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: 811-02333
New Perspective Fund
(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: September 30
Date of reporting period: March 31, 2019
Brian C. Janssen
New Perspective Fund
333 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, California 90071
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)
ITEM 1 – Reports to Stockholders
New Perspective Fund®
Semi-annual report |
Tap into the growth
potential of global
equities.
Beginning January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, we intend to no longer mail paper copies of the fund’s shareholder reports, unless specifically requested from American Funds or your financial intermediary, such as a broker-dealer or bank. Instead, the reports will be made available on the American Funds website (americanfunds.com); you will be notified by mail and provided with a website link to access the report each time a report is posted. If you have already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and do not need to take any action. If you prefer to receive shareholder reports and other communications electronically, you may update your mailing preferences with your financial intermediary, or enroll in e-delivery at americanfunds.com (for accounts held directly with the fund).
You may elect to receive paper copies of all future reports free of charge. If you invest through a financial intermediary, you may contact your financial intermediary to request that you continue to receive paper copies of your shareholder reports. If you invest directly with the fund, you may inform American Funds that you wish to continue receiving paper copies of your shareholder reports by contacting us at (800) 421-4225. Your election to receive paper reports will apply to all funds held with American Funds or through your financial intermediary.
New Perspective Fund seeks to provide you with long-term growth of capital. Future income is a secondary objective.
This fund is one of more than 40 offered by Capital Group, home of American Funds, one of the nation’s largest mutual fund families. For more than 85 years, Capital Group 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. 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 March 31, 2019 (the most recent calendar quarter-end):
Class A shares | 1 year | 5 years | 10 years |
Reflecting 5.75% maximum sales charge | –1.03% | 7.56% | 13.04% |
For other share class results, visit americanfunds.com and americanfundsretirement.com.
The total annual fund operating expense ratio was 0.75% for Class A shares as of the prospectus dated December 1, 2018 (as supplemented to date).
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.
Investing outside the United States may be subject to risks, such as currency fluctuations, periods of illiquidity and price volatility. These risks may be heightened in connection with investments in developing countries. 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.
Investments are not FDIC-insured, nor are they deposits of or guaranteed by a bank or any other entity, so they may lose value.
Fellow investors:
In a highly volatile period for global equity markets, New Perspective Fund declined in value on an absolute basis while exceeding all of its benchmarks.
For the six months ended March 31, 2019, the fund fell 1.16% for shareholders who reinvested a dividend of 45 cents a share and a capital gain of $2.41 a share paid in December 2018. This result surpassed the 2.13% decline recorded by the fund’s primary benchmark, the MSCI ACWI (All Country World Index), which measures returns for equity markets in more than 40 developed and emerging markets countries.
In addition, New Perspective Fund outpaced its peers as reflected by the Lipper Global Funds Index, which dropped 3.06%, and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Index, which lost 1.72%. As shown in the table below, the fund’s results compare favorably to its benchmark and peer group over longer time frames as well.
Sharp swings in global markets
World equity markets fell in the fourth quarter of 2018, pressured by rising interest rates, slowing global economic growth and deteriorating relations between the U.S. and China. In contrast, stocks rebounded in the first quarter of 2019 amid indications
Results at a glance
For periods ended March 31, 2019, with all distributions reinvested
Cumulative total returns | Average annual total returns | |||||||||||||||||||
6 months | 1 year | 5 years | 10 years | Lifetime (since 3/13/73) | ||||||||||||||||
New Perspective Fund (Class A shares) | –1.16 | % | 5.01 | % | 8.84 | % | 13.71 | % | 12.16 | % | ||||||||||
MSCI ACWI (All Country World Index)1,2,3 | –2.13 | 2.60 | 6.45 | 11.98 | 8.59 | |||||||||||||||
Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Index4 | –1.72 | 9.50 | 10.91 | 15.92 | 10.44 | |||||||||||||||
Lipper Global Funds Index | –3.06 | 0.57 | 5.81 | 11.29 | — | 5 |
1 | The market index is unmanaged and, therefore, has no expenses. Investors cannot invest directly in an index. Source: MSCI. |
2 | Results reflect dividends net of withholding taxes. |
3 | From March 13, 1973, through December 31, 1987, the MSCI World Index was used because the MSCI ACWI did not exist. MSCI World Index results reflect dividends net of withholding taxes, and MSCI ACWI results reflect dividends gross of withholding taxes through December 31, 2000, and dividends net of withholding taxes thereafter. |
4 | The Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Index is a market capitalization-weighted index based on the results of approximately 500 widely held common stocks. The market index is unmanaged and, therefore, has no expenses. Investors cannot invest directly in an index. Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. |
5 | The Lipper Global Funds Index began operations on December 31, 1983. Lipper indexes track the largest mutual funds (no more than 30), represented by one share class per fund, in the corresponding Lipper category. Source: Thomson Reuters Lipper. |
New Perspective Fund | 1 |
that the U.S. Federal Reserve would place its rate-hiking plans on hold and progress in U.S.-China trade negotiations. By the end of the six-month period, stocks had regained much of the losses suffered in the fourth quarter despite ongoing worries about the state of the economy.
The U.S. economy continued to show signs of strength, particularly in the labor market, while pronounced slowdowns in China and Europe kept investors on edge. China’s economic growth declined to a nearly 30-year low amid weakness in several key areas, including the housing market and export activity. European growth also disappointed as a brewing trade war and political uncertainty clouded the outlook for the eurozone. A strong U.S. dollar weighed on corporate earnings of multinational companies as the euro and many emerging markets currencies declined.
Sector results mixed
Defensive areas of the market generally outpaced more cyclical sectors, underscored by a rally among utilities and real estate companies. The trend was particularly acute in the fourth quarter when shares of companies with solid dividends and steady cash flows were in high demand. In the U.S. bond market, rising short-term interest rates and a partial inversion of the yield curve prompted worries about the potential end of a decade-long economic expansion. Meanwhile, the U.S. economy grew by 2.9% in 2018, the highest annual growth rate since 2015.
Cyclicals fell across the board, marked by a rapid decline in energy stocks. Oil prices plummeted in the fourth quarter, punishing shares of major integrated oil and exploration companies. Financial stocks declined more than the overall market, pressured by the slowing economy. Technology and consumer-tech firms also experienced big drops in share prices, but many of them staged an impressive comeback in the first quarter.
Inside the portfolio
Select investments in the information technology sector produced solid returns for the fund. Chipmaker Broadcom was among the top contributors, rallying on better-than-expected earnings amid a slowdown in chip demand. Shares of ServiceNow also moved higher on robust profit growth from its subscription-based, workflow-management software business. Elsewhere in the sector, AAC Technologies declined as sluggish smartphone sales hurt companies in the Apple iPhone supply chain.
A number of health care holdings contributed meaningfully to results. Overall, the sector rallied on attractive valuations, rising M&A activity and investor optimism for innovative new drugs. Incyte shares soared amid persistent acquisition talk as potential suitors eyed the biotech firm’s attractive pipeline of cancer drugs. On the other hand, shares of Biogen declined sharply following the company’s decision to discontinue research on a once-promising Alzheimer’s treatment.
2 | New Perspective Fund |
Certain investments in the communication services sector declined. Nintendo shares fell amid investor concerns about the growing competitive threat of free-to-play internet streaming games. The fund’s managers continue to view Nintendo as an attractive, long-term investment primarily because of its valuable intellectual property — including iconic names such as Mario Bros., Donkey Kong and the Legend of Zelda.
Across all sectors, the fund remains focused on companies that have potentially long growth runways. This continues to be expressed through large positions in technology, communication services and consumer-orientated companies, which account for a substantial share of the portfolio. While income is a consideration in the management of New Perspective Fund, its primary investment objective remains long-term growth of capital. To articulate a clearer expression of our investment approach, we will remove the references to the fund’s secondary objective of future income from the fund’s investment objective effective December 1, 2019. The fund’s board of trustees has approved this change in the fund’s objective.
Looking ahead
Despite signs of a decelerating global economy, we remain optimistic about world equity markets going forward and, specifically, the companies we have selected through the lens of the NPF investment approach. Well-managed multinationals continue to demonstrate their resilience in an environment of shifting global trade patterns. Even with markets falling precipitously in the fourth quarter of 2018, our view was that the fundamentals had not changed significantly for many of our portfolio holdings. As a result, we saw the market decline as a buying opportunity.
From a macroeconomic perspective, the climate remains supportive for growth-oriented investors. Relatively low inflation and accommodative monetary policies are combining to provide a favorable tailwind in markets around the world. More importantly, we believe our extensive research capabilities and intense focus on fundamental analysis help us to separate winners from losers in an evolving investment landscape.
We thank you for your commitment to the fund, and we look forward to reporting to you again in six months.
Sincerely,
Joanna F. Jonsson | Robert W. Lovelace |
Co-President | Co-President |
May 9, 2019
For current information about the fund, visit americanfunds.com.
