Stock markets seem to have already discounted that initial bump, and the fund’s portfolio managers do not think there will be a seismic shift in markets as a result.
ICA’s portfolio in review
Health care was the largest sector by concentration. Gilead Sciences, its most significant contributor, increased 24.21%. The company struggled at the end of last year, which hurt the fund, but it has experienced a strong recovery since, based on the strength of its current pharmaceutical products and, to a lesser extent, the potential of products in its pipeline. Also within health care, AbbVie increased 2.67% although the fund’s largest holding, Amgen, lost 3.62%.
Amazon, another large position that had a temporary downdraft in the fourth quarter but has come back strongly, was up 39.87% and also contributed positively to results.
Detracting from results were information technology holding Oracle, which lost 10.38% despite continued strong growth of its cloud business; Exelon, an American energy generator and distributor, which lost 15.26%; and Chesapeake Energy, which declined 42.92%.
The fund paid investors a total of $0.29 a share in dividends for the period.
2 | The Investment Company of America |
A look toward the horizon
The stock market has moved up from its low of 2009 with remarkably low volatility. It has been so calm that the portfolio managers now think there is increased likelihood of higher volatility in the coming year, so we should be prepared. It’s important to remember that, in the event of increased volatility, the fund’s portfolio managers can gain an opportunity to invest in companies with more favorable valuations for the long term.
We continue to seek to invest in good companies for the long term. As valuations have gone up, we may have to pay more for attractive stocks, which means future returns may not be as high as we have enjoyed the past few years. We will continue to conduct fundamental research — with a long-term horizon and with an eye toward valuation and risk — in order to help our investors meet their financial goals. This approach has served ICA shareholders well for a long time, and we believe that will continue to be the case.
We remain optimistic about continuing to identify solid companies that we believe will prosper in the long run. We thank you for your confidence in our investment philosophy.
Cordially,
![]() | ![]() |
James B. Lovelace Vice Chairman | Donald D. O’Neal President |
August 6, 2015
For current information about the fund, visit americanfunds.com.
It is with deep sadness that we note the passing of Jim Rothenberg, who served as Chairman of the Board of The Capital Group Companies, parent company of the investment adviser to the American Funds. Jim was an admired colleague, insightful investor and forceful advocate for our funds’ shareholders. We will greatly miss his leadership, which was marked by a deep sense of fairness and a staunch commitment to our firm and those it serves.
The Investment Company of America | 3 |
Summary investment portfolio June 30, 2015 | unaudited |
Industry sector diversification | Percent of net assets |
Common stocks 95.27% | Shares | Value (000) | ||||||
Energy 8.85% | ||||||||
BP PLC | 110,680,000 | $ | 730,666 | |||||
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. | 16,494,000 | 520,221 | ||||||
Canadian Natural Resources, Ltd. | 21,890,000 | 594,132 | ||||||
Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Class A (ADR) | 8,699,700 | 495,970 | ||||||
Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Class B | 9,250,000 | 262,631 | ||||||
Other securities | 4,063,893 | |||||||
6,667,513 | ||||||||
Materials 4.15% | ||||||||
Dow Chemical Co. | 11,675,000 | 597,410 | ||||||
Monsanto Co. | 6,327,354 | 674,433 | ||||||
Praxair, Inc. | 5,545,625 | 662,979 | ||||||
Other securities | 1,188,439 | |||||||
3,123,261 | ||||||||
Industrials 11.02% | ||||||||
CSX Corp. | 24,015,771 | 784,115 | ||||||
Cummins Inc. | 5,410,000 | 709,738 | ||||||
General Dynamics Corp. | 9,669,200 | 1,370,029 | ||||||
General Electric Co. | 29,165,000 | 774,914 | ||||||
Illinois Tool Works Inc. | 6,400,000 | 587,456 | ||||||
Norfolk Southern Corp. | 7,501,246 | 655,309 | ||||||
Precision Castparts Corp. | 3,062,581 | 612,118 | ||||||
Union Pacific Corp. | 6,875,800 | 655,745 | ||||||
Other securities | 2,155,591 | |||||||
8,305,015 | ||||||||
Consumer discretionary 9.42% | ||||||||
Amazon.com, Inc.1 | 2,488,000 | 1,080,016 | ||||||
Comcast Corp., Class A | 8,496,517 | 510,980 | ||||||
General Motors Co. | 18,428,309 | 614,215 | ||||||
Home Depot, Inc. | 9,925,000 | 1,102,965 | ||||||
Johnson Controls, Inc. | 12,505,917 | 619,418 | ||||||
Las Vegas Sands Corp. | 16,191,000 | 851,161 |
4 | The Investment Company of America |
Value | ||||||||
Shares | (000) | |||||||
Time Warner Inc. | 6,957,932 | $ | 608,193 | |||||
Other securities | 1,705,573 | |||||||
7,092,521 | ||||||||
Consumer staples 9.11% | ||||||||
Altria Group, Inc. | 26,801,911 | 1,310,881 | ||||||
Coca-Cola Co. | 15,744,600 | 617,661 | ||||||
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. | 6,124,722 | 521,459 | ||||||
Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. | 5,559,045 | 501,537 | ||||||
Philip Morris International Inc. | 18,930,019 | 1,517,620 | ||||||
Other securities | 2,397,091 | |||||||
6,866,249 | ||||||||
Health care 17.93% | ||||||||
AbbVie Inc. | 25,964,000 | 1,744,521 | ||||||
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.1 | 3,207,000 | 579,729 | ||||||
Amgen Inc. | 22,327,472 | 3,427,713 | ||||||
Gilead Sciences, Inc. | 27,493,100 | 3,218,892 | ||||||
Medtronic PLC | 9,465,000 | 701,356 | ||||||
Stryker Corp. | 5,527,725 | 528,285 | ||||||
UnitedHealth Group Inc. | 6,083,032 | 742,130 | ||||||
Other securities | 2,567,911 | |||||||
13,510,537 | ||||||||
Financials 6.27% | ||||||||
American International Group, Inc. | 13,370,000 | 826,533 | ||||||
U.S. Bancorp | 17,407,020 | 755,465 | ||||||
Other securities | 3,144,103 | |||||||
4,726,101 | ||||||||
Information technology 15.63% | ||||||||
Accenture PLC, Class A | 10,246,460 | 991,652 | ||||||
Apple Inc. | 6,387,489 | 801,151 | ||||||
Google Inc., Class A1 | 1,626,980 | 878,634 | ||||||
Google Inc., Class C1 | 1,903,491 | 990,786 | ||||||
Intel Corp. | 26,150,000 | 795,352 | ||||||
Microsoft Corp. | 13,653,400 | 602,798 | ||||||
Oracle Corp. | 41,932,300 | 1,689,872 | ||||||
Texas Instruments Inc. | 28,525,773 | 1,469,363 | ||||||
Western Union Co.2 | 35,700,000 | 725,781 | ||||||
Other securities | 2,831,080 | |||||||
11,776,469 | ||||||||
Telecommunication services 5.24% | ||||||||
AT&T Inc. | 23,493,000 | 834,472 | ||||||
Verizon Communications Inc. | 52,441,795 | 2,444,312 | ||||||
Other securities | 666,624 | |||||||
3,945,408 | ||||||||
Utilities 2.91% | ||||||||
Dominion Resources, Inc. | 9,523,824 | 636,858 | ||||||
Exelon Corp. | 35,316,000 | 1,109,629 | ||||||
Other securities | 444,807 | |||||||
2,191,294 |
The Investment Company of America | 5 |
Common stocks (continued) | Shares | Value (000) | ||||||
Miscellaneous 4.74% | ||||||||
Other common stocks in initial period of acquisition | $ | 3,567,657 | ||||||
Total common stocks (cost: $49,530,227,000) | 71,772,025 | |||||||
Bonds, notes & other debt instruments 0.01% | Principal amount (000) | |||||||
U.S. Treasury bonds & notes 0.01% | ||||||||
Other securities | 4,021 | |||||||
Total bonds, notes & other debt instruments (cost: $4,019,000) | 4,021 | |||||||
Short-term securities 4.60% | ||||||||
Coca-Cola Co. 0.11%–0.21% due 7/13/2015–7/22/20153 | $ | 170,000 | 169,993 | |||||
Fannie Mae 0.15%–0.23% due 8/17/2015–3/1/2016 | 567,100 | 566,863 | ||||||
Federal Home Loan Bank 0.06%–0.20% due 7/10/2015–1/22/2016 | 1,293,900 | 1,293,742 | ||||||
General Electric Capital Corp. 0.17%–0.27% due 9/22/2015–11/23/2015 | 140,000 | 139,933 | ||||||
Other securities | 1,295,163 | |||||||
Total short-term securities (cost: $3,465,057,000) | 3,465,694 | |||||||
Total investment securities 99.88% (cost: $52,999,303,000) | 75,241,740 | |||||||
Other assets less liabilities 0.12% | 93,353 | |||||||
Net assets 100.00% | $ | 75,335,093 |
This summary investment portfolio is designed to streamline the report and help investors better focus on the fund’s principal holdings. See the inside back cover for details on how to obtain a complete schedule of portfolio holdings.
As permitted by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regulations, “Miscellaneous” securities include holdings in their first year of acquisition that have not previously been publicly disclosed.
“Other securities” includes all issues that are not disclosed separately in the summary investment portfolio.
6 | The Investment Company of America |
Investments in affiliates
A company is an affiliate of the fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940 if the fund’s holdings in that company represent 5% or more of the outstanding voting shares. The value of the fund’s affiliated-company holdings is either shown in the summary investment portfolio or included in the value of “Other securities” under the respective industry sectors. Further details on such holdings and related transactions during the six months ended June 30, 2015, appear below.
Value of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dividend | affiliates at | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Beginning | Ending | income | 6/30/2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||
shares | Additions | Reductions | shares | (000) | (000) | |||||||||||||||||||
Western Union Co. | 35,700,000 | — | — | 35,700,000 | $ | 11,067 | $ | 725,781 | ||||||||||||||||
Chesapeake Energy Corp. | 13,100,000 | 22,900,000 | — | 36,000,000 | 3,576 | 402,120 | ||||||||||||||||||
Hasbro, Inc.4 | 6,405,000 | — | 953,718 | 5,451,282 | 5,314 | — | ||||||||||||||||||
$ | 19,957 | $ | 1,127,901 |
The following footnotes apply to either the individual securities noted or one or more of the securities aggregated and listed as a single line item.