New Perspective Fund | 3 |
Summary investment portfolioMarch 31, 2019 | unaudited |
Industry sector diversification | Percent of net assets |
Country diversification by domicile | Percent of net assets | |||
United States | 52.02 | % | ||
Eurozone* | 11.94 | |||
Japan | 5.45 | |||
United Kingdom | 5.05 | |||
Taiwan | 2.92 | |||
Hong Kong | 2.65 | |||
Switzerland | 2.51 | |||
Denmark | 1.97 | |||
Canada | 1.61 | |||
Other countries | 7.82 | |||
Short-term securities & other assets less liabilities | 6.06 |
* | Countries using the euro as a common currency; those represented in the fund’s portfolio are Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. |
Common stocks 93.90% | Shares | Value (000) | ||||||
Information technology 20.72% | ||||||||
Microsoft Corp. | 16,263,100 | $ | 1,918,070 | |||||
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | 218,983,941 | 1,744,312 | ||||||
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (ADR) | 2,954,600 | 121,020 | ||||||
Mastercard Inc., Class A | 6,700,600 | 1,577,656 | ||||||
Broadcom Inc. | 5,092,600 | 1,531,396 | ||||||
Visa Inc., Class A | 7,923,000 | 1,237,493 | ||||||
ASML Holding NV | 4,109,516 | 770,767 | ||||||
ASML Holding NV (New York registered) | 2,094,770 | 393,921 | ||||||
ServiceNow, Inc.1 | 2,921,675 | 720,164 | ||||||
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 17,821,621 | 701,027 | ||||||
Intel Corp. | 11,140,200 | 598,229 | ||||||
GoDaddy Inc., Class A1 | 7,229,297 | 543,571 | ||||||
Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | 9,586,300 | 476,763 | ||||||
Other securities | 5,426,520 | |||||||
17,760,909 |
4 | New Perspective Fund |
Shares | Value (000) | |||||||
Consumer discretionary 14.29% | ||||||||
Amazon.com, Inc.1 | 1,822,932 | $ | 3,246,186 | |||||
Naspers Ltd., Class N | 4,737,322 | 1,094,026 | ||||||
Tesla, Inc.1 | 3,232,000 | 904,508 | ||||||
NIKE, Inc., Class B | 10,128,300 | 852,904 | ||||||
LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton SE | 1,886,158 | 693,770 | ||||||
Ctrip.com International, Ltd. (ADR)1 | 11,823,800 | 516,582 | ||||||
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. | 5,986,101 | 497,505 | ||||||
adidas AG | 1,949,487 | 473,669 | ||||||
Other securities | 3,965,511 | |||||||
12,244,661 | ||||||||
Health care 11.59% | ||||||||
Intuitive Surgical, Inc.1 | 2,080,000 | 1,186,806 | ||||||
Boston Scientific Corp.1 | 23,870,055 | 916,133 | ||||||
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. | 2,657,974 | 727,541 | ||||||
AstraZeneca PLC | 8,400,702 | 667,653 | ||||||
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.1 | 1,368,000 | 561,728 | ||||||
Zoetis Inc., Class A | 5,525,000 | 556,202 | ||||||
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.1 | 2,499,900 | 459,857 | ||||||
Other securities | 4,861,303 | |||||||
9,937,223 | ||||||||
Financials 10.45% | ||||||||
JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 12,741,200 | 1,289,792 | ||||||
AIA Group Ltd. | 119,438,000 | 1,189,062 | ||||||
CME Group Inc., Class A | 6,426,400 | 1,057,657 | ||||||
London Stock Exchange Group PLC | 11,282,400 | 698,148 | ||||||
Chubb Ltd. | 3,999,300 | 560,222 | ||||||
Moody’s Corp. | 2,989,700 | 541,405 | ||||||
BlackRock, Inc. | 1,113,789 | 476,000 | ||||||
Other securities | 3,146,197 | |||||||
8,958,483 | ||||||||
Communication services 8.92% | ||||||||
Facebook, Inc., Class A1 | 13,114,800 | 2,186,106 | ||||||
Alphabet Inc., Class C1 | 926,723 | 1,087,333 | ||||||
Alphabet Inc., Class A1 | 622,800 | 732,967 | ||||||
Netflix, Inc.1 | 3,341,000 | 1,191,267 | ||||||
SoftBank Group Corp. | 6,757,834 | 655,174 | ||||||
Other securities | 1,790,840 | |||||||
7,643,687 | ||||||||
Industrials 8.24% | ||||||||
Airbus SE, non-registered shares | 7,096,759 | 938,577 | ||||||
Safran SA | 5,937,126 | 814,182 | ||||||
ASSA ABLOY AB, Class B | 21,942,886 | 473,679 | ||||||
Other securities | 4,840,333 | |||||||
7,066,771 |
New Perspective Fund | 5 |
Common stocks(continued) | Shares | Value (000) | ||||||
Consumer staples 8.02% | ||||||||
Nestlé SA | 10,777,488 | $ | 1,027,149 | |||||
Pernod Ricard SA | 4,297,502 | 771,316 | ||||||
Costco Wholesale Corp. | 2,365,700 | 572,831 | ||||||
Other securities | 4,499,277 | |||||||
6,870,573 | ||||||||
Materials 5.52% | ||||||||
Vale SA, ordinary nominative (ADR) | 46,957,820 | 613,269 | ||||||
Vale SA, ordinary nominative | 7,577,155 | 98,562 | ||||||
Koninklijke DSM NV | 5,366,624 | 584,904 | ||||||
Linde PLC | 2,395,600 | 421,458 | ||||||
Linde PLC (EUR denominated) | 569,800 | 99,711 | ||||||
Other securities | 2,912,211 | |||||||
4,730,115 | ||||||||
Energy 4.21% | ||||||||
Enbridge Inc. (CAD denominated) | 15,936,052 | 577,173 | ||||||
Enbridge Inc. (CAD denominated)2 | 2,323,647 | 84,158 | ||||||
Reliance Industries Ltd. | 25,311,500 | 498,100 | ||||||
Other securities | 2,452,650 | |||||||
3,612,081 | ||||||||
Other 1.94% | ||||||||
Other securities | 1,662,721 | |||||||
Total common stocks (cost: $50,960,483,000) | 80,487,224 | |||||||
Convertible bonds 0.04% | Principal amount (000) | |||||||
Energy 0.04% | ||||||||
Other securities | 33,748 | |||||||
Total convertible bonds (cost: $41,265,000) | 33,748 | |||||||
Short-term securities 5.98% | Shares | |||||||
Money market investments 5.98% | ||||||||
Capital Group Central Cash Fund | 51,268,775 | 5,125,852 | ||||||
Total short-term securities (cost: $5,126,347,000) | 5,125,852 | |||||||
Total investment securities 99.92% (cost: $56,128,095,000) | 85,646,824 | |||||||
Other assets less liabilities 0.08% | 67,369 | |||||||
Net assets 100.00% | $ | 85,714,193 |
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.
6 | New Perspective Fund |
“Other securities” includes all issues that are not disclosed separately in the summary investment portfolio. “Other securities” includes securities which were valued under fair value procedures adopted by authority of the board of trustees. The total value of securities which were valued under fair value procedures was $204,454,000, which represented .24% of the net assets of the fund.
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 holdings in affiliated companies is included in “Other securities” under the respective industry sectors in the summary investment portfolio. Further details on these holdings and related transactions during the six months ended March 31, 2019, appear below.
Beginning shares | Additions | Reductions | Ending shares | |||||||||||||
Common stocks 0.43% | ||||||||||||||||
Information technology 0.00% | ||||||||||||||||
GoDaddy Inc., Class A1,3 | 9,948,440 | — | 2,719,143 | 7,229,297 | ||||||||||||
Health care 0.27% | ||||||||||||||||
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.1 | 2,768,288 | 628,800 | — | 3,397,088 | ||||||||||||
Industrials 0.16% | ||||||||||||||||
Aggreko PLC | 12,908,377 | 73,962 | — | 12,982,339 | ||||||||||||
Net realized gain (000) | Net unrealized depreciation (000) | Dividend income (000) | Value of affiliates at 3/31/2019 (000) | |||||||||||||
Common stocks 0.43% | ||||||||||||||||
Information technology 0.00% | ||||||||||||||||
GoDaddy Inc., Class A1,3 | $ | 53,149 | $ | (149,633 | ) | $ | — | $ | — | |||||||
Health care 0.27% | ||||||||||||||||
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.1 | — | (13,437 | ) | — | 235,622 | |||||||||||
Industrials 0.16% | ||||||||||||||||
Aggreko PLC | — | (14,400 | ) | — | 133,106 | |||||||||||
Total 0.43% | $ | 53,149 | $ | (177,470 | ) | $ | — | $ | 368,728 |
1 | Security did not produce income during the last 12 months. |
2 | 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 $84,158,000, which represented .10% of the net assets of the fund. |
3 | Unaffiliated issuer at 3/31/2019. |
Key to abbreviations
ADR = American Depositary Receipts
CAD = Canadian dollars
EUR = Euros
See notes to financial statements
New Perspective Fund | 7 |
Financial statements
Statement of assets and liabilities | unaudited | |||||||
at March 31, 2019 | (dollars in thousands) | |||||||
Assets: | ||||||||
Investment securities, at value: | ||||||||
Unaffiliated issuers (cost: $55,748,744) | $ | 85,278,096 | ||||||
Affiliated issuers (cost: $379,351) | 368,728 | $ | 85,646,824 | |||||
Cash denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars (cost: $11,393) | 11,393 | |||||||
Receivables for: | ||||||||
Sales of investments | 350,853 | |||||||
Sales of fund’s shares | 344,928 | |||||||
Dividends and interest | 141,580 | |||||||
Other | 4,940 | 842,301 | ||||||
86,500,518 | ||||||||
Liabilities: | ||||||||
Payables for: | ||||||||
Purchases of investments | 625,375 | |||||||
Repurchases of fund’s shares | 81,895 | |||||||
Investment advisory services | 26,826 | |||||||
Services provided by related parties | 16,348 | |||||||
Trustees’ deferred compensation | 5,040 | |||||||
Bank overdraft | 15,614 | |||||||
Other | 15,227 | 786,325 | ||||||
Net assets at March 31, 2019 | $ | 85,714,193 | ||||||
Net assets consist of: | ||||||||
Capital paid in on shares of beneficial interest | $ | 54,425,762 | ||||||
Total distributable earnings | 31,288,431 | |||||||
Net assets at March 31, 2019 | $ | 85,714,193 | ||||||
See notes to financial statements |
8 | New Perspective Fund |
(dollars and shares in thousands, except per-share amounts)
Shares of beneficial interest issued and outstanding (no stated par value) —
unlimited shares authorized (2,003,253 total shares outstanding)
Net assets | Shares outstanding | Net asset value per share | ||||||||||
Class A | $ | 41,908,379 | 976,651 | $ | 42.91 | |||||||
Class C | 1,453,818 | 35,388 | 41.08 | |||||||||
Class T | 11 | — | * | 42.87 | ||||||||
Class F-1 | 1,714,142 | 40,215 | 42.62 | |||||||||
Class F-2 | 9,210,400 | 215,423 | 42.76 | |||||||||
Class F-3 | 4,744,462 | 110,580 | 42.91 | |||||||||
Class 529-A | 2,149,348 | 50,735 | 42.36 | |||||||||
Class 529-C | 259,480 | 6,331 | 40.99 | |||||||||
Class 529-E | 82,991 | 1,979 | 41.93 | |||||||||
Class 529-T | 13 | — | * | 42.86 | ||||||||
Class 529-F-1 | 139,038 | 3,292 | 42.24 | |||||||||
Class R-1 | 78,783 | 1,934 | 40.73 | |||||||||
Class R-2 | 528,148 | 12,836 | 41.15 | |||||||||
Class R-2E | 63,273 | 1,499 | 42.20 | |||||||||
Class R-3 | 1,560,405 | 37,252 | 41.89 | |||||||||
Class R-4 | 1,985,760 | 46,972 | 42.28 | |||||||||
Class R-5E | 106,746 | 2,507 | 42.59 | |||||||||
Class R-5 | 1,625,849 | 37,932 | 42.86 | |||||||||
Class R-6 | 18,103,147 | 421,727 | 42.93 |
* | Amount less than one thousand. |
See notes to financial statements
New Perspective Fund | 9 |
Statement of operations | unaudited | |||||||
for the six months ended March 31, 2019 | (dollars in thousands) | |||||||
Investment income: | ||||||||
Income: | ||||||||
Dividends (net of non-U.S. taxes of $25,417) | $ | 488,522 | ||||||
Interest | 56,542 | $ | 545,064 | |||||
Fees and expenses*: | ||||||||
Investment advisory services | 149,687 | |||||||
Distribution services | 70,908 | |||||||
Transfer agent services | 30,731 | |||||||
Administrative services | 11,982 | |||||||
Reports to shareholders | 1,296 | |||||||
Registration statement and prospectus | 3,605 | |||||||
Trustees’ compensation | 111 | |||||||
Auditing and legal | 60 | |||||||
Custodian | 3,230 | |||||||
Other | 1,349 | |||||||
Total fees and expenses before reimbursements | 272,959 | |||||||
Less transfer agent services reimbursements | 21 | |||||||
Total fees and expenses after reimbursements | 272,938 | |||||||
Net investment income | 272,126 | |||||||
Net realized gain and unrealized depreciation: | ||||||||
Net realized gain (loss) on: | ||||||||
Investments: | ||||||||
Unaffiliated issuers | 1,940,706 | |||||||
Affiliated issuers | 53,149 | |||||||
Currency transactions | (2,947 | ) | 1,990,908 | |||||
Net unrealized depreciation on: | ||||||||
Investments (net of non-U.S. taxes of $8,139): | ||||||||
Unaffiliated issuers | (3,177,302 | ) | ||||||
Affiliated issuers | (177,470 | ) | ||||||
Currency translations | (694 | ) | (3,355,466 | ) | ||||
Net realized gain and unrealized depreciation | (1,364,558 | ) | ||||||
Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations | $ | (1,092,432 | ) |
* | Additional information related to class-specific fees and expenses is included in the notes to financial statements. |
See notes to financial statements
10 | New Perspective Fund |
Statements of changes in net assets | |
(dollars in thousands) |
Six months ended March 31, 2019* | Year ended September 30, 2018 | |||||||
Operations: | ||||||||
Net investment income | $ | 272,126 | $ | 727,553 | ||||
Net realized gain | 1,990,908 | 4,317,631 | ||||||
Net unrealized (depreciation) appreciation | (3,355,466 | ) | 5,097,160 | |||||
Net (decrease) increase in net assets resulting from operations | (1,092,432 | ) | 10,142,344 | |||||
Distributions paid to shareholders | (5,328,177 | ) | (4,061,443 | ) | ||||
Net capital share transactions | 6,064,293 | 6,784,839 | ||||||
Total (decrease) increase in net assets | (356,316 | ) | 12,865,740 | |||||
Net assets: | ||||||||
Beginning of period | 86,070,509 | 73,204,769 | ||||||
End of period | $ | 85,714,193 | $ | 86,070,509 |
* | Unaudited. |
See notes to financial statements
New Perspective Fund | 11 |
Notes to financial statements | unaudited |
1. Organization
New Perspective Fund (the “fund”) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 as an open-end, diversified management investment company. The fund seeks to provide long-term growth of capital. Future income is a secondary objective.