1 | Security did not produce income during the last 12 months. |
2 | Represents an affiliated company as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940. |
3 | Acquired in a transaction exempt from registration under Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933. May be resold in the U.S. in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. The total value of all such securities, including those in “Other securities,” was $662,381,000, which represented .88% of the net assets of the fund. |
4 | Unaffiliated issuer at 6/30/2015. |
Key to abbreviation
ADR = American Depositary Receipts
See Notes to Financial Statements
The Investment Company of America | 7 |
Financial statements
Statement of assets and liabilities | unaudited | |||||||
at June 30, 2015 | (dollars in thousands) | |||||||
Assets: | ||||||||
Investment securities, at value: | ||||||||
Unaffiliated issuers (cost: $51,775,401) | $ | 74,113,839 | ||||||
Affiliated issuers (cost: $1,223,902) | 1,127,901 | $ | 75,241,740 | |||||
Cash denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars (cost: $3,809) | 3,812 | |||||||
Cash | 1,435 | |||||||
Receivables for: | ||||||||
Sales of investments | 170,574 | |||||||
Sales of fund’s shares | 83,939 | |||||||
Dividends and interest | 126,966 | |||||||
Other | 3,799 | 385,278 | ||||||
75,632,265 | ||||||||
Liabilities: | ||||||||
Payables for: | ||||||||
Purchases of investments | 139,671 | |||||||
Repurchases of fund’s shares | 114,364 | |||||||
Investment advisory services | 15,050 | |||||||
Services provided by related parties | 19,187 | |||||||
Trustees’ deferred compensation | 7,360 | |||||||
Other | 1,540 | 297,172 | ||||||
Net assets at June 30, 2015 | $ | 75,335,093 | ||||||
Net assets consist of: | ||||||||
Capital paid in on shares of beneficial interest | $ | 49,463,436 | ||||||
Undistributed net investment income | 368,881 | |||||||
Undistributed net realized gain | 3,260,356 | |||||||
Net unrealized appreciation | 22,242,420 | |||||||
Net assets at June 30, 2015 | $ | 75,335,093 |
See Notes to Financial Statements
8 | The Investment Company of America |
(dollars and shares in thousands, except per-share amounts)
Shares of beneficial interest issued and outstanding (no stated par value) —
unlimited shares authorized (2,046,368 total shares outstanding)
Net assets | Shares outstanding | Net asset value per share | ||||||||||
Class A | $ | 57,860,767 | 1,570,896 | $ | 36.83 | |||||||
Class B | 219,160 | 5,966 | 36.74 | |||||||||
Class C | 1,738,118 | 47,587 | 36.52 | |||||||||
Class F-1 | 2,564,413 | 69,759 | 36.76 | |||||||||
Class F-2 | 1,904,654 | 51,730 | 36.82 | |||||||||
Class 529-A | 2,245,535 | 61,081 | 36.76 | |||||||||
Class 529-B | 35,986 | 979 | 36.76 | |||||||||
Class 529-C | 507,633 | 13,851 | 36.65 | |||||||||
Class 529-E | 82,407 | 2,248 | 36.67 | |||||||||
Class 529-F-1 | 62,969 | 1,714 | 36.74 | |||||||||
Class R-1 | 90,614 | 2,476 | 36.60 | |||||||||
Class R-2 | 705,247 | 19,249 | 36.64 | |||||||||
Class R-2E | 28 | 1 | 36.82 | |||||||||
Class R-3 | 922,476 | 25,118 | 36.73 | |||||||||
Class R-4 | 1,013,955 | 27,587 | 36.76 | |||||||||
Class R-5 | 771,275 | 20,946 | 36.82 | |||||||||
Class R-6 | 4,609,856 | 125,180 | 36.83 |
See Notes to Financial Statements
The Investment Company of America | 9 |
Statement of operations | unaudited | |||||||
for the six months ended June 30, 2015 | (dollars in thousands) | |||||||
Investment income: | ||||||||
Income: | ||||||||
Dividends (net of non-U.S. taxes of $14,309; also includes $19,957 from affiliates) | $ | 878,690 | ||||||
Interest | 3,580 | $ | 882,270 | |||||
Fees and expenses*: | ||||||||
Investment advisory services | 90,341 | |||||||
Distribution services | 94,454 | |||||||
Transfer agent services | 31,429 | |||||||
Administrative services | 7,221 | |||||||
Reports to shareholders | 1,647 | |||||||
Registration statement and prospectus | 1,393 | |||||||
Trustees’ compensation | 388 | |||||||
Auditing and legal | 45 | |||||||
Custodian | 1,122 | |||||||
Other | 1,449 | 229,489 | ||||||
Net investment income | 652,781 | |||||||
Net realized gain and unrealized depreciation: | ||||||||
Net realized gain (loss) on: | ||||||||
Investments (includes $19,694 net gain from affiliates) | 3,265,604 | |||||||
Currency transactions | (3,575 | ) | 3,262,029 | |||||
Net unrealized (depreciation) appreciation on: | ||||||||
Investments | (3,279,525 | ) | ||||||
Currency translations | 447 | (3,279,078 | ) | |||||
Net realized gain and unrealized depreciation | (17,049 | ) | ||||||
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations | $ | 635,732 |
* Additional information related to class-specific fees and expenses is included in the Notes to Financial Statements.
See Notes to Financial Statements
10 | The Investment Company of America |
Statements of changes in net assets
(dollars in thousands)
Six months ended June 30, 2015* | Year ended December 31, 2014 | |||||||
Operations: | ||||||||
Net investment income | $ | 652,781 | $ | 1,581,896 | ||||
Net realized gain | 3,262,029 | 7,246,568 | ||||||
Net unrealized depreciation | (3,279,078 | ) | (548,284 | ) | ||||
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations | 635,732 | 8,280,180 | ||||||
Dividends and distributions paid to shareholders: | ||||||||
Dividends from net investment income | (582,482 | ) | (1,336,966 | ) | ||||
Distributions from net realized gain on investments | (533,745 | ) | (6,231,464 | ) | ||||
Total dividends and distributions paid to shareholders | (1,116,227 | ) | (7,568,430 | ) | ||||
Net capital share transactions | 359,858 | 4,823,324 | ||||||
Total (decrease) increase in net assets | (120,637 | ) | 5,535,074 | |||||
Net assets: | ||||||||
Beginning of period | 75,455,730 | 69,920,656 | ||||||
End of period (including undistributed net investment income: $368,881 and $298,582, respectively) | $ | 75,335,093 | $ | 75,455,730 |
*Unaudited.
See Notes to Financial Statements
The Investment Company of America | 11 |
Notes to financial statements | unaudited |
1. Organization
The Investment Company of America (the “fund”) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 as an open-end, diversified management investment company. The fund seeks long-term growth of capital and income.
The fund has 17 share classes consisting of five retail share classes (Classes A, B and C, as well as two F share classes, F-1 and F-2), five 529 college savings plan share classes (Classes 529-A, 529-B, 529-C, 529-E and 529-F-1) and seven retirement plan share classes (Classes R-1, R-2, R-2E, R-3, R-4, R-5 and R-6). The 529 college savings plan share classes can be used to save for college education. The retirement plan share classes are generally offered only through eligible employer-sponsored retirement plans. The fund’s share classes are described further in the following table:
Share class | Initial sales charge | Contingent deferred sales charge upon redemption | Conversion feature | ||||
Classes A and 529-A | Up to 5.75% | None (except 1% for certain redemptions within one year of purchase without an initial sales charge) | None | ||||
Classes B and 529-B* | None | Declines from 5% to 0% for redemptions within six years of purchase | Classes B and 529-B convert to Classes A and 529-A, respectively, after eight years | ||||
Class C | None | 1% for redemptions within one year of purchase | Class C converts to Class F-1 after 10 years | ||||
Class 529-C | None | 1% for redemptions within one year of purchase | None | ||||
Class 529-E | None | None | None | ||||
Classes F-1, F-2 and 529-F-1 | None | None | None | ||||
Classes R-1, R-2, R-2E, R-3, R-4, R-5 and R-6 | None | None | None |
* | Class B and 529-B shares of the fund are not available for purchase. |
Holders of all share classes have equal pro rata rights to the assets, dividends and liquidation proceeds of the fund. Each share class has identical voting rights, except for the exclusive right to vote on matters affecting only its class. Share classes have different fees and expenses (“class-specific fees and expenses”), primarily due to different arrangements for distribution, transfer agent and administrative services. Differences in class-specific fees and expenses will result in differences in net investment income and, therefore, the payment of different per-share dividends by each share class.
2. Significant accounting policies
The fund is an investment company that applies the accounting and reporting guidance issued in Topic 946 by the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board. The fund’s financial statements have been prepared to comply with U.S. generally accepted accounting
12 | The Investment Company of America |
principles (“U.S. GAAP”). These principles require the fund’s investment adviser to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts and disclosures. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Subsequent events, if any, have been evaluated through the date of issuance in the preparation of the financial statements. The fund follows the significant accounting policies described in this section, as well as the valuation policies described in the next section on valuation.
Security transactions and related investment income — Security transactions are recorded by the fund as of the date the trades are executed with brokers. Realized gains and losses from security transactions are determined based on the specific identified cost of the securities. In the event a security is purchased with a delayed payment date, the fund will segregate liquid assets sufficient to meet its payment obligations. Dividend income is recognized on the ex-dividend date and interest income is recognized on an accrual basis. Market discounts, premiums and original issue discounts on fixed-income securities are amortized daily over the expected life of the security.
Class allocations — Income, fees and expenses (other than class-specific fees and expenses) and realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated daily among the various share classes based on their relative net assets. Class-specific fees and expenses, such as distribution, transfer agent and administrative services, are charged directly to the respective share class.
Dividends and distributions to shareholders — Dividends and distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date.
Currency translation — Assets and liabilities, including investment securities, denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates supplied by one or more pricing vendors on the valuation date. Purchases and sales of investment securities and income and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates on the dates of such transactions. The effects of changes in exchange rates on investment securities are included with the net realized gain or loss and net unrealized appreciation or depreciation on investments in the fund’s statement of operations. The realized gain or loss and unrealized appreciation or depreciation resulting from all other transactions denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars are disclosed separately.
3. Valuation
Capital Research and Management Company (“CRMC”), the fund’s investment adviser, values the fund’s investments at fair value as defined by U.S. GAAP. The net asset value of each share class of the fund is generally determined as of approximately 4:00 p.m. New York time each day the New York Stock Exchange is open.
The Investment Company of America | 13 |
Methods and inputs — The fund’s investment adviser uses the following methods and inputs to establish the fair value of the fund’s assets and liabilities. Use of particular methods and inputs may vary over time based on availability and relevance as market and economic conditions evolve.
Equity securities are generally valued at the official closing price of, or the last reported sale price on, the exchange or market on which such securities are traded, as of the close of business on the day the securities are being valued or, lacking any sales, at the last available bid price. Prices for each security are taken from the principal exchange or market on which the security trades.
Fixed-income securities, including short-term securities, are generally valued at prices obtained from one or more pricing vendors. Vendors value such securities based on one or more of the inputs described in the following table. The table provides examples of inputs that are commonly relevant for valuing particular classes of fixed-income securities in which the fund is authorized to invest. However, these classifications are not exclusive, and any of the inputs may be used to value any other class of fixed-income security.
Fixed-income class | Examples of standard inputs | |
All | Benchmark yields, transactions, bids, offers, quotations from dealers and trading systems, new issues, spreads and other relationships observed in the markets among comparable securities; and proprietary pricing models such as yield measures calculated using factors such as cash flows, financial or collateral performance and other reference data (collectively referred to as “standard inputs”) | |
Corporate bonds & notes; convertible securities | Standard inputs and underlying equity of the issuer | |
Bonds & notes of governments & government agencies | Standard inputs and interest rate volatilities | |
Mortgage-backed; asset-backed obligations | Standard inputs and cash flows, prepayment information, default rates, delinquency and loss assumptions, collateral characteristics, credit enhancements and specific deal information |
When the fund’s investment adviser deems it appropriate to do so (such as when vendor prices are unavailable or deemed to be not representative), fixed-income securities will be valued in good faith at the mean quoted bid and ask prices that are reasonably and timely available (or bid prices, if ask prices are not available) or at prices for securities of comparable maturity, quality and type.
Securities with both fixed-income and equity characteristics, or equity securities traded principally among fixed-income dealers, are generally valued in the manner described for either equity or fixed-income securities, depending on which method is deemed most appropriate by the fund’s investment adviser.
14 | The Investment Company of America |
Securities and other assets for which representative market quotations are not readily available or are considered unreliable by the fund’s investment adviser are fair valued as determined in good faith under fair valuation guidelines adopted by authority of the fund’s board of trustees as further described. The investment adviser follows fair valuation guidelines, consistent with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules and guidance, to consider relevant principles and factors when making fair value determinations. The investment adviser considers relevant indications of value that are reasonably and timely available to it in determining the fair value to be assigned to a particular security, such as the type and cost of the security; contractual or legal restrictions on resale of the security; relevant financial or business developments of the issuer; actively traded similar or related securities; conversion or exchange rights on the security; related corporate actions; significant events occurring after the close of trading in the security; and changes in overall market conditions. In addition, the closing prices of equity securities that trade in markets outside U.S. time zones may be adjusted to reflect significant events that occur after the close of local trading but before the net asset value of each share class of the fund is determined. Fair valuations and valuations of investments that are not actively trading involve judgment and may differ materially from valuations that would have been used had greater market activity occurred.
Processes and structure — The fund’s board of trustees has delegated authority to the fund’s investment adviser to make fair value determinations, subject to board oversight. The investment adviser has established a Joint Fair Valuation Committee (the “Fair Valuation Committee”) to administer, implement and oversee the fair valuation process, and to make fair value decisions. The Fair Valuation Committee regularly reviews its own fair value decisions, as well as decisions made under its standing instructions to the investment adviser’s valuation teams. The Fair Valuation Committee reviews changes in fair value measurements from period to period and may, as deemed appropriate, update the fair valuation guidelines to better reflect the results of back testing and address new or evolving issues. The Fair Valuation Committee reports any changes to the fair valuation guidelines to the board of trustees with supplemental information to support the changes. The fund’s board and audit committee also regularly review reports that describe fair value determinations and methods.
The fund’s investment adviser has also established a Fixed-Income Pricing Review Group to administer and oversee the fixed-income valuation process, including the use of fixed-income pricing vendors. This group regularly reviews pricing vendor information and market data. Pricing decisions, processes and controls over security valuation are also subject to additional internal reviews, including an annual control self-evaluation program facilitated by the investment adviser’s compliance group.
Classifications — The fund’s investment adviser classifies the fund’s assets and liabilities into three levels based on the inputs used to value the assets or liabilities. Level 1 values are based on quoted prices in active markets for identical securities. Level 2 values are based on significant observable market inputs, such as quoted prices for similar securities and quoted prices in inactive markets. Certain securities trading outside the U.S. may transfer between Level 1 and Level 2 due to valuation adjustments resulting from
The Investment Company of America | 15 |
significant market movements following the close of local trading. Level 3 values are based on significant unobservable inputs that reflect the investment adviser’s determination of assumptions that market participants might reasonably use in valuing the securities. The valuation levels are not necessarily an indication of the risk or liquidity associated with the underlying investment. For example, U.S. government securities are reflected as Level 2 because the inputs used to determine fair value may not always be quoted prices in an active market. The following table presents the fund’s valuation levels as of June 30, 2015 (dollars in thousands):
Investment securities | ||||||||||||||||
Level 1* | Level 2 | Level 3 | Total | |||||||||||||
Assets: | ||||||||||||||||
Common stocks: | ||||||||||||||||
Energy | $ | 6,667,513 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 6,667,513 | ||||||||
Materials | 3,123,261 | — | — | 3,123,261 | ||||||||||||
Industrials | 8,305,015 | — | — | 8,305,015 | ||||||||||||
Consumer discretionary | 7,092,521 | — | — | 7,092,521 | ||||||||||||
Consumer staples | 6,866,249 | — | — | 6,866,249 | ||||||||||||
Health care | 13,510,537 | — | — | 13,510,537 | ||||||||||||
Financials | 4,726,101 | — | — | 4,726,101 | ||||||||||||
Information technology | 11,776,469 | — | — | 11,776,469 | ||||||||||||
Telecommunication services | 3,945,408 | — | — | 3,945,408 | ||||||||||||
Utilities | 2,191,294 | — | — | 2,191,294 | ||||||||||||
Miscellaneous | 3,567,657 | — | — | 3,567,657 | ||||||||||||
Bonds, notes & other debt instruments | — | 4,021 | — | 4,021 | ||||||||||||
Short-term securities | — | 3,465,694 | — | 3,465,694 | ||||||||||||
Total | $ | 71,772,025 | $ | 3,469,715 | $ | — | $ | 75,241,740 |
* | Securities with a value of $5,031,190,000, which represented 6.68% of the net assets of the fund, transferred from Level 2 to Level 1 since the prior fiscal year-end, primarily due to a lack of significant market movements following the close of local trading. |
4. Risk factors
Investing in the fund may involve certain risks including, but not limited to, those described below.
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 or governmental agency responses to economic conditions; and currency exchange, interest rate and commodity price fluctuations.
16 | The Investment Company of America |
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 and strategic initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions or dispositions and the market response to any such initiatives.
Investing in income-oriented stocks — 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.
Investing outside the U.S. — Securities of issuers domiciled outside the U.S., or with significant operations or revenues outside the U.S., may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments (including social instability, regional conflicts, terrorism and war) in the countries or regions in which the issuers operate or generate revenue. These securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Issuers of these securities may be more susceptible to actions of foreign governments such as the imposition of price controls or punitive taxes, that could adversely impact revenues. Securities markets in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the U.S. Investments outside the U.S. may also be subject to different accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and reporting standards and practices, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the U.S. In addition, the value of investments outside the U.S. may be reduced by foreign taxes, including foreign withholding taxes on interest and dividends. Further, there may be increased risks of delayed settlement of securities purchased or sold by the fund. The risks of investing outside the U.S. may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.
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 employed by the investment adviser in this process 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.
5. Taxation and distributions
Federal income taxation — The fund complies with the requirements under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to mutual funds and intends to distribute substantially all of its net taxable income and net capital gains each year. The fund is not subject to income taxes to the extent such distributions are made. Therefore, no federal income tax provision is required.
The Investment Company of America | 17 |
As of and during the period ended June 30, 2015, the fund did not have a liability for any unrecognized tax benefits. The fund recognizes interest and penalties, if any, related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense in the statement of operations. During the period, the fund did not incur any interest or penalties.
The fund is not subject to examination by U.S. federal tax authorities for tax years before 2011 and by state tax authorities for tax years before 2010.
Non-U.S. taxation — Dividend and interest income are recorded net of non-U.S. taxes paid.
Distributions — Distributions paid to shareholders are based on net investment income and net realized gains determined on a tax basis, which may differ from net investment income and net realized gains for financial reporting purposes. These differences are due primarily to different treatment for items such as currency gains and losses; short-term capital gains and losses; cost of investments sold; and income on certain investments. The fiscal year in which amounts are distributed may differ from the year in which the net investment income and net realized gains are recorded by the fund for financial reporting purposes.
The components of distributable earnings on a tax basis are reported as of the fund’s most recent year-end. As of December 31, 2014, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis were as follows (dollars in thousands):
Undistributed ordinary income | $ | 307,116 | ||
Undistributed long-term capital gains | 532,130 |
As of June 30, 2015, the tax basis unrealized appreciation (depreciation) and cost of investment securities were as follows (dollars in thousands):
Gross unrealized appreciation on investment securities | $ | 24,292,811 | ||
Gross unrealized depreciation on investment securities | (2,051,625 | ) | ||
Net unrealized appreciation on investment securities | 22,241,186 | |||
Cost of investment securities | 53,000,554 |
18 | The Investment Company of America |
The tax character of distributions paid to shareholders was as follows (dollars in thousands):
Six months ended June 30, 2015 | Year ended December 31, 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Share class | Ordinary income | Long-term capital gains | Total dividends and distributions paid | Ordinary income | Long-term capital gains | Total dividends and distributions paid | ||||||||||||||||||
Class A | $ | 454,892 | $ | 411,161 | $ | 866,053 | $ | 1,058,744 | $ | 4,835,143 | $ | 5,893,887 | ||||||||||||
Class B | 881 | 1,856 | 2,737 | 3,566 | 25,504 | 29,070 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class C | 6,720 | 12,519 | 19,239 | 18,486 | 147,247 | 165,733 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class F-1 | 19,129 | 18,084 | 37,213 | 43,711 | 208,522 | 252,233 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class F-2 | 16,308 | 12,976 | 29,284 | 31,823 | 148,398 | 180,221 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-A | 16,441 | 15,826 | 32,267 | 37,776 | 183,803 | 221,579 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-B | 117 | 294 | 411 | 482 | 3,990 | 4,472 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-C | 1,770 | 3,610 | 5,380 | 4,892 | 41,998 | 46,890 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-E | 504 | 584 | 1,088 | 1,213 | 6,800 | 8,013 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-F-1 | 529 | 442 | 971 | 1,099 | 4,941 | 6,040 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class R-1 | 347 | 674 | 1,021 | 968 | 7,735 | 8,703 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class R-2 | 2,905 | 5,096 | 8,001 | 7,656 | 59,808 | 67,464 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class R-2E* | — | † | — | † | — | † | — | † | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
Class R-3 | 5,620 | 6,684 | 12,304 | 13,698 | 77,606 | 91,304 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class R-4 | 7,752 | 7,270 | 15,022 | 17,366 | 82,279 | 99,645 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class R-5 | 7,352 | 5,763 | 13,115 | 16,450 | 67,108 | 83,558 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class R-6 | 41,215 | 30,906 | 72,121 | 79,036 | 330,580 | 409,616 | ||||||||||||||||||
Total | $ | 582,482 | $ | 533,745 | $ | 1,116,227 | $ | 1,336,966 | $ | 6,231,464 | $ | 7,568,430 |
* | Class R-2E shares were offered beginning August 29, 2014. |
† | Amount less than one thousand. |
6. Fees and transactions with related parties
CRMC, the fund’s investment adviser, is the parent company of American Funds Distributors,® Inc. (“AFD”), the principal underwriter of the fund’s shares, and American Funds Service Company® (“AFS”), the fund’s transfer agent. CRMC, AFD and AFS are considered related parties to the fund.
Investment advisory services — The fund has an investment advisory and service agreement with CRMC that provides for monthly fees accrued daily. These fees are based on a series of decreasing annual rates beginning with 0.390% on the first $1 billion of daily net assets and decreasing to 0.219% on such assets in excess of $89 billion. For the six months ended June 30, 2015, the investment advisory services fee was $90,341,000, which was equivalent to an annualized rate of 0.238% of average daily net assets.
The Investment Company of America | 19 |
Class-specific fees and expenses — Expenses that are specific to individual share classes are accrued directly to the respective share class. The principal class-specific fees and expenses are further described below:
Distribution services — The fund has plans of distribution for all share classes, except Class F-2, R-5 and R-6 shares. Under the plans, the board of trustees approves certain categories of expenses that are used to finance activities primarily intended to sell fund shares and service existing accounts. The plans provide for payments, based on an annualized percentage of average daily net assets, ranging from 0.25% to 1.00% as noted in this section. In some cases, the board of trustees has limited the amounts that may be paid to less than the maximum allowed by the plans. All share classes with a plan may use up to 0.25% of average daily net assets to pay service fees, or to compensate AFD for paying service fees, to firms that have entered into agreements with AFD to provide certain shareholder services. The remaining amounts available to be paid under each plan are paid to dealers to compensate them for their sales activities.
For Class A and 529-A shares, distribution-related expenses include the reimbursement of dealer and wholesaler commissions paid by AFD for certain shares sold without a sales charge. These share classes reimburse AFD for amounts billed within the prior 15 months but only to the extent that the overall annual expense limit of 0.25% is not exceeded. As of June 30, 2015, there were no unreimbursed expenses subject to reimbursement for Class A or 529-A shares.
Share class | Currently approved limits | Plan limits | ||||||
Class A | 0.25 | % | 0.25 | % | ||||
Class 529-A | 0.25 | 0.50 | ||||||
Classes B and 529-B | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||||||
Classes C, 529-C and R-1 | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||||||
Class R-2 | 0.75 | 1.00 | ||||||
Class R-2E | 0.60 | 0.85 | ||||||
Classes 529-E and R-3 | 0.50 | 0.75 | ||||||
Classes F-1, 529-F-1 and R-4 | 0.25 | 0.50 |
Transfer agent services — The fund has a shareholder services agreement with AFS under which the fund compensates AFS for providing transfer agent services to each of the fund’s share classes. These services include recordkeeping, shareholder communications and transaction processing. In addition, the fund reimburses AFS for amounts paid to third parties for performing transfer agent services on behalf of fund shareholders.
Administrative services — The fund has an administrative services agreement with CRMC under which the fund compensates CRMC for providing administrative services to Class A, C, F, 529 and R shares. These services include, but are not limited to, coordinating, monitoring, assisting and overseeing third parties that provide
20 | The Investment Company of America |
services to fund shareholders. Under the agreement, Class A shares pay an annual fee of 0.01% and Class C, F, 529 and R shares pay an annual fee of 0.05% of their respective average daily net assets.
529 plan services — Each 529 share class is subject to service fees to compensate the Virginia College Savings Plan (“Virginia529”) for its oversight and administration of the 529 college savings plan. The quarterly fee is based on a series of decreasing annual rates beginning with 0.10% on the first $30 billion of the net assets invested in Class 529 shares of the American Funds and decreasing to 0.05% on such assets in excess of $70 billion. The fee for any given calendar quarter is accrued and calculated on the basis of the average net assets of Class 529 shares of the American Funds for the last month of the prior calendar quarter. The fee is included in other expenses in the fund’s statement of operations. Virginia529 is not considered a related party to the fund.