The fund has 19 share classes consisting of six retail share classes (Classes A, C, T, F-1, F-2 and F-3), five 529 college savings plan share classes (Classes 529-A, 529-C, 529-E, 529-T and 529-F-1) and eight retirement plan share classes (Classes R-1, R-2, R-2E, R-3, R-4, R-5E, 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 18 months of purchase without an initial sales charge) | None | ||||
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 | Class 529-C converts to Class 529-A after 10 years | ||||
Class 529-E | None | None | None | ||||
Classes T and 529-T* | Up to 2.50% | None | None | ||||
Classes F-1, F-2, F-3 and 529-F-1 | None | None | None | ||||
Classes R-1, R-2, R-2E, R-3, R-4, R-5E, R-5 and R-6 | None | None | None |
* | Class T and 529-T shares 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.
12 | New Perspective Fund |
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 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.
Distributions paid to shareholders— Income dividends and capital gain distributions 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.
New Perspective Fund | 13 |
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.
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 |
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.
14 | New Perspective Fund |
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. The Capital Group Central Cash Fund (“CCF”) is valued based on the policies and procedures in CCF’s statement of additional information.
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. 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.
New Perspective Fund | 15 |
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 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 March 31, 2019 (dollars in thousands):
Investment securities | ||||||||||||||||
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Total | |||||||||||||
Assets: | ||||||||||||||||
Common stocks: | ||||||||||||||||
Information technology | $ | 17,760,909 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 17,760,909 | ||||||||
Consumer discretionary | 12,244,661 | — | — | 12,244,661 | ||||||||||||
Health care | 9,937,223 | — | — | 9,937,223 | ||||||||||||
Financials | 8,958,483 | — | — | 8,958,483 | ||||||||||||
Communication services | 7,643,687 | — | — | 7,643,687 | ||||||||||||
Industrials | 7,066,771 | — | — | 7,066,771 | ||||||||||||
Consumer staples | 6,685,989 | 184,584 | — | 6,870,573 | ||||||||||||
Materials | 4,710,245 | 19,870 | — | 4,730,115 | ||||||||||||
Energy | 3,612,081 | — | — | 3,612,081 | ||||||||||||
Other | 1,662,721 | — | — | 1,662,721 | ||||||||||||
Convertible bonds | — | 33,748 | — | 33,748 | ||||||||||||
Short-term securities | 5,125,852 | — | — | 5,125,852 | ||||||||||||
Total | $ | 85,408,622 | $ | 238,202 | $ | — | $ | 85,646,824 |
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 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, governmental agency or central bank responses to economic conditions; and currency exchange rate, interest rate and commodity price fluctuations.
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
16 | New Perspective Fund |
performance, major litigation against the issuer, changes in government regulations affecting the issuer or its competitive environment and strategic initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions or dispositions and the market response to any such initiatives.
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. Growth-oriented stocks may underperform when the market favors other types of securities.
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 nationalization, currency blockage or the imposition of price controls or punitive taxes, each of which could adversely impact the value of these securities. 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, including models, tools and data, employed by the investment adviser in this process may be flawed or incorrect and 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. Certain investment techniques
Short-term securities— The fund holds shares of CCF, an institutional prime money market fund managed by CRMC. CCF invests in high-quality, short-term money market instruments. CCF is used as the primary investment vehicle for the fund’s short-term investments. CCF shares are only available for purchase by CRMC, its affiliates, and other funds managed by CRMC and are not available to the public.
New Perspective Fund | 17 |
6. 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.
As of and during the period ended March 31, 2019, 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 significant interest or penalties.
The fund’s tax returns are not subject to examination by federal, state and, if applicable, non-U.S. tax authorities after the expiration of each jurisdiction’s statute of limitations, which is generally three years after the date of filing but can be extended in certain jurisdictions.
Non-U.S. taxation— Dividend and interest income are recorded net of non-U.S. taxes paid. The fund may file withholding tax reclaims in certain jurisdictions to recover a portion of amounts previously withheld. As a result of rulings from European courts, the fund filed for additional reclaims related to prior years. These reclaims are recorded when the amount is known and there are no significant uncertainties on collectability. Gains realized by the fund on the sale of securities in certain countries, if any, may be subject to non-U.S. taxes. If applicable, the fund records an estimated deferred tax liability based on unrealized gains to provide for potential non-U.S. taxes payable upon the sale of these securities.
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; capital losses related to sales of certain securities within 30 days of purchase; unrealized appreciation of certain investments in securities outside the U.S.; 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 September 30, 2018, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis were as follows (dollars in thousands):
Undistributed ordinary income | $ | 850,365 | ||
Undistributed long-term capital gains | 4,037,028 |
18 | New Perspective Fund |
As of March 31, 2019, the tax basis unrealized appreciation (depreciation) and cost of investments were as follows (dollars in thousands):
Gross unrealized appreciation on investments | $ | 31,113,377 | ||
Gross unrealized depreciation on investments | (1,695,537 | ) | ||
Net unrealized appreciation on investments | 29,417,840 | |||
Cost of investments | 56,228,984 |
Distributions paid were characterized for tax purposes as follows (dollars in thousands):
Six months ended March 31, 2019 | Year ended September 30, 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Share class | Ordinary income | Long-term capital gains | Total distributions paid | Ordinary income | Long-term capital gains | Total distributions paid | ||||||||||||||||||
Class A | $ | 410,147 | $ | 2,218,136 | $ | 2,628,283 | $ | 177,672 | $ | 1,996,803 | $ | 2,174,475 | ||||||||||||
Class C | 3,527 | 82,910 | 86,437 | — | 74,490 | 74,490 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class T | — | * | 1 | 1 | — | * | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
Class F-1 | 15,194 | 90,949 | 106,143 | 6,616 | 87,086 | 93,702 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class F-2 | 106,278 | 469,285 | 575,563 | 38,660 | 298,171 | 336,831 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class F-3 | 54,404 | 225,546 | 279,950 | 21,277 | 140,107 | 161,384 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-A | 19,553 | 114,500 | 134,053 | 8,187 | 100,688 | 108,875 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-C | 377 | 14,999 | 15,376 | — | 14,761 | 14,761 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-E | 591 | 4,655 | 5,246 | 133 | 4,232 | 4,365 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-T | — | * | 1 | 1 | — | * | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
Class 529-F-1 | 1,592 | 7,230 | 8,822 | 602 | 4,972 | 5,574 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class R-1 | 149 | 4,541 | 4,690 | — | 4,381 | 4,381 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class R-2 | 1,075 | 29,681 | 30,756 | — | 28,238 | 28,238 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class R-2E | 304 | 3,268 | 3,572 | 84 | 3,011 | 3,095 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class R-3 | 9,972 | 87,540 | 97,512 | 1,935 | 86,764 | 88,699 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class R-4 | 19,227 | 110,262 | 129,489 | 8,487 | 103,904 | 112,391 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class R-5E | 1,293 | 5,327 | 6,620 | 22 | 154 | 176 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class R-5 | 20,316 | 87,662 | 107,978 | 11,737 | 84,414 | 96,151 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class R-6 | 215,828 | 891,857 | 1,107,685 | 97,732 | 656,121 | 753,853 | ||||||||||||||||||
Total | $ | 879,827 | $ | 4,448,350 | $ | 5,328,177 | $ | 373,144 | $ | 3,688,299 | $ | 4,061,443 |
* | Amount less than one thousand. |
New Perspective Fund | 19 |
7. 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. At the beginning of the year, these fees were based on a series of decreasing annual rates beginning with 0.600% on the first $500 million of daily net assets and decreasing to 0.355% on such assets in excess of $71 billion. On December 12, 2018, the fund’s board of trustees approved an amended investment advisory and service agreement effective February 1, 2019, decreasing the annual rate to 0.352% on daily net assets in excess of $89 billion. For the six months ended March 31, 2019, the investment advisory services fee was $149,687,000, which was equivalent to an annualized rate of 0.376% of average daily net assets.
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, F-3, R-5E, 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.
Share class | Currently approved limits | Plan limits | ||||||||
Class A | 0.25 | % | 0.25 | % | ||||||
Class 529-A | 0.25 | 0.50 | ||||||||
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 T, F-1, 529-T, 529-F-1 and R-4 | 0.25 | 0.50 |
20 | New Perspective Fund |
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 limits are not exceeded. As of March 31, 2019, there were no unreimbursed expenses subject to reimbursement for Class A or 529-A shares.
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, T, F, 529 and R shares. Administrative services are provided by CRMC to help assist third parties providing non-distribution services to fund shareholders. These services include providing in depth information on the fund and market developments that impact fund investments. Administrative services also include, but are not limited to, coordinating, monitoring and overseeing third parties that provide services to fund shareholders. The agreement between the fund and the investment adviser provides the fund the ability to charge an administrative services fee of 0.05% of average daily net assets for all share classes. Currently Class A shares pay an annual fee of 0.01% of average daily net assets (which could be increased as noted above) and Class C, T, 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 CollegeAmerica 529 college savings plan. The fee is based on the combined net assets invested in Class 529 and ABLE shares of the American Funds. Class ABLE shares are offered on other American Funds by Virginia529 through ABLEAmerica, a tax-advantaged savings program for individuals with disabilities. The quarterly fee is based on a series of decreasing annual rates beginning with 0.10% on the first $20 billion of the combined net assets invested in the American Funds and decreasing to 0.03% on such assets in excess of $100 billion. The fee for any given calendar quarter is accrued and calculated on the basis of the average net assets of Class 529 and ABLE 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.
New Perspective Fund | 21 |
For the six months ended March 31, 2019, 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 | $49,419 | $19,411 | $1,985 | Not applicable | ||||||||||||
Class C | 7,015 | 685 | 353 | Not applicable | ||||||||||||
Class T | — | — | * | — | * | Not applicable | ||||||||||
Class F-1 | 2,014 | 1,120 | 405 | Not applicable | ||||||||||||
Class F-2 | Not applicable | 4,543 | 2,103 | Not applicable | ||||||||||||
Class F-3 | Not applicable | 173 | 1,031 | Not applicable | ||||||||||||
Class 529-A | 2,360 | 877 | 506 | $669 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-C | 1,245 | 110 | 64 | 84 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-E | 199 | 20 | 20 | 27 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-T | — | — | * | — | * | — | * | |||||||||
Class 529-F-1 | — | 53 | 32 | 42 | ||||||||||||
Class R-1 | 382 | 42 | 19 | Not applicable | ||||||||||||
Class R-2 | 1,890 | 924 | 126 | Not applicable | ||||||||||||
Class R-2E | 174 | 61 | 15 | Not applicable | ||||||||||||
Class R-3 | 3,796 | 1,207 | 380 | Not applicable | ||||||||||||
Class R-4 | 2,414 | 1,008 | 483 | Not applicable | ||||||||||||
Class R-5E | Not applicable | 41 | 19 | Not applicable | ||||||||||||
Class R-5 | Not applicable | 403 | 396 | Not applicable | ||||||||||||
Class R-6 | Not applicable | 53 | 4,045 | Not applicable | ||||||||||||
Total class-specific expenses | $70,908 | $30,731 | $11,982 | $822 |
* | 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 $111,000 in the fund’s statement of operations reflects $230,000 in current fees (either paid in cash or deferred) and a net decrease of $119,000 in the value of the deferred amounts.
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.
22 | New Perspective Fund |
Security transactions with related funds— The fund has purchased from, and sold securities to, other funds managed by CRMC (or funds managed by certain affiliates of CRMC) under procedures adopted by the fund’s board of trustees. The funds involved in such transactions are considered related by virtue of having a common investment adviser (or affiliated investment advisers), common trustees and/or common officers. Each transaction was executed at the current market price of the security and no brokerage commissions or fees were paid in accordance with Rule 17a-7 of the 1940 Act. During the six months ended March 31, 2019, the fund engaged in such purchase and sale transactions with related funds in the amounts of $234,320,000 and $1,559,399,000, respectively, which generated $7,380,000 of net realized gains from such sales.
Interfund lending— Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the SEC, the fund, along with other CRMC-managed funds (or funds managed by certain affiliates of CRMC), may participate in an interfund lending program. The program provides an alternate credit facility that permits the funds to lend or borrow cash for temporary purposes directly to or from one another, subject to the conditions of the exemptive order. The fund did not lend or borrow cash through the interfund lending program at any time during the six months ended March 31, 2019.
New Perspective Fund | 23 |
8. Capital share transactions
Capital share transactions in the fund were as follows (dollars and shares in thousands):
Sales* | Reinvestments of distributions | Repurchases* | Net increase (decrease) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Share class | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Six months ended March 31, 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class A | $ | 1,366,121 | 33,157 | $ | 2,566,642 | 70,706 | $ | (2,664,212 | ) | (64,664 | ) | $ | 1,268,551 | 39,199 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class C | 109,326 | 2,758 | 85,560 | 2,456 | (198,880 | ) | (5,017 | ) | (3,994 | ) | 197 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Class T | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class F-1 | 174,383 | 4,241 | 103,813 | 2,878 | (222,014 | ) | (5,454 | ) | 56,182 | 1,665 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class F-2 | 1,970,166 | 47,459 | 542,924 | 15,019 | (1,215,394 | ) | (29,932 | ) | 1,297,696 | 32,546 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class F-3 | 884,555 | 21,338 | 275,231 | 7,589 | (368,880 | ) | (9,015 | ) | 790,906 | 19,912 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-A | 113,543 | 2,778 | 134,011 | 3,738 | (157,936 | ) | (3,860 | ) | 89,618 | 2,656 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-C | 14,916 | 379 | 15,360 | 442 | (35,029 | ) | (887 | ) | (4,753 | ) | (66 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-E | 3,831 | 95 | 5,230 | 147 | (8,543 | ) | (213 | ) | 518 | 29 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-T | — | — | 1 | — | † | — | — | 1 | — | † | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-F-1 | 30,087 | 715 | 8,821 | 247 | (9,706 | ) | (239 | ) | 29,202 | 723 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-1 | 3,754 | 95 | 4,665 | 135 | (10,983 | ) | (278 | ) | (2,564 | ) | (48 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-2 | 52,909 | 1,335 | 30,708 | 880 | (82,665 | ) | (2,082 | ) | 952 | 133 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-2E | 9,208 | 226 | 3,572 | 100 | (5,713 | ) | (141 | ) | 7,067 | 185 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-3 | 122,260 | 3,017 | 97,429 | 2,747 | (254,843 | ) | (6,293 | ) | (35,154 | ) | (529 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-4 | 157,081 | 3,812 | 129,458 | 3,619 | (282,443 | ) | (6,951 | ) | 4,096 | 480 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-5E | �� | 74,706 | 1,795 | 6,616 | 184 | (9,990 | ) | (242 | ) | 71,332 | 1,737 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-5 | 97,012 | 2,331 | 107,839 | 2,976 | (231,466 | ) | (5,683 | ) | (26,615 | ) | (376 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-6 | 2,178,596 | 52,782 | 1,105,774 | 30,479 | (763,118 | ) | (18,367 | ) | 2,521,252 | 64,894 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Total net increase (decrease) | $ | 7,362,454 | 178,313 | $ | 5,223,654 | 144,342 | $ | (6,521,815 | ) | (159,318 | ) | $ | 6,064,293 | 163,337 |
See end of table for footnotes.
24 | New Perspective Fund |
Sales* | Reinvestments of distributions | Repurchases* | Net increase (decrease) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Share class | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Year ended September 30, 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class A | $ | 2,946,453 | 65,178 | $ | 2,120,844 | 49,253 | $ | (4,868,378 | ) | (107,842 | ) | $ | 198,919 | 6,589 | ||||||||||||||||||
Class C | 316,254 | 7,299 | 73,739 | 1,781 | (369,215 | ) | (8,522 | ) | 20,778 | 558 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class T | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class F-1 | 532,272 | 11,869 | 92,165 | 2,154 | (682,251 | ) | (15,163 | ) | (57,814 | ) | (1,140 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class F-2 | 3,479,748 | 76,949 | 318,977 | 7,432 | (1,380,512 | ) | (30,601 | ) | 2,418,213 | 53,780 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class F-3 | 1,842,021 | 40,740 | 157,915 | 3,668 | (477,678 | ) | (10,544 | ) | 1,522,258 | 33,864 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-A | 347,294 | 7,770 | 108,848 | 2,558 | (279,015 | ) | (6,227 | ) | 177,127 | 4,101 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-C | 37,802 | 876 | 14,754 | 357 | (183,840 | ) | (4,244 | ) | (131,284 | ) | (3,011 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-E | 9,554 | 217 | 4,362 | 103 | (14,744 | ) | (332 | ) | (828 | ) | (12 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-T | — | — | 1 | — | † | — | — | 1 | — | † | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class 529-F-1 | 27,373 | 613 | 5,573 | 132 | (19,215 | ) | (431 | ) | 13,731 | 314 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-1 | 12,372 | 288 | 4,361 | 106 | (20,331 | ) | (474 | ) | (3,598 | ) | (80 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-2 | 121,407 | 2,798 | 28,224 | 681 | (175,351 | ) | (4,070 | ) | (25,720 | ) | (591 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-2E | 26,151 | 592 | 3,095 | 73 | (26,148 | ) | (588 | ) | 3,098 | 77 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-3 | 337,785 | 7,666 | 88,652 | 2,105 | (578,748 | ) | (13,140 | ) | (152,311 | ) | (3,369 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-4 | 396,042 | 8,905 | 112,371 | 2,646 | (609,528 | ) | (13,750 | ) | (101,115 | ) | (2,199 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-5E | 34,380 | 770 | 175 | 4 | (1,827 | ) | (40 | ) | 32,728 | 734 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-5 | 321,028 | 7,115 | 96,050 | 2,234 | (441,881 | ) | (9,863 | ) | (24,803 | ) | (514 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class R-6 | 3,431,165 | 76,090 | 752,348 | 17,472 | (1,288,054 | ) | (28,391 | ) | 2,895,459 | 65,171 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Total net increase (decrease) | $ | 14,219,101 | 315,735 | $ | 3,982,454 | 92,759 | $ | (11,416,716 | ) | (254,222 | ) | $ | 6,784,839 | 154,272 |
* | Includes exchanges between share classes of the fund. |
† | Amount less than one thousand. |
9. Investment transactions
The fund made purchases and sales of investment securities, excluding short-term securities and U.S. government obligations, if any, of $14,092,753,000 and $7,906,866,000, respectively, during the six months ended March 31, 2019.