For the six months ended June 30, 2015, class-specific expenses under the agreements were as follows (dollars in thousands):
Share class | Distribution services | Transfer agent services | Administrative services | 529 plan services | ||||||||||
Class A | $68,845 | $24,774 | $ | 2,930 | Not applicable | |||||||||
Class B | 1,296 | 111 | Not applicable | Not applicable | ||||||||||
Class C | 8,816 | 746 | 443 | Not applicable | ||||||||||
Class F-1 | 3,204 | 1,412 | 642 | Not applicable | ||||||||||
Class F-2 | Not applicable | 1,004 | 462 | Not applicable | ||||||||||
Class 529-A | 2,555 | 767 | 564 | $1,000 | ||||||||||
Class 529-B | 206 | 16 | 10 | 18 | ||||||||||
Class 529-C | 2,533 | 186 | 128 | 227 | ||||||||||
Class 529-E | 207 | 17 | 21 | 37 | ||||||||||
Class 529-F-1 | — | 22 | 16 | 28 | ||||||||||
Class R-1 | 472 | 45 | 24 | Not applicable | ||||||||||
Class R-2 | 2,681 | 1,014 | 180 | Not applicable | ||||||||||
Class R-2E | — | * | — | * | — | * | Not applicable | |||||||
Class R-3 | 2,354 | 681 | 236 | Not applicable | ||||||||||
Class R-4 | 1,285 | 452 | 258 | Not applicable | ||||||||||
Class R-5 | Not applicable | 177 | 205 | Not applicable | ||||||||||
Class R-6 | Not applicable | 5 | 1,102 | Not applicable | ||||||||||
Total class-specific expenses | $94,454 | $31,429 | $7,221 | $1,310 |
* | Amount less than one thousand. |
Trustees’ deferred compensation — Trustees who are unaffiliated with CRMC may elect to defer the cash payment of part or all of their compensation. These deferred amounts, which remain as liabilities of the fund, are treated as if invested in shares of the fund or other American Funds. These amounts represent general, unsecured liabilities of the fund and vary according to the total returns of the selected funds. Trustees’ compensation of $388,000 in the fund’s statement of operations includes $201,000 in current fees (either paid in cash or deferred) and a net increase of $187,000 in the value of the deferred amounts.
The Investment Company of America | 21 |
Affiliated officers and trustees — Officers and certain trustees of the fund are or may be considered to be affiliated with CRMC, AFD and AFS. No affiliated officers or trustees received any compensation directly from the fund.
7. Warrants
As of June 30, 2015, the fund had warrants outstanding which may be exercised at any time for the purchase of 818,231 Class A shares at approximately $5.24 per share. If these warrants had been exercised as of June 30, 2015, the net asset value of each share class would have been reduced by less than $0.02 per share. No warrants were exercised during the six months ended June 30, 2015, or during the prior fiscal year ended December 31, 2014.
8. Capital share transactions
Capital share transactions in the fund were as follows (dollars and shares in thousands):
Sales1 | Reinvestments of dividends and distributions | Repurchases1 | Net (decrease) increase | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Share class | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Six months ended June 30, 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class A | $ | 1,798,913 | 48,087 | $ | 840,700 | 22,846 | $ | (2,842,978 | ) | (75,860 | ) | $ | (203,365 | ) | (4,927 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Class B | 1,830 | 49 | 2,722 | 75 | (92,722 | ) | (2,493 | ) | (88,170 | ) | (2,369 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class C | 178,342 | 4,810 | 18,982 | 522 | (221,801 | ) | (5,983 | ) | (24,477 | ) | (651 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class F-1 | 262,034 | 7,019 | 36,512 | 994 | (235,464 | ) | (6,300 | ) | 63,082 | 1,713 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class F-2 | 302,471 | 8,077 | 24,432 | 664 | (170,142 | ) | (4,536 | ) | 156,761 | 4,205 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-A | 105,569 | 2,829 | 32,260 | 878 | (111,600 | ) | (2,988 | ) | 26,229 | 719 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-B | 527 | 14 | 411 | 11 | (13,107 | ) | (352 | ) | (12,169 | ) | (327 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-C | 24,413 | 656 | 5,377 | 147 | (27,099 | ) | (728 | ) | 2,691 | 75 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-E | 3,784 | 102 | 1,088 | 30 | (4,416 | ) | (119 | ) | 456 | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-F-1 | 6,692 | 180 | 970 | 26 | (5,656 | ) | (152 | ) | 2,006 | 54 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-1 | 7,824 | 210 | 1,019 | 28 | (11,308 | ) | (303 | ) | (2,465 | ) | (65 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-2 | 77,639 | 2,088 | 7,995 | 219 | (97,985 | ) | (2,633 | ) | (12,351 | ) | (326 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-2E | 13 | — | 2 | — | 2 | — | 2 | (10 | ) | — | 2 | 3 | — | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class R-3 | 98,230 | 2,637 | 12,297 | 336 | (118,173 | ) | (3,164 | ) | (7,646 | ) | (191 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-4 | 117,846 | 3,174 | 15,016 | 409 | (110,879 | ) | (2,966 | ) | 21,983 | 617 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-5 | 59,987 | 1,607 | 13,104 | 356 | (116,926 | ) | (3,141 | ) | (43,835 | ) | (1,178 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-6 | 662,267 | 17,784 | 72,122 | 1,958 | (253,264 | ) | (6,784 | ) | 481,125 | 12,958 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Total net increase (decrease) | $ | 3,708,381 | 99,323 | $ | 1,085,007 | 29,499 | $ | (4,433,530 | ) | (118,502 | ) | $ | 359,858 | 10,320 |
22 | The Investment Company of America |
Sales1 | Reinvestments of dividends and distributions | Repurchases1 | Net increase (decrease) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Share class | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Year ended December 31, 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class A | $ | 3,263,761 | 84,516 | $ | 5,720,607 | 152,396 | $ | (6,185,028 | ) | (160,753 | ) | $ | 2,799,340 | 76,159 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class B | 5,051 | 131 | 28,895 | 773 | (197,048 | ) | (5,174 | ) | (163,102 | ) | (4,270 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class C | 287,635 | 7,503 | 163,114 | 4,388 | (486,900 | ) | (12,816 | ) | (36,151 | ) | (925 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class F-1 | 619,565 | 16,154 | 247,499 | 6,608 | (747,253 | ) | (19,313 | ) | 119,811 | 3,449 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class F-2 | 771,196 | 19,780 | 143,257 | 3,816 | (240,922 | ) | (6,232 | ) | 673,531 | 17,364 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-A | 201,751 | 5,250 | 221,486 | 5,913 | (240,042 | ) | (6,221 | ) | 183,195 | 4,942 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-B | 1,075 | 28 | 4,472 | 119 | (28,794 | ) | (753 | ) | (23,247 | ) | (606 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-C | 48,579 | 1,264 | 46,873 | 1,257 | (62,850 | ) | (1,636 | ) | 32,602 | 885 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-E | 7,048 | 183 | 8,010 | 215 | (10,696 | ) | (278 | ) | 4,362 | 120 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-F-1 | 13,709 | 352 | 6,038 | 161 | (9,096 | ) | (236 | ) | 10,651 | 277 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-1 | 16,242 | 422 | 8,691 | 233 | (18,965 | ) | (492 | ) | 5,968 | 163 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-2 | 135,815 | 3,544 | 67,402 | 1,808 | (187,138 | ) | (4,894 | ) | 16,079 | 458 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-2E3 | 26 | 1 | 1 | — | 2 | — | — | 27 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-3 | 184,997 | 4,812 | 91,232 | 2,439 | (261,582 | ) | (6,844 | ) | 14,647 | 407 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-4 | 210,201 | 5,462 | 99,605 | 2,660 | (231,203 | ) | (5,980 | ) | 78,603 | 2,142 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-5 | 155,679 | 3,975 | 83,478 | 2,224 | (280,612 | ) | (7,349 | ) | (41,455 | ) | (1,150 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-6 | 1,106,012 | 28,925 | 409,615 | 10,909 | (367,164 | ) | (9,521 | ) | 1,148,463 | 30,313 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Total net increase (decrease) | $ | 7,028,342 | 182,302 | $ | 7,350,275 | 195,919 | $ | (9,555,293 | ) | (248,492 | ) | $ | 4,823,324 | 129,729 |
1 | Includes exchanges between share classes of the fund. |
2 | Amount less than one thousand. |
3 | Class R-2E shares were offered beginning August 29, 2014. |
9. Investment transactions
The fund made purchases and sales of investment securities, excluding short-term securities and U.S. government obligations, if any, of $12,761,563,000 and $10,721,804,000, respectively, during the six months ended June 30, 2015.
The Investment Company of America | 23 |
Financial highlights
Income (loss) from investment operations1 | ||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period | Net investment income2 | Net (losses) gains on securities (both realized and unrealized) | Total from investment operations | |||||||||||||
Class A: | ||||||||||||||||
Six months ended 6/30/20155,6 | $ | 37.08 | $ | .32 | $ | (.02 | ) | $ | .30 | |||||||
Year ended 12/31/2014 | 36.70 | .85 | 3.60 | 4.45 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2013 | 30.16 | .61 | 9.07 | 9.68 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2012 | 27.09 | .60 | 3.61 | 4.21 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2011 | 28.16 | .57 | (1.06 | ) | (.49 | ) | ||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2010 | 25.95 | .55 | 2.22 | 2.77 | ||||||||||||
Class B: | ||||||||||||||||
Six months ended 6/30/20155,6 | 36.97 | .18 | (.02 | ) | .16 | |||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2014 | 36.58 | .58 | 3.56 | 4.14 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2013 | 30.06 | .34 | 9.04 | 9.38 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2012 | 26.99 | .37 | 3.60 | 3.97 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2011 | 28.05 | .35 | (1.06 | ) | (.71 | ) | ||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2010 | 25.84 | .35 | 2.21 | 2.56 | ||||||||||||
Class C: | ||||||||||||||||
Six months ended 6/30/20155,6 | 36.77 | .17 | (.02 | ) | .15 | |||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2014 | 36.42 | .54 | 3.56 | 4.10 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2013 | 29.95 | .33 | 9.00 | 9.33 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2012 | 26.90 | .36 | 3.59 | 3.95 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2011 | 27.97 | .34 | (1.06 | ) | (.72 | ) | ||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2010 | 25.78 | .34 | 2.20 | 2.54 | ||||||||||||
Class F-1: | ||||||||||||||||
Six months ended 6/30/20155,6 | 37.01 | .31 | (.02 | ) | .29 | |||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2014 | 36.63 | .82 | 3.59 | 4.41 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2013 | 30.11 | .58 | 9.06 | 9.64 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2012 | 27.04 | .58 | 3.62 | 4.20 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2011 | 28.12 | .56 | (1.07 | ) | (.51 | ) | ||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2010 | 25.92 | .54 | 2.21 | 2.75 | ||||||||||||
Class F-2: | ||||||||||||||||
Six months ended 6/30/20155,6 | 37.07 | .36 | (.03 | ) | .33 | |||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2014 | 36.69 | .90 | 3.62 | 4.52 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2013 | 30.15 | .68 | 9.07 | 9.75 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2012 | 27.08 | .67 | 3.61 | 4.28 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2011 | 28.15 | .63 | (1.06 | ) | (.43 | ) | ||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2010 | 25.95 | .61 | 2.21 | 2.82 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-A: | ||||||||||||||||
Six months ended 6/30/20155,6 | 37.01 | .30 | (.02 | ) | .28 | |||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2014 | 36.64 | .81 | 3.58 | 4.39 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2013 | 30.11 | .57 | 9.07 | 9.64 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2012 | 27.05 | .57 | 3.60 | 4.17 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2011 | 28.12 | .55 | (1.06 | ) | (.51 | ) | ||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2010 | 25.92 | .53 | 2.22 | 2.75 |
24 | The Investment Company of America |