New Perspective Fund | 25 |
Financial highlights
(Loss) income from investment operations1 | ||||||||||||||||
Period ended | Net asset value, beginning of period | Net investment income (loss)2 | Net (losses) gains on securities (both realized and unrealized) | Total from investment operations | ||||||||||||
Class A: | ||||||||||||||||
3/31/20195,6 | $ | 46.89 | $ | .13 | $ | (1.25 | ) | $ | (1.12 | ) | ||||||
9/30/2018 | 43.54 | .38 | 5.34 | 5.72 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2017 | 37.41 | .39 | 7.11 | 7.50 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2016 | 35.80 | .34 | 3.48 | 3.82 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2015 | 38.12 | .32 | (.12 | ) | .20 | |||||||||||
9/30/2014 | 36.52 | .37 | 3.28 | 3.65 | ||||||||||||
Class C: | ||||||||||||||||
3/31/20195,6 | 44.80 | (.04 | ) | (1.17 | ) | (1.21 | ) | |||||||||
9/30/2018 | 41.82 | .02 | 5.14 | 5.16 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2017 | 35.98 | .07 | 6.85 | 6.92 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2016 | 34.53 | .05 | 3.35 | 3.40 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2015 | 36.91 | .01 | (.10 | ) | (.09 | ) | ||||||||||
9/30/2014 | 35.43 | .07 | 3.18 | 3.25 | ||||||||||||
Class T: | ||||||||||||||||
3/31/20195,6 | 46.91 | .17 | (1.26 | ) | (1.09 | ) | ||||||||||
9/30/2018 | 43.57 | .47 | 5.34 | 5.81 | ||||||||||||
9/30/20175,11 | 38.61 | .27 | 4.69 | 4.96 | ||||||||||||
Class F-1: | ||||||||||||||||
3/31/20195,6 | 46.57 | .11 | (1.25 | ) | (1.14 | ) | ||||||||||
9/30/2018 | 43.26 | .36 | 5.30 | 5.66 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2017 | 37.19 | .35 | 7.07 | 7.42 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2016 | 35.60 | .32 | 3.47 | 3.79 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2015 | 37.91 | .30 | (.12 | ) | .18 | |||||||||||
9/30/2014 | 36.34 | .35 | 3.25 | 3.60 | ||||||||||||
Class F-2: | ||||||||||||||||
3/31/20195,6 | 46.81 | .17 | (1.26 | ) | (1.09 | ) | ||||||||||
9/30/2018 | 43.47 | .47 | 5.33 | 5.80 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2017 | 37.38 | .47 | 7.08 | 7.55 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2016 | 35.77 | .42 | 3.49 | 3.91 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2015 | 38.11 | .40 | (.13 | ) | .27 | |||||||||||
9/30/2014 | 36.52 | .46 | 3.28 | 3.74 | ||||||||||||
Class F-3: | ||||||||||||||||
3/31/20195,6 | 46.98 | .19 | (1.27 | ) | (1.08 | ) | ||||||||||
9/30/2018 | 43.63 | .52 | 5.34 | 5.86 | ||||||||||||
9/30/20175,12 | 37.16 | .36 | 6.11 | 6.47 |
26 | New Perspective Fund |
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 before reimburse- ments | Ratio of expenses to average net assets after reimburse- ments4 | Ratio of net income (loss) to average net assets2,4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
$ | (.45 | ) | $ | (2.41 | ) | $ | (2.86 | ) | $ | 42.91 | (1.16 | )%7 | $ | 41,908 | .75 | %8 | .75 | %8 | .61 | %8 | ||||||||||||||
(.19 | ) | (2.18 | ) | (2.37 | ) | 46.89 | 13.48 | 43,958 | .74 | .74 | .85 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.29 | ) | (1.08 | ) | (1.37 | ) | 43.54 | 20.87 | 40,527 | .75 | .75 | .98 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.26 | ) | (1.95 | ) | (2.21 | ) | 37.41 | 10.91 | 36,897 | .77 | .77 | .94 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.23 | ) | (2.29 | ) | (2.52 | ) | 35.80 | .34 | 35,187 | .75 | .75 | .84 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.30 | ) | (1.75 | ) | (2.05 | ) | 38.12 | 10.13 | 36,424 | .76 | .76 | .98 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.10 | ) | (2.41 | ) | (2.51 | ) | 41.08 | (1.55 | )7 | 1,454 | 1.54 | 8 | 1.54 | 8 | (.18) | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
— | (2.18 | ) | (2.18 | ) | 44.80 | 12.62 | 1,576 | 1.53 | 1.53 | .06 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
— | (1.08 | ) | (1.08 | ) | 41.82 | 19.88 | 1,448 | 1.55 | 1.55 | .18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
— | (1.95 | ) | (1.95 | ) | 35.98 | 10.03 | 1,390 | 1.57 | 1.57 | .14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
— | (2.29 | ) | (2.29 | ) | 34.53 | (.45 | ) | 1,331 | 1.55 | 1.55 | .04 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.02 | ) | (1.75 | ) | (1.77 | ) | 36.91 | 9.28 | 1,377 | 1.55 | 1.55 | .18 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.54 | ) | (2.41 | ) | (2.95 | ) | 42.87 | (1.03 | )7,9 | — | 10 | .53 | 8,9 | .53 | 8,9 | .83 | 8,9 | ||||||||||||||||||
(.29 | ) | (2.18 | ) | (2.47 | ) | 46.91 | 13.71 | 9 | — | 10 | .53 | 9 | .53 | 9 | 1.04 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||
— | — | — | 43.57 | 12.85 | 7,9 | — | 10 | .27 | 7,9 | .27 | 7,9 | .64 | 7,9 | |||||||||||||||||||||
(.40 | ) | (2.41 | ) | (2.81 | ) | 42.62 | (1.21 | )7 | 1,714 | .84 | 8 | .84 | 8 | .53 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
(.17 | ) | (2.18 | ) | (2.35 | ) | 46.57 | 13.40 | 1,795 | .81 | .81 | .79 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.27 | ) | (1.08 | ) | (1.35 | ) | 43.26 | 20.76 | 1,717 | .83 | .83 | .91 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.25 | ) | (1.95 | ) | (2.20 | ) | 37.19 | 10.83 | 1,546 | .84 | .84 | .88 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.20 | ) | (2.29 | ) | (2.49 | ) | 35.60 | .31 | 1,326 | .81 | .81 | .79 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.28 | ) | (1.75 | ) | (2.03 | ) | 37.91 | 10.04 | 1,203 | .82 | .82 | .94 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.55 | ) | (2.41 | ) | (2.96 | ) | 42.76 | (1.05 | )7 | 9,210 | .56 | 8 | .56 | 8 | .82 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
(.28 | ) | (2.18 | ) | (2.46 | ) | 46.81 | 13.71 | 8,560 | .54 | .54 | 1.05 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.38 | ) | (1.08 | ) | (1.46 | ) | 43.47 | 21.09 | 5,611 | .55 | .55 | 1.19 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.35 | ) | (1.95 | ) | (2.30 | ) | 37.38 | 11.13 | 4,130 | .55 | .55 | 1.18 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.32 | ) | (2.29 | ) | (2.61 | ) | 35.77 | .57 | 2,644 | .55 | .55 | 1.06 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.40 | ) | (1.75 | ) | (2.15 | ) | 38.11 | 10.38 | 2,166 | .54 | .54 | 1.21 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.58 | ) | (2.41 | ) | (2.99 | ) | 42.91 | (1.00 | )7 | 4,745 | .46 | 8 | .46 | 8 | .93 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
(.33 | ) | (2.18 | ) | (2.51 | ) | 46.98 | 13.81 | 4,260 | .45 | .45 | 1.16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
— | — | — | 43.63 | 17.41 | 7 | 2,478 | .45 | 8 | .45 | 8 | 1.27 | 8 |
See end of table for footnotes.
New Perspective Fund | 27 |
Financial highlights (continued)
(Loss) income from investment operations1 | ||||||||||||||||
Period ended | Net asset value, beginning of period | Net investment income (loss)2 | Net (losses) gains on securities (both realized and unrealized) | Total from investment operations | ||||||||||||
Class 529-A: | ||||||||||||||||
3/31/20195,6 | $ | 46.31 | $ | .11 | $ | (1.24 | ) | $ | (1.13 | ) | ||||||
9/30/2018 | 43.05 | .35 | 5.27 | 5.62 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2017 | 37.01 | .35 | 7.03 | 7.38 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2016 | 35.43 | .30 | 3.46 | 3.76 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2015 | 37.75 | .28 | (.11 | ) | .17 | |||||||||||
9/30/2014 | 36.20 | .34 | 3.23 | 3.57 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-C: | ||||||||||||||||
3/31/20195,6 | 44.66 | (.04 | ) | (1.16 | ) | (1.20 | ) | |||||||||
9/30/2018 | 41.72 | (.01 | ) | 5.13 | 5.12 | |||||||||||
9/30/2017 | 35.92 | .05 | 6.83 | 6.88 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2016 | 34.49 | .03 | 3.35 | 3.38 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2015 | 36.89 | (.01 | ) | (.10 | ) | (.11 | ) | |||||||||
9/30/2014 | 35.43 | .04 | 3.18 | 3.22 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-E: | ||||||||||||||||
3/31/20195,6 | 45.79 | .06 | (1.20 | ) | (1.14 | ) | ||||||||||
9/30/2018 | 42.58 | .24 | 5.22 | 5.46 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2017 | 36.62 | .26 | 6.96 | 7.22 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2016 | 35.07 | .22 | 3.42 | 3.64 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2015 | 37.39 | .19 | (.11 | ) | .08 | |||||||||||
9/30/2014 | 35.87 | .24 | 3.22 | 3.46 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-T: | ||||||||||||||||
3/31/20195,6 | 46.89 | .16 | (1.26 | ) | (1.10 | ) | ||||||||||
9/30/2018 | 43.56 | .45 | 5.34 | 5.79 | ||||||||||||
9/30/20175,11 | 38.61 | .26 | 4.69 | 4.95 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-F-1: | ||||||||||||||||
3/31/20195,6 | 46.28 | .16 | (1.26 | ) | (1.10 | ) | ||||||||||
9/30/2018 | 43.00 | .45 | 5.27 | 5.72 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2017 | 36.98 | .44 | 7.01 | 7.45 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2016 | 35.41 | .39 | 3.44 | 3.83 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2015 | 37.74 | .37 | (.12 | ) | .25 | |||||||||||
9/30/2014 | 36.18 | .42 | 3.24 | 3.66 | ||||||||||||
Class R-1: | ||||||||||||||||
3/31/20195,6 | 44.41 | (.04 | ) | (1.15 | ) | (1.19 | ) | |||||||||
9/30/2018 | 41.49 | .02 | 5.08 | 5.10 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2017 | 35.70 | .07 | 6.80 | 6.87 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2016 | 34.27 | .05 | 3.33 | 3.38 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2015 | 36.65 | .02 | (.11 | ) | (.09 | ) | ||||||||||
9/30/2014 | 35.21 | .07 | 3.17 | 3.24 |
28 | New Perspective Fund |
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 before reimburse- ments | Ratio of expenses to average net assets after reimburse- ments4 | Ratio of net income (loss) to average net assets2,4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
$ | (.41 | ) | $ | (2.41 | ) | $ | (2.82 | ) | $ | 42.36 | (1.22 | )%7 | $ | 2,149 | .83 | %8 | .83 | %8 | .53 | %8 | ||||||||||||||
(.18 | ) | (2.18 | ) | (2.36 | ) | 46.31 | 13.41 | 2,227 | .82 | .82 | .78 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.26 | ) | (1.08 | ) | (1.34 | ) | 43.05 | 20.76 | 1,893 | .82 | .82 | .91 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.23 | ) | (1.95 | ) | (2.18 | ) | 37.01 | 10.80 | 1,618 | .86 | .86 | .86 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.20 | ) | (2.29 | ) | (2.49 | ) | 35.43 | .30 | 1,503 | .84 | .84 | .75 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.27 | ) | (1.75 | ) | (2.02 | ) | 37.75 | 10.01 | 1,516 | .85 | .85 | .90 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.06 | ) | (2.41 | ) | (2.47 | ) | 40.99 | (1.55 | )7 | 260 | 1.58 | 8 | 1.58 | 8 | (.22 | )8 | |||||||||||||||||||
— | (2.18 | ) | (2.18 | ) | 44.66 | 12.54 | 286 | 1.58 | 1.58 | (.03 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
— | (1.08 | ) | (1.08 | ) | 41.72 | 19.80 | 393 | 1.60 | 1.60 | .13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
— | (1.95 | ) | (1.95 | ) | 35.92 | 9.95 | 351 | 1.63 | 1.63 | .08 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
— | (2.29 | ) | (2.29 | ) | 34.49 | (.48 | ) | 331 | 1.62 | 1.62 | (.03 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(.01 | ) | (1.75 | ) | (1.76 | ) | 36.89 | 9.18 | 341 | 1.63 | 1.63 | .11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.31 | ) | (2.41 | ) | (2.72 | ) | 41.93 | (1.31 | )7 | 83 | 1.06 | 8 | 1.06 | 8 | .30 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
(.07 | ) | (2.18 | ) | (2.25 | ) | 45.79 | 13.15 | 89 | 1.05 | 1.05 | .55 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.18 | ) | (1.08 | ) | (1.26 | ) | 42.58 | 20.47 | 84 | 1.06 | 1.06 | .67 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.14 | ) | (1.95 | ) | (2.09 | ) | 36.62 | 10.54 | 74 | 1.09 | 1.09 | .62 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.11 | ) | (2.29 | ) | (2.40 | ) | 35.07 | .04 | 71 | 1.09 | 1.09 | .51 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.19 | ) | (1.75 | ) | (1.94 | ) | 37.39 | 9.75 | 73 | 1.09 | 1.09 | .65 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.52 | ) | (2.41 | ) | (2.93 | ) | 42.86 | (1.07 | )7,9 | — | 10 | .58 | 8,9 | .58 | 8,9 | .79 | 8,9 | ||||||||||||||||||
(.28 | ) | (2.18 | ) | (2.46 | ) | 46.89 | 13.65 | 9 | — | 10 | .59 | 9 | .59 | 9 | .99 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||
— | — | — | 43.56 | 12.82 | 7,9 | — | 10 | .29 | 7,9 | .29 | 7,9 | .62 | 7,9 | |||||||||||||||||||||
(.53 | ) | (2.41 | ) | (2.94 | ) | 42.24 | (1.08 | )7 | 139 | .60 | 8 | .60 | 8 | .78 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
(.26 | ) | (2.18 | ) | (2.44 | ) | 46.28 | 13.67 | 119 | .59 | .59 | 1.00 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.35 | ) | (1.08 | ) | (1.43 | ) | 43.00 | 21.02 | 97 | .61 | .61 | 1.13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.31 | ) | (1.95 | ) | (2.26 | ) | 36.98 | 11.07 | 76 | .63 | .63 | 1.09 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.29 | ) | (2.29 | ) | (2.58 | ) | 35.41 | .47 | 62 | .63 | .63 | .97 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.35 | ) | (1.75 | ) | (2.10 | ) | 37.74 | 10.27 | 60 | .63 | .63 | 1.12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.08 | ) | (2.41 | ) | (2.49 | ) | 40.73 | (1.56 | )7 | 79 | 1.55 | 8 | 1.55 | 8 | (.20 | )8 | |||||||||||||||||||
— | (2.18 | ) | (2.18 | ) | 44.41 | 12.59 | 88 | 1.54 | 1.54 | .04 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
— | (1.08 | ) | (1.08 | ) | 41.49 | 19.89 | 85 | 1.54 | 1.54 | .18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
— | (1.95 | ) | (1.95 | ) | 35.70 | 10.01 | 89 | 1.56 | 1.56 | .14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
— | (2.29 | ) | (2.29 | ) | 34.27 | (.43 | ) | 98 | 1.54 | 1.54 | .05 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.05 | ) | (1.75 | ) | (1.80 | ) | 36.65 | 9.28 | 102 | 1.55 | 1.55 | .20 |
See end of table for footnotes.