Dividends and distributions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dividends (from net investment income) | Distributions (from capital gains) | Total dividends and distributions | Net asset value, end of period | Total return3,4 | Net assets, end of period (in millions) | Ratio of expenses to average net assets | Ratio of net income to average net assets2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
$ | (.29 | ) | $ | (.26 | ) | $ | (.55 | ) | $ | 36.83 | .82 | % | $ | 57,861 | .58 | %7 | 1.74 | %7 | ||||||||||||
(.73 | ) | (3.34 | ) | (4.07 | ) | 37.08 | 12.09 | 58,430 | .59 | 2.21 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.63 | ) | (2.51 | ) | (3.14 | ) | 36.70 | 32.42 | 55,032 | .61 | 1.76 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.72 | ) | (.42 | ) | (1.14 | ) | 30.16 | 15.60 | 44,501 | .62 | 2.02 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.58 | ) | — | (.58 | ) | 27.09 | (1.76 | ) | 42,643 | .61 | 2.05 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.56 | ) | — | (.56 | ) | 28.16 | 10.86 | 48,789 | .61 | 2.12 | |||||||||||||||||||||
(.13 | ) | (.26 | ) | (.39 | ) | 36.74 | .46 | 219 | 1.33 | 7 | .96 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
(.41 | ) | (3.34 | ) | (3.75 | ) | 36.97 | 11.26 | 308 | 1.34 | 1.52 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.35 | ) | (2.51 | ) | (2.86 | ) | 36.58 | 31.42 | 461 | 1.37 | 1.00 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.48 | ) | (.42 | ) | (.90 | ) | 30.06 | 14.74 | 552 | 1.38 | 1.25 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.35 | ) | — | (.35 | ) | 26.99 | (2.53 | ) | 838 | 1.38 | 1.27 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.35 | ) | — | (.35 | ) | 28.05 | 10.03 | 1,431 | 1.38 | 1.36 | |||||||||||||||||||||
(.14 | ) | (.26 | ) | (.40 | ) | 36.52 | .42 | 1,738 | 1.38 | 7 | .94 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
(.41 | ) | (3.34 | ) | (3.75 | ) | 36.77 | 11.20 | 1,774 | 1.39 | 1.41 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.35 | ) | (2.51 | ) | (2.86 | ) | 36.42 | 31.36 | 1,791 | 1.41 | .95 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.48 | ) | (.42 | ) | (.90 | ) | 29.95 | 14.70 | 1,620 | 1.43 | 1.21 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.35 | ) | — | (.35 | ) | 26.90 | (2.58 | ) | 1,767 | 1.42 | 1.24 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.35 | ) | — | (.35 | ) | 27.97 | 9.95 | 2,212 | 1.43 | 1.31 | |||||||||||||||||||||
(.28 | ) | (.26 | ) | (.54 | ) | 36.76 | .78 | 2,564 | .66 | 7 | 1.66 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
(.69 | ) | (3.34 | ) | (4.03 | ) | 37.01 | 12.02 | 2,518 | .67 | 2.13 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.61 | ) | (2.51 | ) | (3.12 | ) | 36.63 | 32.32 | 2,366 | .68 | 1.68 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.71 | ) | (.42 | ) | (1.13 | ) | 30.11 | 15.58 | 1,842 | .67 | 1.98 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.57 | ) | — | (.57 | ) | 27.04 | (1.84 | ) | 1,744 | .66 | 2.01 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.55 | ) | — | (.55 | ) | 28.12 | 10.78 | 1,558 | .66 | 2.07 | |||||||||||||||||||||
(.32 | ) | (.26 | ) | (.58 | ) | 36.82 | .91 | 1,905 | .41 | 7 | 1.92 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
(.80 | ) | (3.34 | ) | (4.14 | ) | 37.07 | 12.31 | 1,762 | .39 | 2.32 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.70 | ) | (2.51 | ) | (3.21 | ) | 36.69 | 32.69 | 1,107 | .41 | 1.96 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.79 | ) | (.42 | ) | (1.21 | ) | 30.15 | 15.86 | 770 | .40 | 2.25 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.64 | ) | — | (.64 | ) | 27.08 | (1.54 | ) | 604 | .40 | 2.27 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.62 | ) | — | (.62 | ) | 28.15 | 11.07 | 669 | .39 | 2.34 | |||||||||||||||||||||
(.27 | ) | (.26 | ) | (.53 | ) | 36.76 | .77 | 2,246 | .68 | 7 | 1.64 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
(.68 | ) | (3.34 | ) | (4.02 | ) | 37.01 | 11.97 | 2,234 | .69 | 2.10 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.60 | ) | (2.51 | ) | (3.11 | ) | 36.64 | 32.32 | 2,030 | .71 | 1.66 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.69 | ) | (.42 | ) | (1.11 | ) | 30.11 | 15.47 | 1,562 | .72 | 1.93 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.56 | ) | — | (.56 | ) | 27.05 | (1.84 | ) | 1,362 | .70 | 1.97 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.55 | ) | — | (.55 | ) | 28.12 | 10.77 | 1,362 | .68 | 2.05 |
See page 30 for footnotes.
The Investment Company of America | 25 |
Financial highlights (continued)
Income (loss) from investment operations1 | ||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period | Net investment income2 | Net (losses) gains on securities (both realized and unrealized) | Total from investment operations | |||||||||||||
Class 529-B: | ||||||||||||||||
Six months ended 6/30/20155,6 | $ | 36.99 | $ | .16 | $ | (.02 | ) | $ | .14 | |||||||
Year ended 12/31/2014 | 36.60 | .53 | 3.56 | 4.09 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2013 | 30.07 | .30 | 9.04 | 9.34 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2012 | 27.00 | .33 | 3.60 | 3.93 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2011 | 28.06 | .32 | (1.05 | ) | (.73 | ) | ||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2010 | 25.86 | .33 | 2.20 | 2.53 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-C: | ||||||||||||||||
Six months ended 6/30/20155,6 | 36.90 | .16 | (.02 | ) | .14 | |||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2014 | 36.54 | .51 | 3.58 | 4.09 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2013 | 30.04 | .30 | 9.04 | 9.34 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2012 | 26.99 | .34 | 3.59 | 3.93 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2011 | 28.06 | .33 | (1.06 | ) | (.73 | ) | ||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2010 | 25.86 | .33 | 2.21 | 2.54 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-E: | ||||||||||||||||
Six months ended 6/30/20155,6 | 36.91 | .26 | (.01 | ) | .25 | |||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2014 | 36.55 | .71 | 3.58 | 4.29 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2013 | 30.05 | .49 | 9.03 | 9.52 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2012 | 26.99 | .49 | 3.61 | 4.10 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2011 | 28.07 | .47 | (1.07 | ) | (.60 | ) | ||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2010 | 25.87 | .46 | 2.21 | 2.67 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-F-1: | ||||||||||||||||
Six months ended 6/30/20155,6 | 36.98 | .35 | (.02 | ) | .33 | |||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2014 | 36.61 | .89 | 3.59 | 4.48 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2013 | 30.09 | .65 | 9.05 | 9.70 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2012 | 27.03 | .63 | 3.61 | 4.24 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2011 | 28.10 | .61 | (1.06 | ) | (.45 | ) | ||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2010 | 25.90 | .59 | 2.21 | 2.80 | ||||||||||||
Class R-1: | ||||||||||||||||
Six months ended 6/30/20155,6 | 36.84 | .17 | (.01 | ) | .16 | |||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2014 | 36.49 | .54 | 3.56 | 4.10 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2013 | 30.01 | .33 | 9.01 | 9.34 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2012 | 26.95 | .36 | 3.60 | 3.96 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2011 | 28.02 | .35 | (1.06 | ) | (.71 | ) | ||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2010 | 25.83 | .35 | 2.20 | 2.55 | ||||||||||||
Class R-2: | ||||||||||||||||
Six months ended 6/30/20155,6 | 36.88 | .18 | (.01 | ) | .17 | |||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2014 | 36.53 | .55 | 3.56 | 4.11 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2013 | 30.03 | .34 | 9.04 | 9.38 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2012 | 26.98 | .37 | 3.59 | 3.96 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2011 | 28.05 | .35 | (1.06 | ) | (.71 | ) | ||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2010 | 25.85 | .34 | 2.21 | 2.55 |
26 | The Investment Company of America |
Dividends and distributions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dividends (from net investment income) | Distributions (from capital gains) | Total dividends and distributions | Net asset value, end of period | Total return3,4 | Net assets, end of period (in millions) | Ratio of expenses to average net assets | Ratio of net income to average net assets2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
$ | (.11 | ) | $ | (.26 | ) | $ | (.37 | ) | $ | 36.76 | .40 | % | $ | 36 | 1.46 | %7 | .84 | %7 | ||||||||||||
(.36 | ) | (3.34 | ) | (3.70 | ) | 36.99 | 11.10 | 48 | 1.47 | 1.38 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.30 | ) | (2.51 | ) | (2.81 | ) | 36.60 | 31.27 | 70 | 1.50 | .87 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.44 | ) | (.42 | ) | (.86 | ) | 30.07 | 14.58 | 81 | 1.52 | 1.12 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.33 | ) | — | (.33 | ) | 27.00 | (2.63 | ) | 111 | 1.50 | 1.16 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.33 | ) | — | (.33 | ) | 28.06 | 9.87 | 165 | 1.48 | 1.26 | |||||||||||||||||||||
(.13 | ) | (.26 | ) | (.39 | ) | 36.65 | .38 | 508 | 1.45 | 7 | .87 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
(.39 | ) | (3.34 | ) | (3.73 | ) | 36.90 | 11.13 | 509 | 1.46 | 1.33 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.33 | ) | (2.51 | ) | (2.84 | ) | 36.54 | 31.29 | 471 | 1.49 | .88 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.46 | ) | (.42 | ) | (.88 | ) | 30.04 | 14.59 | 372 | 1.50 | 1.14 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.34 | ) | — | (.34 | ) | 26.99 | (2.62 | ) | 336 | 1.49 | 1.18 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.34 | ) | — | (.34 | ) | 28.06 | 9.91 | 352 | 1.47 | 1.26 | |||||||||||||||||||||
(.23 | ) | (.26 | ) | (.49 | ) | 36.67 | .68 | 82 | .93 | 7 | 1.39 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
(.59 | ) | (3.34 | ) | (3.93 | ) | 36.91 | 11.70 | 82 | .93 | 1.86 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.51 | ) | (2.51 | ) | (3.02 | ) | 36.55 | 31.96 | 77 | .95 | 1.41 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.62 | ) | (.42 | ) | (1.04 | ) | 30.05 | 15.23 | 61 | .97 | 1.68 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.48 | ) | — | (.48 | ) | 26.99 | (2.15 | ) | 55 | .97 | 1.70 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.47 | ) | — | (.47 | ) | 28.07 | 10.46 | 57 | .97 | 1.76 | |||||||||||||||||||||
(.31 | ) | (.26 | ) | (.57 | ) | 36.74 | .89 | 63 | .46 | 7 | 1.86 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
(.77 | ) | (3.34 | ) | (4.11 | ) | 36.98 | 12.23 | 61 | .46 | 2.32 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.67 | ) | (2.51 | ) | (3.18 | ) | 36.61 | 32.59 | 51 | .49 | 1.88 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.76 | ) | (.42 | ) | (1.18 | ) | 30.09 | 15.74 | 37 | .50 | 2.15 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.62 | ) | — | (.62 | ) | 27.03 | (1.62 | ) | 31 | .49 | 2.19 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.60 | ) | — | (.60 | ) | 28.10 | 11.00 | 28 | .47 | 2.26 | |||||||||||||||||||||
(.14 | ) | (.26 | ) | (.40 | ) | 36.60 | .44 | 91 | 1.39 | 7 | .93 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
(.41 | ) | (3.34 | ) | (3.75 | ) | 36.84 | 11.19 | 94 | 1.40 | 1.40 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.35 | ) | (2.51 | ) | (2.86 | ) | 36.49 | 31.36 | 87 | 1.40 | .96 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.48 | ) | (.42 | ) | (.90 | ) | 30.01 | 14.74 | 73 | 1.41 | 1.23 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.36 | ) | — | (.36 | ) | 26.95 | (2.55 | ) | 74 | 1.41 | 1.25 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.36 | ) | — | (.36 | ) | 28.02 | 9.96 | 78 | 1.41 | 1.32 | |||||||||||||||||||||
(.15 | ) | (.26 | ) | (.41 | ) | 36.64 | .47 | 705 | 1.33 | 7 | .99 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
(.42 | ) | (3.34 | ) | (3.76 | ) | 36.88 | 11.20 | 722 | 1.37 | 1.43 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.37 | ) | (2.51 | ) | (2.88 | ) | 36.53 | 31.45 | 698 | 1.36 | 1.00 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.49 | ) | (.42 | ) | (.91 | ) | 30.03 | 14.70 | 584 | 1.40 | 1.25 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.36 | ) | — | (.36 | ) | 26.98 | (2.55 | ) | 577 | 1.41 | 1.25 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.35 | ) | — | (.35 | ) | 28.05 | 9.96 | 654 | 1.44 | 1.30 |
See page 30 for footnotes.
The Investment Company of America | 27 |
Financial highlights (continued)
Income (loss) from investment operations1 | ||||||||||||||||
Net (losses) | ||||||||||||||||
Net asset | gains on | |||||||||||||||
value, | Net | securities (both | Total from | |||||||||||||
beginning | investment | realized and | investment | |||||||||||||
of period | income2 | unrealized) | operations | |||||||||||||
Class R-2E: | ||||||||||||||||
Six months ended 6/30/20155,6 | $ | 37.06 | $ | .26 | $ | (.02 | ) | $ | .24 | |||||||
Period from 8/29/2014 to 12/31/20145,10 | 40.36 | .25 | .25 | .50 | ||||||||||||
Class R-3: | ||||||||||||||||
Six months ended 6/30/20155,6 | 36.97 | .26 | (.02 | ) | .24 | |||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2014 | 36.60 | .71 | 3.58 | 4.29 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2013 | 30.09 | .48 | 9.05 | 9.53 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2012 | 27.03 | .49 | 3.60 | 4.09 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2011 | 28.10 | .47 | (1.06 | ) | (.59 | ) | ||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2010 | 25.90 | .46 | 2.21 | 2.67 | ||||||||||||
Class R-4: | ||||||||||||||||
Six months ended 6/30/20155,6 | 37.00 | .31 | (.01 | ) | .30 | |||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2014 | 36.63 | .83 | �� | 3.58 | 4.41 | |||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2013 | 30.11 | .59 | 9.06 | 9.65 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2012 | 27.04 | .59 | 3.61 | 4.20 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2011 | 28.12 | .56 | (1.07 | ) | (.51 | ) | ||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2010 | 25.91 | .54 | 2.22 | 2.76 | ||||||||||||
Class R-5: | ||||||||||||||||
Six months ended 6/30/20155,6 | 37.07 | .37 | (.03 | ) | .34 | |||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2014 | 36.69 | .96 | 3.58 | 4.54 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2013 | 30.15 | .70 | 9.07 | 9.77 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2012 | 27.08 | .68 | 3.61 | 4.29 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2011 | 28.15 | .65 | (1.07 | ) | (.42 | ) | ||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2010 | 25.94 | .61 | 2.23 | 2.84 | ||||||||||||
Class R-6: | ||||||||||||||||
Six months ended 6/30/20155,6 | 37.07 | .38 | (.02 | ) | .36 | |||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2014 | 36.69 | .95 | 3.61 | 4.56 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2013 | 30.15 | .71 | 9.08 | 9.79 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2012 | 27.08 | .69 | 3.62 | 4.31 | ||||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2011 | 28.15 | .66 | (1.06 | ) | (.40 | ) | ||||||||||
Year ended 12/31/2010 | 25.95 | .63 | 2.21 | 2.84 |
Six months ended | Year ended December 31 | |||||||||||
June 30, 20154,5,6 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | |||||||
Portfolio turnover rate for all share classes | 15% | 29% | 24% | 21% | 28% | 23% |
See Notes to Financial Statements
28 | The Investment Company of America |
Dividends and distributions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dividends | Total | Ratio of | Ratio of net | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(from net | Distributions | dividends | Net asset | Net assets, | expenses | income | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
investment | (from capital | and | value, end | Total | end of period | to average | to average | |||||||||||||||||||||||
income) | gains) | distributions | of period | return3,4 | (in millions) | net assets | net assets2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
$ | (.22 | ) | $ | (.26 | ) | $ | (.48 | ) | $ | 36.82 | .66 | %8 | $ | — | 9 | .90% | 7,8 | 1.39 | %7,8 | |||||||||||
(.46 | ) | (3.34 | ) | (3.80 | ) | 37.06 | 1.08 | 8 | — | 9 | .23 | 4,8 | .62 | 4,8 | ||||||||||||||||
(.22 | ) | (.26 | ) | (.48 | ) | 36.73 | .67 | 922 | .94 | 7 | 1.38 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
(.58 | ) | (3.34 | ) | (3.92 | ) | 36.97 | 11.68 | 936 | .96 | 1.83 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.51 | ) | (2.51 | ) | (3.02 | ) | 36.60 | 31.94 | 912 | .96 | 1.40 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.61 | ) | (.42 | ) | (1.03 | ) | 30.09 | 15.19 | 743 | .98 | 1.67 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.48 | ) | — | (.48 | ) | 27.03 | (2.11 | ) | 737 | .97 | 1.70 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.47 | ) | — | (.47 | ) | 28.10 | 10.45 | 827 | .97 | 1.77 | |||||||||||||||||||||
(.28 | ) | (.26 | ) | (.54 | ) | 36.76 | .82 | 1,014 | .64 | 7 | 1.68 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
(.70 | ) | (3.34 | ) | (4.04 | ) | 37.00 | 12.02 | 998 | .65 | 2.15 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.62 | ) | (2.51 | ) | (3.13 | ) | 36.63 | 32.37 | 909 | .65 | 1.72 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.71 | ) | (.42 | ) | (1.13 | ) | 30.11 | 15.60 | 705 | .65 | 2.00 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.57 | ) | — | (.57 | ) | 27.04 | (1.83 | ) | 660 | .65 | 2.02 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.55 | ) | — | (.55 | ) | 28.12 | 10.82 | 681 | .65 | 2.08 | |||||||||||||||||||||
(.33 | ) | (.26 | ) | (.59 | ) | 36.82 | .94 | 771 | .34 | 7 | 1.97 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
(.82 | ) | (3.34 | ) | (4.16 | ) | 37.07 | 12.36 | 820 | .35 | 2.50 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.72 | ) | (2.51 | ) | (3.23 | ) | 36.69 | 32.77 | 854 | .35 | 2.02 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.80 | ) | (.42 | ) | (1.22 | ) | 30.15 | 15.92 | 697 | .35 | 2.28 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.65 | ) | — | (.65 | ) | 27.08 | (1.50 | ) | 761 | .35 | 2.31 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.63 | ) | — | (.63 | ) | 28.15 | 11.14 | 895 | .35 | 2.33 | |||||||||||||||||||||
(.34 | ) | (.26 | ) | (.60 | ) | 36.83 | .99 | 4,610 | .30 | 7 | 2.03 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
(.84 | ) | (3.34 | ) | (4.18 | ) | 37.07 | 12.41 | 4,160 | .30 | 2.45 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.74 | ) | (2.51 | ) | (3.25 | ) | 36.69 | 32.84 | 3,005 | .30 | 2.07 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.82 | ) | (.42 | ) | (1.24 | ) | 30.15 | 15.98 | 2,995 | .30 | 2.34 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.67 | ) | — | (.67 | ) | 27.08 | (1.45 | ) | 2,456 | .30 | 2.37 | ||||||||||||||||||||
(.64 | ) | — | (.64 | ) | 28.15 | 11.16 | 2,330 | .30 | 2.45 |
See page 30 for footnotes.
The Investment Company of America | 29 |
Financial highlights (continued)
1 | Based on average shares outstanding. |
2 | For the year ended December 31, 2014, this column reflects the impact of a corporate action event that resulted in a one-time increase to net investment income. If the corporate action event had not occurred, the Class A net investment income per share and ratio of net income to average net assets would have been lower by $.20 and .52 percentage points, respectively. The impact to the other share classes would have been similar. |
3 | Total returns exclude any applicable sales charges, including contingent deferred sales charges. |
4 | Not annualized. |
5 | Based on operations for the period shown and, accordingly, is not representative of a full year. |
6 | Unaudited. |
7 | Annualized. |
8 | Although the fund has a plan of distribution for Class R-2E shares, fees for distribution services are not paid by the fund on accounts for which a broker-dealer (or other financial intermediary) has not been assigned, including amounts invested in the fund by CRMC and/or its affiliates. If fees for distribution services were charged on these assets, fund expenses would be higher and net income and total return would be lower. |
9 | Amount less than $1 million. |
10 | Class R-2E shares were offered beginning August 29, 2014. |
30 | The Investment Company of America |
Expense example | unaudited |
As a fund shareholder, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, such as initial sales charges on purchase payments and contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions (loads), and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees, distribution and service (12b-1) fees, and other expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the fund so you can compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds. The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire six-month period (January 1, 2015, through June 30, 2015).
Actual expenses:
The first line of each share class in the table on the following page provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses paid during period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.
Hypothetical example for comparison purposes:
The second line of each share class in the table on the following page provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the actual expense ratio for the share class and an assumed rate of return of 5.00% per year before expenses, which is not the actual return of the share class. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5.00% hypothetical example with the 5.00% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.
Notes:
Retirement plan participants may be subject to certain fees charged by the plan sponsor, and Class F-1, F-2 and 529-F-1 shareholders may be subject to fees charged by financial intermediaries, typically ranging from 0.75% to 1.50% of assets annually depending on services offered. You can estimate the impact of these fees by adding the amount of the fees to the total estimated expenses you paid on your account during the period as calculated above. In addition, your ending account value would be lower by the amount of these fees.
Note that the expenses shown in the table on the following page are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads). Therefore, the second line of each share class in the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.
The Investment Company of America | 31 |
Beginning account value 1/1/2015 | Ending account value 6/30/2015 | Expenses paid during period* | Annualized expense ratio | |||||||||||||
Class A — actual return | $ | 1,000.00 | $ | 1,008.22 | $ | 2.89 | .58 | % | ||||||||
Class A — assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,021.92 | 2.91 | .58 | ||||||||||||
Class B — actual return | 1,000.00 | 1,004.58 | 6.61 | 1.33 | ||||||||||||
Class B — assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,018.20 | 6.66 | 1.33 | ||||||||||||
Class C — actual return | 1,000.00 | 1,004.19 | 6.86 | 1.38 | ||||||||||||
Class C — assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,017.95 | 6.90 | 1.38 | ||||||||||||
Class F-1 — actual return | 1,000.00 | 1,007.85 | 3.29 | .66 | ||||||||||||
Class F-1 — assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,021.52 | 3.31 | .66 | ||||||||||||
Class F-2 — actual return | 1,000.00 | 1,009.13 | 2.04 | .41 | ||||||||||||
Class F-2 — assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,022.76 | 2.06 | .41 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-A — actual return | 1,000.00 | 1,007.74 | 3.39 | .68 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-A — assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,021.42 | 3.41 | .68 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-B — actual return | 1,000.00 | 1,003.95 | 7.25 | 1.46 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-B — assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,017.55 | 7.30 | 1.46 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-C — actual return | 1,000.00 | 1,003.84 | 7.20 | 1.45 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-C — assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,017.60 | 7.25 | 1.45 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-E — actual return | 1,000.00 | 1,006.77 | 4.63 | .93 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-E — assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,020.18 | 4.66 | .93 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-F-1 — actual return | 1,000.00 | 1,008.86 | 2.29 | .46 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-F-1 — assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,022.51 | 2.31 | .46 | ||||||||||||
Class R-1 — actual return | 1,000.00 | 1,004.38 | 6.91 | 1.39 | ||||||||||||
Class R-1 — assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,017.90 | 6.95 | 1.39 | ||||||||||||
Class R-2 — actual return | 1,000.00 | 1,004.74 | 6.61 | 1.33 | ||||||||||||
Class R-2 — assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,018.20 | 6.66 | 1.33 | ||||||||||||
Class R-2E — actual return | 1,000.00 | 1,006.62 | 4.48 | .90 | ||||||||||||
Class R-2E — assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,020.33 | 4.51 | .90 | ||||||||||||
Class R-3 — actual return | 1,000.00 | 1,006.66 | 4.68 | .94 | ||||||||||||
Class R-3 — assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,020.13 | 4.71 | .94 | ||||||||||||
Class R-4 — actual return | 1,000.00 | 1,008.22 | 3.19 | .64 | ||||||||||||
Class R-4 — assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,021.62 | 3.21 | .64 | ||||||||||||
Class R-5 — actual return | 1,000.00 | 1,009.38 | 1.69 | .34 | ||||||||||||
Class R-5 — assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,023.11 | 1.71 | .34 | ||||||||||||
Class R-6 — actual return | 1,000.00 | 1,009.88 | 1.50 | .30 | ||||||||||||
Class R-6 — assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,023.31 | 1.51 | .30 |
* | The “expenses paid during period” are equal to the “annualized expense ratio,” multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the period, and divided by 365 (to reflect the one-half year period). |
32 | The Investment Company of America |
Approval of Investment Advisory and Service Agreement
The Investment Company of America’s board has approved the fund’s Investment Advisory and Service Agreement (the “agreement”) with Capital Research and Management Company (“CRMC”) through April 30, 2016. The board approved the agreement following the recommendation of the fund’s Contracts Committee (the “committee”), which is composed of all of the fund’s independent board members. The board and the committee determined that the fund’s advisory fee structure was fair and reasonable in relation to the services provided and that approving the agreement was in the best interests of the fund and its shareholders.