New Perspective Fund | 29 |
Financial highlights (continued)
(Loss) income from investment operations1 | ||||||||||||||||
Period ended | Net asset value, beginning of period | Net investment income (loss)2 | Net (losses) gains on securities (both realized and unrealized) | Total from investment operations | ||||||||||||
Class R-2: | ||||||||||||||||
3/31/20195,6 | $ | 44.85 | $ | (.04 | ) | $ | (1.16 | ) | $ | (1.20 | ) | |||||
9/30/2018 | 41.87 | .02 | 5.14 | 5.16 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2017 | 36.03 | .07 | 6.85 | 6.92 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2016 | 34.56 | .05 | 3.37 | 3.42 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2015 | 36.93 | .03 | (.11 | ) | (.08 | ) | ||||||||||
9/30/2014 | 35.46 | .07 | 3.19 | 3.26 | ||||||||||||
Class R-2E: | ||||||||||||||||
3/31/20195,6 | 46.02 | .02 | (1.21 | ) | (1.19 | ) | ||||||||||
9/30/2018 | 42.85 | .15 | 5.26 | 5.41 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2017 | 37.01 | .20 | 7.00 | 7.20 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2016 | 35.67 | .19 | 3.47 | 3.66 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2015 | 38.12 | .68 | (.50 | ) | .18 | |||||||||||
9/30/20145,14 | 39.03 | .03 | (.94 | ) | (.91 | ) | ||||||||||
Class R-3: | ||||||||||||||||
3/31/20195,6 | 45.73 | .05 | (1.21 | ) | (1.16 | ) | ||||||||||
9/30/2018 | 42.52 | .22 | 5.22 | 5.44 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2017 | 36.57 | .25 | 6.95 | 7.20 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2016 | 35.03 | .21 | 3.41 | 3.62 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2015 | 37.34 | .19 | (.11 | ) | .08 | |||||||||||
9/30/2014 | 35.83 | .24 | 3.21 | 3.45 | ||||||||||||
Class R-4: | ||||||||||||||||
3/31/20195,6 | 46.23 | .11 | (1.23 | ) | (1.12 | ) | ||||||||||
9/30/2018 | 42.96 | .35 | 5.28 | 5.63 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2017 | 36.94 | .37 | 7.01 | 7.38 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2016 | 35.37 | .32 | 3.44 | 3.76 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2015 | 37.69 | .30 | (.11 | ) | .19 | |||||||||||
9/30/2014 | 36.14 | .36 | 3.24 | 3.60 | ||||||||||||
Class R-5E: | ||||||||||||||||
3/31/20195,6 | 46.69 | .19 | (1.29 | ) | (1.10 | ) | ||||||||||
9/30/2018 | 43.40 | .31 | 5.47 | 5.78 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2017 | 37.30 | .47 | 7.04 | 7.51 | ||||||||||||
9/30/20165,15 | 39.06 | .35 | .23 | .58 | ||||||||||||
Class R-5: | ||||||||||||||||
3/31/20195,6 | 46.92 | .18 | (1.27 | ) | (1.09 | ) | ||||||||||
9/30/2018 | 43.56 | .50 | 5.34 | 5.84 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2017 | 37.44 | .49 | 7.10 | 7.59 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2016 | 35.82 | .44 | 3.49 | 3.93 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2015 | 38.15 | .41 | (.11 | ) | .30 | |||||||||||
9/30/2014 | 36.55 | .48 | 3.27 | 3.75 |
30 | New Perspective Fund |
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 before reimburse- ments | Ratio of expenses to average net assets after reimburse- ments4 | Ratio of net income (loss) to average net assets2,4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
$ | (.09 | ) | $ | (2.41 | ) | $ | (2.50 | ) | $ | 41.15 | (1.54 | )%7 | $ | 528 | 1.56 | %8 | 1.56 | %8 | (.20 | )%8 | ||||||||||||||
— | (2.18 | ) | (2.18 | ) | 44.85 | 12.60 | 570 | 1.54 | 1.54 | .05 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
— | 13 | (1.08 | ) | (1.08 | ) | 41.87 | 19.87 | 557 | 1.55 | 1.55 | .18 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
— | (1.95 | ) | (1.95 | ) | 36.03 | 10.05 | 536 | 1.55 | 1.55 | .16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
— | (2.29 | ) | (2.29 | ) | 34.56 | (.40 | ) | 544 | 1.51 | 1.51 | .08 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.04 | ) | (1.75 | ) | (1.79 | ) | 36.93 | 9.28 | 595 | 1.54 | 1.54 | .20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.22 | ) | (2.41 | ) | (2.63 | ) | 42.20 | (1.41 | )7 | 63 | 1.26 | 8 | 1.26 | 8 | .11 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
(.06 | ) | (2.18 | ) | (2.24 | ) | 46.02 | 12.92 | 60 | 1.24 | 1.24 | .33 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.28 | ) | (1.08 | ) | (1.36 | ) | 42.85 | 20.26 | 53 | 1.24 | 1.24 | .51 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.37 | ) | (1.95 | ) | (2.32 | ) | 37.01 | 10.46 | 25 | 1.24 | 1.24 | .52 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.34 | ) | (2.29 | ) | (2.63 | ) | 35.67 | .29 | 9 | — | 10 | .95 | 9 | .95 | 9 | 1.79 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||
— | — | — | 38.12 | (2.33 | )7,9 | — | 10 | .05 | 7,9 | .05 | 7,9 | .08 | 7,9 | |||||||||||||||||||||
(.27 | ) | (2.41 | ) | (2.68 | ) | 41.89 | (1.33 | )7 | 1,560 | 1.11 | 8 | 1.11 | 8 | .25 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
(.05 | ) | (2.18 | ) | (2.23 | ) | 45.73 | 13.09 | 1,728 | 1.09 | 1.09 | .49 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.17 | ) | (1.08 | ) | (1.25 | ) | 42.52 | 20.44 | 1,750 | 1.09 | 1.09 | .64 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.13 | ) | (1.95 | ) | (2.08 | ) | 36.57 | 10.52 | 1,600 | 1.11 | 1.11 | .60 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.10 | ) | (2.29 | ) | (2.39 | ) | 35.03 | .04 | 1,573 | 1.09 | 1.09 | .50 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.19 | ) | (1.75 | ) | (1.94 | ) | 37.34 | 9.75 | 1,670 | 1.10 | 1.10 | .64 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.42 | ) | (2.41 | ) | (2.83 | ) | 42.28 | (1.17 | )7 | 1,986 | .80 | 8 | .80 | 8 | .56 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
(.18 | ) | (2.18 | ) | (2.36 | ) | 46.23 | 13.44 | 2,149 | .79 | .79 | .80 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.28 | ) | (1.08 | ) | (1.36 | ) | 42.96 | 20.80 | 2,092 | .79 | .79 | .95 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.24 | ) | (1.95 | ) | (2.19 | ) | 36.94 | 10.84 | 1,814 | .81 | .81 | .90 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.22 | ) | (2.29 | ) | (2.51 | ) | 35.37 | .34 | 1,741 | .79 | .79 | .80 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.30 | ) | (1.75 | ) | (2.05 | ) | 37.69 | 10.09 | 1,851 | .80 | .80 | .95 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.59 | ) | (2.41 | ) | (3.00 | ) | 42.59 | (1.06 | )7 | 107 | .56 | 8 | .56 | 8 | .93 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
(.31 | ) | (2.18 | ) | (2.49 | ) | 46.69 | 13.68 | 36 | .57 | .57 | .68 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.33 | ) | (1.08 | ) | (1.41 | ) | 43.40 | 20.98 | 2 | .59 | .59 | 1.17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.39 | ) | (1.95 | ) | (2.34 | ) | 37.30 | 1.68 | 7 | — | 10 | .70 | 8 | .69 | 8 | 1.14 | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||
(.56 | ) | (2.41 | ) | (2.97 | ) | 42.86 | (1.04 | )7 | 1,626 | .50 | 8 | .50 | 8 | .86 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
(.30 | ) | (2.18 | ) | (2.48 | ) | 46.92 | 13.79 | 1,798 | .49 | .49 | 1.10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.39 | ) | (1.08 | ) | (1.47 | ) | 43.56 | 21.16 | 1,691 | .49 | .49 | 1.24 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.36 | ) | (1.95 | ) | (2.31 | ) | 37.44 | 11.19 | 1,475 | .50 | .50 | 1.21 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.34 | ) | (2.29 | ) | (2.63 | ) | 35.82 | .64 | 1,435 | .49 | .49 | 1.09 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.40 | ) | (1.75 | ) | (2.15 | ) | 38.15 | 10.41 | 1,386 | .49 | .49 | 1.26 |
See end of table for footnotes.