In reaching this decision, the board and the committee took into account information furnished to them throughout the year and otherwise provided to them, as well as information prepared specifically in connection with their review of the agreement, and were advised by their independent counsel. They considered the following factors, among others, but did not identify any single issue or particular piece of information that, in isolation, was the controlling factor, and each board and committee member did not necessarily attribute the same weight to each factor.
1. Nature, extent and quality of services
The board and the committee considered the depth and quality of CRMC’s investment management process, including its global research capabilities; the experience, capability and integrity of its senior management and other personnel; the low turnover rates of its key personnel; the overall financial strength and stability of CRMC and the Capital Group organization; and the ongoing evolution of CRMC’s organizational structure designed to maintain and strengthen these qualities. The board and the committee also considered the nature, extent and quality of administrative, compliance and shareholder services provided by CRMC to the fund under the agreement and other agreement, as well as the benefits to fund shareholders from investing in a fund that is part of a large family of funds. The board and the committee concluded that the nature, extent and quality of the services provided by CRMC have benefited and should continue to benefit the fund and its shareholders.
2. Investment results
The board and the committee considered the investment results of the fund in light of its objectives of achieving long-term growth of capital and income. They compared the fund’s investment results with those of other relevant funds (including funds that form the basis of the Lipper index for the category in which the fund is included), and data such as relevant market and fund indexes, over various periods through September 30, 2014. This report, including the letter to shareholders and related
The Investment Company of America | 33 |
disclosures, contains certain information about the fund’s investment results. The board and the committee reviewed the fund’s investment results measured against various indexes, including the Lipper Growth & Income Funds Index, the Lipper Large-Cap Core Funds Index and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Index. They noted that the investment results of the fund generally compared favorably to those of these indexes for the 20-year, 10-year, five-year and year-to-date period. The board and the committee concluded that the fund’s investment results have been satisfactory for renewal of the agreement and that CRMC’s record in managing the fund indicated that its continued management should benefit the fund and its shareholders.
3. Advisory fees and total expenses
The board and the committee compared the advisory fees and total expense levels of the fund to those of other relevant funds. They observed that the fund’s advisory fees and expenses generally compared favorably to those of other similar funds included in the Lipper Growth & Income Funds category. The board and the committee also considered the breakpoint discounts in the fund’s advisory fee structure that reduce the level of fees charged by CRMC to the fund as fund assets increase. In addition, they reviewed information regarding the effective advisory fees charged to non-mutual fund clients by CRMC and its affiliates. They noted that, to the extent there were differences between the advisory fees paid by the fund and the advisory fees paid by those clients, the differences appropriately reflected the investment, operational and regulatory differences between advising the fund and the other clients. The board and the committee concluded that the fund’s cost structure was fair and reasonable in relation to the services provided, and that the fund’s shareholders receive reasonable value in return for the advisory fees and other amounts paid to CRMC by the fund.
4. Ancillary benefits
The board and the committee considered a variety of other benefits that CRMC and its affiliates receive as a result of CRMC’s relationship with the fund and the other American Funds, including fees for administrative services provided to certain share classes; fees paid to CRMC’s affiliates transfer agent; sales charges and distribution fees received and retained by the fund’s principal underwriter, an affiliate of CRMC; and possible ancillary benefits to CRMC and its institutional management affiliates in managing other investment vehicles. The board and the committee reviewed CRMC’s portfolio trading practices, noting the potential benefits CRMC received from the research obtained with commissions from portfolio transactions made on behalf of the fund. The board and the committee took these ancillary benefits into account in evaluating the reasonableness of the advisory fees and other amounts paid to CRMC by the fund.
34 | The Investment Company of America |
5. Adviser financial information
The board and the committee reviewed information regarding CRMC’s costs of providing services to the American Funds, including personnel, systems and resources of investment, compliance, trading, accounting and other administrative operations. They considered CRMC’s costs and related cost allocation methodology as well as its willingness to invest in technology, infrastructure and staff to maintain and expand services and capabilities, respond to industry and regulatory developments, and attract and retain qualified personnel. They noted information regarding the compensation structure for CRMC’s investment professionals. The board and the committee also compared CRMC’s profitability and compensation data to the reported results and data of several large, publicly held investment management companies. The board and the committee noted the competitiveness and cyclicality of both the mutual fund industry and the capital markets, and the importance in that environment of CRMC’s long-term profitability for maintaining its independence, company culture and management continuity. They further considered the breakpoint discounts in the fund’s advisory fee structure. The board and the committee concluded that the fund’s advisory fee structure reflected a reasonable sharing of between CRMC and the fund’s shareholders.
The Investment Company of America | 35 |
Offices of the fund and of the investment adviser
Capital Research and Management Company
333 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071-1406
6455 Irvine Center Drive
Irvine, CA 92618-4518
Transfer agent for shareholder accounts
American Funds Service Company
(Write to the address near you.)
P.O. Box 6007
Indianapolis, IN 46206-6007
P.O. Box 2280
Norfolk, VA 23501-2280
Custodian of assets
JPMorgan Chase Bank
270 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017-2070
Counsel
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
400 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071-2899
Independent registered public accounting firm
Deloitte & Touche LLP
695 Town Center Drive
Suite 1200
Costa Mesa, CA 92626-7188
Principal underwriter
American Funds Distributors, Inc.
333 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071-1406
36 | The Investment Company of America |
Investors should carefully consider investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other important information is contained in the fund prospectus and summary prospectus, which can be obtained from your financial professional and should be read carefully before investing. You may also call American Funds Service Company (AFS) at (800) 421-4225 or visit the American Funds website at americanfunds.com.
“American Funds Proxy Voting Procedures and Principles” — which describes how we vote proxies relating to portfolio securities — is available on the American Funds website or upon request by calling AFS. The fund files its proxy voting record with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the 12 months ended June 30 by August 31. The proxy voting record is available free of charge on the SEC website at sec.gov and on the American Funds website.
A complete June 30, 2015, portfolio of The Investment Company of America’s investments is available free of charge by calling AFS or visiting the SEC website (where it is part of Form N-CSR).
The Investment Company of America files a complete list of its portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. This filing is available free of charge on the SEC website. You may also review or, for a fee, copy this filing at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Additional information regarding the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy at (800). SEC 0330. Additionally, the list of portfolio holdings is available by calling AFS.
This report is for the information of shareholders of The Investment Company of America, but it also may be used as sales literature when preceded or accompanied by the current prospectus or summary prospectus, which gives details about charges, expenses, investment objectives and operating policies of the fund. If used as sales material after September 30, 2015, this report must be accompanied by an American Funds statistical update for the most recently completed calendar quarter.
The American Funds Advantage
Since 1931, American Funds, part of Capital Group, has helped investors pursue long-term investment success. Our consistent approach — in combination with The Capital SystemSM — has resulted in a superior long-term track record.
Aligned with investor success
We base our decisions on a long-term perspective, which we believe aligns our goals with the interests of our clients. Our portfolio managers average 27 years of investment experience, including 22 years at our company, reflecting a career commitment to our long-term approach.1
The Capital SystemSM
Our investment process, The Capital System, combines individual accountability with team-work. Each fund is divided into portions that are managed independently by investment professionals with diverse backgrounds, ages and investment approaches. An extensive global research effort is the backbone of our system.
Superior long-term track record
Our equity funds have beaten their Lipper peer indexes in 91% of 10-year periods and 96% of 20-year periods. Our fixed-income funds have beaten their Lipper indexes in 54% of 10-year periods and 57% of 20-year periods.2 Our fund management fees have been among the lowest in the industry.3
1 | Portfolio manager experience as of December 31, 2014. | |
2 | Based on Class A share results for rolling periods through December 31, 2014. Periods covered are the shorter of the fund’s lifetime or since the comparable Lipper index inception date (except SMALLCAP World Fund, for which the Lipper average was used). | |
3 | On average, our management fees were in the lowest quintile 70% of the time, based on the 20-year period ended December 31, 2014, versus comparable Lipper categories, excluding funds of funds. |
ITEM 2 – Code of Ethics
Not applicable for filing of semi-annual reports to shareholders.
ITEM 3 – Audit Committee Financial Expert
Not applicable for filing of semi-annual reports to shareholders.
ITEM 4 – Principal Accountant Fees and Services
Not applicable for filing of semi-annual reports to shareholders.