New Perspective Fund | 31 |
Financial highlights (continued)
(Loss) income from investment operations1 | ||||||||||||||||
Period ended | Net asset value, beginning of period | Net investment income (loss)2 | Net (losses) gains on securities (both realized and unrealized) | Total from investment operations | ||||||||||||
Class R-6: | ||||||||||||||||
3/31/20195,6 | $ | 47.00 | $ | .19 | $ | (1.27 | ) | $ | (1.08 | ) | ||||||
9/30/2018 | 43.64 | .52 | 5.34 | 5.86 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2017 | 37.51 | .51 | 7.11 | 7.62 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2016 | 35.88 | .45 | 3.51 | 3.96 | ||||||||||||
9/30/2015 | 38.21 | .44 | (.13 | ) | .31 | |||||||||||
9/30/2014 | 36.60 | .49 | 3.29 | 3.78 |
Six months ended March 31, | Year ended September 30 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
20195,6,7 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate for all share classes | 10% | 23 | % | 28 | % | 22 | %16 | 27 | % | 25 | % |
See notes to financial statements
32 | New Perspective Fund |
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 before reimburse- ments | Ratio of expenses to average net assets after reimburse- ments4 | Ratio of net income (loss) to average net assets2,4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
$ | (.58 | ) | $ | (2.41 | ) | $ | (2.99 | ) | $ | 42.93 | (.99 | )%7 | $ | 18,103 | .45 | %8 | .45 | %8 | .93 | %8 | ||||||||||||||
(.32 | ) | (2.18 | ) | (2.50 | ) | 47.00 | 13.82 | 16,772 | .44 | .44 | 1.15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.41 | ) | (1.08 | ) | (1.49 | ) | 43.64 | 21.22 | 12,727 | .45 | .45 | 1.29 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.38 | ) | (1.95 | ) | (2.33 | ) | 37.51 | 11.26 | 9,398 | .45 | .45 | 1.25 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.35 | ) | (2.29 | ) | (2.64 | ) | 35.88 | .68 | 8,200 | .45 | .45 | 1.15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(.42 | ) | (1.75 | ) | (2.17 | ) | 38.21 | 10.48 | 7,317 | .45 | .45 | 1.30 |
1 | Based on average shares outstanding. |
2 | For the year ended September 30, 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 $.04 and .11 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 | This column reflects the impact, if any, of certain reimbursements from CRMC. During one of the periods shown, CRMC paid a portion of the fund’s transfer agent fees for certain retirement plan share classes. |
5 | Based on operations for a period that is less than a full year. |
6 | Unaudited. |
7 | Not annualized. |
8 | Annualized. |
9 | All or a significant portion of assets in this class consisted of seed capital invested by CRMC and/or its affiliates. Fees for distribution services are not charged or accrued on these seed capital assets. If such fees were paid by the fund on seed capital assets, fund expenses would have been higher and net income and total return would have been lower. |
10 | Amount less than $1 million. |
11 | Class T and 529-T shares began investment operations on April 7, 2017. |
12 | Class F-3 shares began investment operations on January 27, 2017. |
13 | Amount less than $.01. |
14 | Class R-2E shares began investment operations on August 29, 2014. |
15 | Class R-5E shares began investment operations on November 20, 2015. |
16 | Includes the value of securities sold due to a redemption of shares in-kind. The rate would have been 21% without the redemption of shares in-kind. |
New Perspective Fund | 33 |
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 (October 1, 2018, through March 31, 2019).
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 titled “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, F-3 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.
34 | New Perspective Fund |
Beginning account value 10/1/2018 | Ending account value 3/31/2019 | Expenses paid during period* | Annualized expense ratio | |||||||||||||
Class A – actual return | $ | 1,000.00 | $ | 988.43 | $ | 3.72 | .75 | % | ||||||||
Class A – assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,021.19 | 3.78 | .75 | ||||||||||||
Class C – actual return | 1,000.00 | 984.48 | 7.62 | 1.54 | ||||||||||||
Class C – assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,017.25 | 7.75 | 1.54 | ||||||||||||
Class T – actual return | 1,000.00 | 989.65 | 2.63 | .53 | ||||||||||||
Class T – assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,022.29 | 2.67 | .53 | ||||||||||||
Class F-1 – actual return | 1,000.00 | 987.89 | 4.16 | .84 | ||||||||||||
Class F-1 – assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,020.74 | 4.23 | .84 | ||||||||||||
Class F-2 – actual return | 1,000.00 | 989.47 | 2.78 | .56 | ||||||||||||
Class F-2 – assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,022.14 | 2.82 | .56 | ||||||||||||
Class F-3 – actual return | 1,000.00 | 990.02 | 2.28 | .46 | ||||||||||||
Class F-3 – assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,022.64 | 2.32 | .46 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-A – actual return | 1,000.00 | 987.84 | 4.11 | .83 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-A – assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,020.79 | 4.18 | .83 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-C – actual return | 1,000.00 | 984.46 | 7.82 | 1.58 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-C – assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,017.05 | 7.95 | 1.58 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-E – actual return | 1,000.00 | 986.91 | 5.25 | 1.06 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-E – assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,019.65 | 5.34 | 1.06 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-T – actual return | 1,000.00 | 989.25 | 2.88 | .58 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-T – assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,022.04 | 2.92 | .58 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-F-1 – actual return | 1,000.00 | 989.22 | 2.98 | .60 | ||||||||||||
Class 529-F-1 – assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,021.94 | 3.02 | .60 | ||||||||||||
Class R-1 – actual return | 1,000.00 | 984.44 | 7.67 | 1.55 | ||||||||||||
Class R-1 – assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,017.20 | 7.80 | 1.55 | ||||||||||||
Class R-2 – actual return | 1,000.00 | 984.55 | 7.72 | 1.56 | ||||||||||||
Class R-2 – assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,017.15 | 7.85 | 1.56 | ||||||||||||
Class R-2E – actual return | 1,000.00 | 985.88 | 6.24 | 1.26 | ||||||||||||
Class R-2E – assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,018.65 | 6.34 | 1.26 | ||||||||||||
Class R-3 – actual return | 1,000.00 | 986.72 | 5.50 | 1.11 | ||||||||||||
Class R-3 – assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,019.40 | 5.59 | 1.11 | ||||||||||||
Class R-4 – actual return | 1,000.00 | 988.25 | 3.97 | .80 | ||||||||||||
Class R-4 – assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,020.94 | 4.03 | .80 | ||||||||||||
Class R-5E – actual return | 1,000.00 | 989.37 | 2.78 | .56 | ||||||||||||
Class R-5E – assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,022.14 | 2.82 | .56 | ||||||||||||
Class R-5 – actual return | 1,000.00 | 989.59 | 2.48 | .50 | ||||||||||||
Class R-5 – assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,022.44 | 2.52 | .50 | ||||||||||||
Class R-6 – actual return | 1,000.00 | 990.09 | 2.23 | .45 | ||||||||||||
Class R-6 – assumed 5% return | 1,000.00 | 1,022.69 | 2.27 | .45 |
* | 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). |
New Perspective Fund | 35 |
Approval of Investment Advisory and Service Agreement
New Perspective Fund‘s board has approved the fund’s Investment Advisory and Service Agreement (the “agreement”) with Capital Research and Management Company (“CRMC”) for an additional one-year term through January 31, 2020. The agreement was amended to add an additional advisory fee breakpoint if and when the fund’s net assets exceed $89 billion. 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 in the exercise of their business judgment 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; the resources and systems CRMC devotes to investment management, compliance, trading, portfolio accounting and other services; 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 agreements, 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 objective of pursuing long-term growth of capital and secondary objective of future income. They compared the fund’s investment results with those of other funds (including funds that currently form the basis of the Lipper index for the category in which the fund is included) and data such as relevant market and fund
36 | New Perspective Fund |
indexes, over various periods through May 31, 2018. This report, including the letter to shareholders and related 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 Global Funds Index, the MSCI All Country World Index and the MSCI World Index. They reviewed the results for the one-year, three-year, five-year, 10-year, 20-year and lifetime periods and placed greater emphasis on longer term periods. They noted that the investment results of the fund generally compared favorably to the results of these indexes for all periods. 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 Global 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, regulatory and market 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 other American Funds, including fees for administrative services provided to certain share classes; fees paid to CRMC’s affiliated 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 that through December 31, 2018, CRMC benefited from receiving research obtained with commissions from portfolio transactions made on behalf of the fund, and since that time CRMC has undertaken to bear the cost for such services. 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.
New Perspective Fund | 37 |
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. They reviewed information on the profitability of the investment adviser and its affiliates. 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 and CRMC’s sharing of potential economies of scale, or efficiencies, through breakpoints and other fee reductions and costs voluntarily absorbed. The board and the committee concluded that the fund’s advisory fee structure reflected a reasonable sharing of benefits between CRMC and the fund’s shareholders.
38 | New Perspective Fund |
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New Perspective Fund | 39 |
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New Perspective Fund | 41 |
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42 | New Perspective Fund |
Results of special meeting of shareholders
Held November 28, 2018
Shares outstanding (all classes) on August 31, 2018 (record date)
1,834,186,478
Total shares voting on November 28, 2018
1,457,528,351 (79.5% of shares outstanding)
The proposal: to elect board members
Votes for | Percent of shares voting for | Votes withheld | Percent of shares withheld | |||||||||||
Elisabeth Allison | 1,423,705,276 | 97.7 | % | 33,823,075 | 2.3 | % | ||||||||
Vanessa C. L. Chang | 1,415,469,861 | 97.1 | 42,058,490 | 2.9 | ||||||||||
Pablo R. González Guajardo | 1,268,209,870 | 87.0 | 189,318,482 | 13.0 | ||||||||||
Joanna F. Jonsson | 1,424,173,791 | 97.7 | 33,354,560 | 2.3 | ||||||||||
Carl M. Kawaja | 1,421,837,265 | 97.6 | 35,691,086 | 2.4 | ||||||||||
Martin E. Koehler | 1,422,666,835 | 97.6 | 34,861,516 | 2.4 | ||||||||||
Pascal Millaire | 1,422,110,594 | 97.6 | 35,417,758 | 2.4 | ||||||||||
William I. Miller | 1,372,352,520 | 94.2 | 85,175,831 | 5.8 | ||||||||||
Alessandro Ovi | 1,411,468,734 | 96.8 | 46,059,617 | 3.2 | ||||||||||
Josette Sheeran | 1,424,100,492 | 97.7 | 33,427,860 | 2.3 | ||||||||||
Amy Zegart | 1,424,416,478 | 97.7 | 33,111,873 | 2.3 |
New Perspective Fund | 43 |
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
Dechert LLP
One Bush Street, Suite 1600
San Francisco, CA 94104-4446
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
44 | New Perspective Fund |
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. Fund shares offered through American Funds Distributors, Inc.
“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 March 31, 2019, portfolio of New Perspective Fund’s investments is available free of charge by calling AFS or visiting the SEC website (where it is part of Form N-CSR).
New Perspective Fund files a complete list of its portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-PORT-EX. This filing is available free of charge on the SEC website. Additionally, the list of portfolio holdings is available by calling AFS.
This report is for the information of shareholders of New Perspective Fund, 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 June 30, 2019, this report must be accompanied by an American Funds statistical update for the most recently completed calendar quarter.
MCSI has not approved, reviewed or produced this report, makes no express or implied warranties or representations and is not liable whatsoever for any data in the report. You may not redistribute the MSCI data or use it as a basis for other indices or investment products.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Index (“Index”) is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and/or its affiliates and has been licensed for use by Capital Group. Copyright © 2019 S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a division of S&P Global, and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Redistribution or reproduction in whole or in part are prohibited without written permission of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC.