ITEM 5 – Audit Committee of Listed Registrants
Not applicable to this Registrant, insofar as the Registrant is not a listed issuer as defined in Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
ITEM 6 – Schedule of Investments
![](https://capedge.com/proxy/N-CSRS/0000051931-15-000759/img9bf04ac51.jpg)
Common stocks 95.27% Energy 8.85% | Shares | Value (000) |
Apache Corp. | 2,150,000 | $123,905 |
Baker Hughes Inc. | 3,077,250 | 189,866 |
BG Group PLC | 8,680,000 | 144,499 |
BP PLC | 110,680,000 | 730,666 |
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. | 16,494,000 | 520,221 |
Canadian Natural Resources, Ltd. | 21,890,000 | 594,132 |
Chesapeake Energy Corp.1 | 36,000,000 | 402,120 |
Chevron Corp. | 1,163,657 | 112,258 |
ConocoPhillips | 6,500,000 | 399,165 |
Eni SpA | 14,657,000 | 260,138 |
EOG Resources, Inc. | 4,547,200 | 398,107 |
Exxon Mobil Corp. | 2,507,835 | 208,652 |
Halliburton Co. | 3,659,576 | 157,618 |
Kinder Morgan, Inc. | 11,200,000 | 429,968 |
Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Class A (ADR) | 8,699,700 | 495,970 |
Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Class B | 9,250,000 | 262,631 |
Schlumberger Ltd. | 4,437,999 | 382,511 |
Southwestern Energy Co.2 | 18,850,000 | 428,461 |
Spectra Energy Corp | 5,550,000 | 180,930 |
Suncor Energy Inc. | 8,920,746 | 245,695 |
6,667,513 | ||
Materials 4.15% | ||
Barrick Gold Corp. | 1,725,000 | 18,388 |
Dow Chemical Co. | 11,675,000 | 597,410 |
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. | 9,590,000 | 178,566 |
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. | 2,629,853 | 287,417 |
Monsanto Co. | 6,327,354 | 674,433 |
Newmont Mining Corp. | 1,375,000 | 32,120 |
Praxair, Inc. | 5,545,625 | 662,979 |
Rio Tinto PLC | 8,062,000 | 331,126 |
Vale SA, Class A, preferred nominative | 8,370,660 | 41,946 |
Vale SA, Class A, preferred nominative (ADR) | 26,940,000 | 136,047 |
Vale SA, ordinary nominative (ADR) | 27,645,000 | 162,829 |
3,123,261 | ||
Industrials 11.02% | ||
Boeing Co. | 500,000 | 69,360 |
Caterpillar Inc. | 1,989,000 | 168,707 |
CSX Corp. | 24,015,771 | 784,115 |
Cummins Inc. | 5,410,000 | 709,738 |
Danaher Corp. | 3,500,000 | 299,565 |
Emerson Electric Co. | 1,800,000 | 99,774 |
General Dynamics Corp. | 9,669,200 | 1,370,029 |
General Electric Co. | 29,165,000 | 774,914 |
Illinois Tool Works Inc. | 6,400,000 | 587,456 |
Lockheed Martin Corp. | 1,250,000 | 232,375 |
Common stocks Industrials (continued) | Shares | Value (000) |
Nielsen NV | 6,967,000 | $311,913 |
Norfolk Southern Corp. | 7,501,246 | 655,309 |
Precision Castparts Corp. | 3,062,581 | 612,118 |
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. | 8,804,900 | 153,469 |
Rockwell Automation | 175,000 | 21,812 |
Union Pacific Corp. | 6,875,800 | 655,745 |
United Parcel Service, Inc., Class B | 700,000 | 67,837 |
United Technologies Corp. | 3,871,852 | 429,504 |
Waste Management, Inc. | 6,500,000 | 301,275 |
8,305,015 | ||
Consumer discretionary 9.42% | ||
Amazon.com, Inc.2 | 2,488,000 | 1,080,016 |
Comcast Corp., Class A | 8,496,517 | 510,980 |
Comcast Corp., Class A, special nonvoting shares | 3,000,000 | 179,820 |
DIRECTV2 | 1,026,604 | 95,259 |
Ford Motor Co. | 6,000,000 | 90,060 |
General Motors Co. | 18,428,309 | 614,215 |
Hasbro, Inc. | 5,451,282 | 407,701 |
Home Depot, Inc. | 9,925,000 | 1,102,965 |
Johnson Controls, Inc. | 12,505,917 | 619,418 |
Las Vegas Sands Corp. | 16,191,000 | 851,161 |
NIKE, Inc., Class B | 1,400,200 | 151,250 |
Ralph Lauren Corp., Class A | 1,439,684 | 190,557 |
Time Warner Inc. | 6,957,932 | 608,193 |
Toyota Motor Corp. | 4,090,000 | 274,137 |
Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., Class A | 2,559,715 | 83,306 |
Wynn Resorts, Ltd. | 2,366,300 | 233,483 |
7,092,521 | ||
Consumer staples 9.11% | ||
Altria Group, Inc. | 26,801,911 | 1,310,881 |
Anheuser-Busch InBev NV | 557,497 | 66,814 |
Coca-Cola Co. | 15,744,600 | 617,661 |
ConAgra Foods, Inc. | 11,323,073 | 495,045 |
General Mills, Inc. | 3,920,000 | 218,422 |
J. M. Smucker Co. | 600,000 | 65,046 |
Kellogg Co. | 1,000,000 | 62,700 |
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. | 6,124,722 | 521,459 |
Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. | 5,559,045 | 501,537 |
Mondelez International, Inc. | 9,875,000 | 406,257 |
PepsiCo, Inc. | 4,420,000 | 412,563 |
Philip Morris International Inc. | 18,930,019 | 1,517,620 |
Procter & Gamble Co. | 3,665,000 | 286,750 |
Reynolds American Inc. | 3,933,332 | 293,663 |
SABMiller PLC | 1,730,380 | 89,831 |
6,866,249 | ||
Health care 17.93% | ||
Abbott Laboratories | 6,635,000 | 325,646 |
AbbVie Inc. | 25,964,000 | 1,744,521 |
Aetna Inc. | 1,160,000 | 147,854 |
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.2 | 3,207,000 | 579,729 |
Amgen Inc. | 22,327,472 | 3,427,713 |
Bayer AG | 1,781,500 | 249,355 |
Common stocks Health care (continued) | Shares | Value (000) |
Express Scripts Holding Co.2 | 2,340,000 | $208,120 |
Gilead Sciences, Inc. | 27,493,100 | 3,218,892 |
Humana Inc. | 1,563,000 | 298,971 |
Johnson & Johnson | 600,000 | 58,476 |
Medtronic PLC | 9,465,000 | 701,356 |
Merck & Co., Inc. | 2,800,000 | 159,404 |
Novartis AG | 3,945,000 | 388,825 |
Pfizer Inc. | 4,275,000 | 143,341 |
St. Jude Medical, Inc. | 5,769,354 | 421,567 |
Stryker Corp. | 5,527,725 | 528,285 |
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. | 1,282,000 | 166,352 |
UnitedHealth Group Inc. | 6,083,032 | 742,130 |
13,510,537 | ||
Financials 6.27% | ||
American International Group, Inc. | 13,370,000 | 826,533 |
Barclays PLC | 74,333,027 | 304,253 |
BB&T Corp. | 4,730,000 | 190,666 |
Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Class B2 | 1,335,000 | 181,707 |
Charles Schwab Corp. | 5,667,602 | 185,047 |
Citigroup Inc. | 4,950,000 | 273,438 |
CME Group Inc., Class A | 1,500,000 | 139,590 |
Credit Suisse Group AG | 6,739,421 | 185,254 |
Crown Castle International Corp. | 4,006,200 | 321,698 |
HSBC Holdings PLC (ADR) | 1,529,416 | 68,533 |
HSBC Holdings PLC (GBP denominated) | 4,869,240 | 43,617 |
HSBC Holdings PLC (HKD denominated) | 15,000,000 | 135,747 |
JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 2,350,000 | 159,236 |
Prudential PLC | 2,000,000 | 48,159 |
Société Générale | 4,044,877 | 188,810 |
State Street Corp. | 4,759,600 | 366,489 |
U.S. Bancorp | 17,407,020 | 755,465 |
UBS Group AG | 9,165,000 | 194,387 |
Wells Fargo & Co. | 2,800,000 | 157,472 |
4,726,101 | ||
Information technology 15.63% | ||
Accenture PLC, Class A | 10,246,460 | 991,652 |
Adobe Systems Inc.2 | 1,527,484 | 123,741 |
Apple Inc. | 6,387,489 | 801,151 |
ASML Holding NV | 2,718,773 | 280,976 |
Automatic Data Processing, Inc. | 2,393,758 | 192,051 |
Avago Technologies Ltd. | 3,200,000 | 425,376 |
Cisco Systems, Inc. | 7,180,045 | 197,164 |
Google Inc., Class A2 | 1,626,980 | 878,634 |
Google Inc., Class C2 | 1,903,491 | 990,786 |
Hewlett-Packard Co. | 6,700,000 | 201,067 |
Intel Corp. | 26,150,000 | 795,352 |
International Business Machines Corp. | 800,000 | 130,128 |
Intuit Inc. | 1,662,562 | 167,536 |
KLA-Tencor Corp. | 6,276,900 | 352,825 |
Microsoft Corp. | 13,653,400 | 602,798 |
Motorola Solutions, Inc. | 2,042,396 | 117,111 |
Nintendo Co., Ltd. | 470,000 | 78,612 |
Oracle Corp. | 41,932,300 | 1,689,872 |
Common stocks Information technology (continued) | Shares | Value (000) |
salesforce.com, inc.2 | 3,895,000 | $271,209 |
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 258,000 | 293,284 |
Texas Instruments Inc. | 28,525,773 | 1,469,363 |
Western Union Co.1 | 35,700,000 | 725,781 |
11,776,469 | ||
Telecommunication services 5.24% | ||
AT&T Inc. | 23,493,000 | 834,472 |
CenturyLink, Inc. | 15,237,480 | 447,677 |
SoftBank Corp. | 3,717,000 | 218,947 |
Verizon Communications Inc. | 52,441,795 | 2,444,312 |
3,945,408 | ||
Utilities 2.91% | ||
Dominion Resources, Inc. | 9,523,824 | 636,858 |
Exelon Corp. | 35,316,000 | 1,109,629 |
NextEra Energy, Inc. | 300,000 | 29,409 |
NRG Energy, Inc. | 10,674,458 | 244,232 |
Sempra Energy | 1,730,000 | 171,166 |
2,191,294 | ||
Miscellaneous 4.74% | ||
Other common stocks in initial period of acquisition | 3,567,657 | |
Total common stocks (cost: $49,530,227,000) | 71,772,025 | |
Bonds, notes & other debt instruments 0.01% U.S. Treasury bonds & notes 0.01% U.S. Treasury 0.01% | Principal amount (000) | |
U.S. Treasury 4.25% 2015 | $4,000 | 4,021 |
Total bonds, notes & other debt instruments (cost: $4,019,000) | 4,021 | |
Short-term securities 4.60% | ||
Abbott Laboratories 0.13% due 8/10/20153 | 54,700 | 54,695 |
Caterpillar Financial Services Corp. 0.11% due 7/13/2015 | 35,100 | 35,099 |
Chariot Funding, LLC 0.32% due 11/18/20153 | 50,000 | 49,929 |
Coca-Cola Co. 0.11%–0.21% due 7/13/2015–7/22/20153 | 170,000 | 169,993 |
Emerson Electric Co. 0.12% due 9/4/20153 | 50,000 | 49,987 |
ExxonMobil Corp. 0.11% due 9/22/2015 | 40,000 | 39,982 |
Fannie Mae 0.15%–0.23% due 8/17/2015–3/1/2016 | 567,100 | 566,863 |
Federal Farm Credit Banks 0.11%–0.28% due 7/2/2015–4/20/2016 | 337,200 | 337,098 |
Federal Home Loan Bank 0.06%–0.20% due 7/10/2015–1/22/2016 | 1,293,900 | 1,293,742 |
Freddie Mac 0.11%–0.21% due 7/9/2015–1/5/2016 | 340,700 | 340,592 |
General Electric Capital Corp. 0.17%–0.27% due 9/22/2015–11/23/2015 | 140,000 | 139,933 |
John Deere Capital Corp. 0.12%–0.13% due 7/10/2015–8/11/20153 | 41,100 | 41,096 |
Jupiter Securitization Co., LLC 0.25%–0.39% due 8/14/2015–12/7/20153 | 78,700 | 78,606 |
Microsoft Corp. 0.11% due 8/19/20153 | 50,000 | 49,994 |
Qualcomm Inc. 0.12% due 7/15/20153 | 38,100 | 38,098 |
United Technologies Corp. 0.13% due 8/31/20153 | 30,000 | 29,990 |
Short-term securities | Principal amount (000) | Value (000) |
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 0.10% due 7/31/20153 | $100,000 | $99,993 |
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. 0.27% due 8/7/2015 | 50,000 | 50,004 |
Total short-term securities (cost: $3,465,057,000) | 3,465,694 | |
Total investment securities 99.88% (cost: $52,999,303,000) | 75,241,740 | |
Other assets less liabilities 0.12% | 93,353 | |
Net assets 100.00% | $75,335,093 |
1 | Represents an affiliated company as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940. |
2 | Security did not produce income during the last 12 months. |
3 | Acquired in a transaction exempt from registration under Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933. May be resold in the U.S. in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. The total value of all such securities was $662,381,000, which represented .88% of the net assets of the fund. |
Key to abbreviations |
ADR = American Depositary Receipts |
GBP = British pounds |
HKD = Hong Kong dollars |
MFGEFPX-004-0815O-S49234 | The Investment Company of America — Page 5 of 5 |
ITEM 7 – Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies
Not applicable to this Registrant, insofar as the Registrant is not a closed-end management investment company.
ITEM 8 – Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies
Not applicable to this Registrant, insofar as the Registrant is not a closed-end management investment company.
ITEM 9 – Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers
Not applicable to this Registrant, insofar as the Registrant is not a closed-end management investment company.
ITEM 10 – Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
There have been no material changes to the procedures by which shareholders may recommend nominees to the Registrant’s board of trustees since the Registrant last submitted a proxy statement to its shareholders. The procedures are as follows. The Registrant has a nominating and governance committee comprised solely of persons who are not considered ‘‘interested persons’’ of the Registrant within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. The committee periodically reviews such issues as the board’s composition, responsibilities, committees, compensation and other relevant issues, and recommends any appropriate changes to the full board of trustees. While the committee normally is able to identify from its own resources an ample number of qualified candidates, it will consider shareholder suggestions of persons to be considered as nominees to fill future vacancies on the board. Such suggestions must be sent in writing to the nominating and governance committee of the Registrant, c/o the Registrant’s Secretary, and must be accompanied by complete biographical and occupational data on the prospective nominee, along with a written consent of the prospective nominee for consideration of his or her name by the nominating and governance committee.
ITEM 11 – Controls and Procedures
(a) | The Registrant’s Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer have concluded, based on their evaluation of the Registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 30a-3 under the Investment Company Act of 1940), that such controls and procedures are adequate and reasonably designed to achieve the purposes described in paragraph (c) of such rule. |
(b) | There were no changes in the Registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) that occurred during the Registrant’s second fiscal quarter of the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
ITEM 12 – Exhibits
(a)(1) | Not applicable for filing of semi-annual reports to shareholders. |
(a)(2) | The certifications required by Rule 30a-2 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 and Sections 302 and 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are attached as exhibits hereto. |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
THE INVESTMENT COMPANY OF AMERICA | |
By /s/ James B. Lovelace | |
James B. Lovelace, Vice Chairman and Principal Executive Officer | |
Date: August 31, 2015 |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
By /s/ James B. Lovelace |
James B. Lovelace, Vice Chairman and Principal Executive Officer |
Date: August 31, 2015 |
By /s/ Brian D. Bullard |
Brian D. Bullard, Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer |
Date: August 31, 2015 |