The Capital Advantage®
Since 1931, Capital Group, home of American Funds, has helped investors pursue long-term investment success. Our consistent approach — in combination with The Capital SystemSM— has resulted in superior outcomes.
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 20 years at our company, reflecting a career commitment to our long-term approach.1
The Capital System
The Capital System combines individual accountability with teamwork. Funds using The Capital System are 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.
American Funds’ superior outcomes
Equity funds have beaten their Lipper peer indexes in 92% of 10-year periods and 99% of 20-year periods.2Fixed income funds have helped investors achieve diversification through attention to correlation between bonds and equities.3Fund management fees have been among the lowest in the industry.4
1 | Portfolio manager experience as of December 31, 2018. | |
2 | Based on Class F-2 share results for rolling periods through December 31, 2018. Periods covered are the shorter of the fund’s lifetime or since the comparable Lipper index inception date (except Capital Income Builder and SMALLCAP World Fund, for which the Lipper average was used). Expenses differ for each share class, so results will vary. | |
3 | Based on Class F-2 share results, as of December 31, 2018. Fourteen of our 15 American Funds fixed income funds that have been in existence for the three-year period showed a three-year correlation below 0.2. Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Index was used as an equity market proxy. Correlation based on monthly total returns. Correlation is a statistical measure of how two securities move in relation to each other. A correlation ranges from –1 to 1. A positive correlation close to 1 implies that as one security moves, either up or down, the other security will move in “lockstep,” in the same direction. A negative correlation close to –1 indicates that the securities have moved in the opposite direction. | |
4 | On average, our management fees were in the lowest quintile 70% of the time, based on the 20-year period ended December 31, 2018, versus comparable Lipper categories, excluding funds of funds. |
Class F-2 shares were first offered on August 1, 2008. Class F-2 share results prior to the date of first sale are hypothetical based on Class A share results without a sales charge, adjusted for typical estimated expenses. Results for certain funds with an inception date after August 1, 2008, also include hypothetical returns because those funds’ Class F-2 shares sold after the funds’ date of first offering. Please see americanfunds.com for more information on specific expense adjustments and the actual dates of first sale.
All Capital Group trademarks mentioned are owned by The Capital Group Companies, Inc., an affiliated company or fund. All other company and product names mentioned are the property of their respective companies.
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
New Perspective Fund®
Investment portfolio
March 31, 2019
unaudited
Common stocks 93.90% Information technology 20.72% | Shares | Value (000) |
Microsoft Corp. | 16,263,100 | $1,918,070 |
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | 218,983,941 | 1,744,312 |
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (ADR) | 2,954,600 | 121,020 |
Mastercard Inc., Class A | 6,700,600 | 1,577,656 |
Broadcom Inc. | 5,092,600 | 1,531,396 |
Visa Inc., Class A | 7,923,000 | 1,237,493 |
ASML Holding NV | 4,109,516 | 770,767 |
ASML Holding NV (New York registered) | 2,094,770 | 393,921 |
ServiceNow, Inc.1 | 2,921,675 | 720,164 |
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 17,821,621 | 701,027 |
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., nonvoting preferred | 596,200 | 19,040 |
Intel Corp. | 11,140,200 | 598,229 |
GoDaddy Inc., Class A1 | 7,229,297 | 543,571 |
Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | 9,586,300 | 476,763 |
Adobe Inc.1 | 1,615,000 | 430,381 |
Temenos AG | 2,780,219 | 409,878 |
Largan Precision Co., Ltd. | 2,691,000 | 401,635 |
Amadeus IT Group SA, Class A, non-registered shares | 4,562,000 | 365,384 |
Texas Instruments Inc. | 3,443,600 | 365,263 |
Autodesk, Inc.1 | 2,015,000 | 313,977 |
Global Payments Inc. | 2,282,000 | 311,539 |
Apple Inc. | 1,623,469 | 308,378 |
VeriSign, Inc.1 | 1,535,000 | 278,695 |
Keyence Corp. | 446,520 | 277,871 |
Trimble Inc.1 | 6,519,216 | 263,376 |
ON Semiconductor Corp.1 | 12,546,200 | 258,075 |
MediaTek Inc. | 25,719,000 | 235,740 |
SAP SE | 1,911,024 | 220,800 |
FLIR Systems, Inc. | 3,644,000 | 173,382 |
Amphenol Corp., Class A | 1,700,000 | 160,548 |
Halma PLC | 5,564,540 | 121,179 |
PayPal Holdings, Inc.1 | 945,580 | 98,189 |
AAC Technologies Holdings Inc. | 12,407,210 | 73,416 |
Symantec Corp. | 3,073,000 | 70,648 |
Workday, Inc., Class A1 | 363,500 | 70,101 |
QUALCOMM Inc. | 1,079,900 | 61,587 |
Micro Focus International PLC | 2,344,100 | 60,955 |
NetApp, Inc. | 536,300 | 37,187 |
Renesas Electronics Corp.1 | 5,531,289 | 25,553 |
LG Display Co., Ltd.1 | 800,000 | 13,743 |
17,760,909 | ||
Consumer discretionary 14.29% | ||
Amazon.com, Inc.1 | 1,822,932 | 3,246,186 |
Naspers Ltd., Class N | 4,737,322 | 1,094,026 |
Tesla, Inc.1 | 3,232,000 | 904,508 |
NIKE, Inc., Class B | 10,128,300 | 852,904 |
New Perspective Fund — Page 1 of 7
unaudited
Common stocks (continued) Consumer discretionary (continued) | Shares | Value (000) |
LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton SE | 1,886,158 | $693,770 |
Ctrip.com International, Ltd. (ADR)1 | 11,823,800 | 516,582 |
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. | 5,986,101 | 497,505 |
adidas AG | 1,949,487 | 473,669 |
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.1 | 8,132,983 | 446,989 |
Home Depot, Inc. | 2,125,000 | 407,766 |
Kering SA | 681,611 | 390,862 |
MGM Resorts International | 10,555,000 | 270,841 |
Hermès International | 365,942 | 241,453 |
Suzuki Motor Corp. | 4,747,400 | 209,806 |
Booking Holdings Inc.1 | 107,180 | 187,019 |
Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. | 24,779,000 | 168,719 |
Industria de Diseño Textil, SA | 5,451,172 | 160,209 |
Hyundai Motor Co. | 1,396,206 | 146,989 |
EssilorLuxottica | 1,272,382 | 138,990 |
Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd. (ADR) | 5,953,000 | 134,478 |
MercadoLibre, Inc.1 | 242,900 | 123,328 |
Restaurant Brands International Inc. | 1,639,000 | 106,715 |
Wynn Resorts, Ltd. | 829,500 | 98,976 |
Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd. | 369,900 | 93,585 |
Marriott International, Inc., Class A | 700,000 | 87,563 |
GVC Holdings PLC | 11,685,900 | 85,082 |
Valeo SA, non-registered shares | 2,708,600 | 78,542 |
Nitori Holdings Co., Ltd. | 505,000 | 65,158 |
Samsonite International SA | 19,654,901 | 62,971 |
YUM! Brands, Inc. | 595,000 | 59,387 |
Domino’s Pizza, Inc. | 190,000 | 49,039 |
Wynn Macau, Ltd. | 14,533,918 | 34,252 |
McDonald’s Corp. | 177,000 | 33,612 |
Tiffany & Co. | 218,000 | 23,010 |
Sodexo SA | 201,000 | 22,132 |
Cie. Financière Richemont SA, Class A | 265,600 | 19,349 |
DENSO Corp. | 479,800 | 18,689 |
12,244,661 | ||
Health care 11.59% | ||
Intuitive Surgical, Inc.1 | 2,080,000 | 1,186,806 |
Boston Scientific Corp.1 | 23,870,055 | 916,133 |
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. | 2,657,974 | 727,541 |
AstraZeneca PLC | 8,400,702 | 667,653 |
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.1 | 1,368,000 | 561,728 |
Zoetis Inc., Class A | 5,525,000 | 556,202 |
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.1 | 2,499,900 | 459,857 |
Incyte Corp.1 | 5,172,628 | 444,898 |
Novartis AG | 3,923,051 | 377,354 |
Novo Nordisk A/S, Class B | 6,632,133 | 347,182 |
Danaher Corp. | 2,599,365 | 343,168 |
Seattle Genetics, Inc.1 | 3,743,903 | 274,203 |
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.1,2 | 3,397,088 | 235,622 |
IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.1 | 1,017,000 | 227,401 |
Biogen Inc.1 | 955,500 | 225,861 |
Koninklijke Philips NV | 4,650,027 | 189,425 |
Pfizer Inc. | 4,445,000 | 188,779 |
Merck & Co., Inc. | 2,168,800 | 180,379 |
HOYA Corp. | 2,384,200 | 157,233 |
New Perspective Fund — Page 2 of 7
unaudited
Common stocks (continued) Health care (continued) | Shares | Value (000) |
Bluebird Bio, Inc.1 | 954,300 | $150,140 |
Hologic, Inc.1 | 3,070,000 | 148,588 |
BeiGene, Ltd. (ADR)1 | 1,071,647 | 141,457 |
Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc.1 | 2,086,622 | 140,722 |
Johnson & Johnson | 820,200 | 114,656 |
Coloplast A/S, Class B | 1,041,950 | 114,318 |
Shionogi & Co., Ltd. | 1,816,500 | 112,304 |
Medtronic PLC | 1,007,900 | 91,799 |
Mylan NV1 | 3,200,000 | 90,688 |
Abbott Laboratories | 1,040,000 | 83,138 |
Roche Holding AG, nonvoting, non-registered shares | 288,503 | 79,489 |
Straumann Holding AG | 96,267 | 78,551 |
Grifols, SA, Class B, nonvoting preferred, non-registered shares | 3,791,766 | 75,200 |
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp. Ltd. | 6,624,467 | 70,827 |
Eli Lilly and Co. | 436,700 | 56,666 |
Demant A/S1 | 1,477,695 | 43,695 |
Sanofi | 353,000 | 31,179 |
Bayer AG | 363,800 | 23,506 |
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. | 3,309,335 | 22,875 |
9,937,223 | ||
Financials 10.45% | ||
JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 12,741,200 | 1,289,792 |
AIA Group Ltd. | 119,438,000 | 1,189,062 |
CME Group Inc., Class A | 6,426,400 | 1,057,657 |
London Stock Exchange Group PLC | 11,282,400 | 698,148 |
Chubb Ltd. | 3,999,300 | 560,222 |
Moody’s Corp. | 2,989,700 | 541,405 |
BlackRock, Inc. | 1,113,789 | 476,000 |
DNB ASA | 18,600,861 | 342,473 |
ICICI Bank Ltd. (ADR) | 12,430,000 | 142,448 |
ICICI Bank Ltd. | 24,001,523 | 138,760 |
Prudential PLC | 12,416,663 | 248,646 |
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. | 3,134,000 | 238,623 |
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. | 6,475,400 | 225,692 |
Arch Capital Group Ltd.1 | 5,324,850 | 172,099 |
State Street Corp. | 2,378,836 | 156,551 |
SVB Financial Group1 | 687,816 | 152,943 |
Hiscox Ltd. | 7,374,600 | 149,839 |
Bank of America Corp. | 5,012,000 | 138,281 |
Svenska Handelsbanken AB, Class A | 11,529,917 | 121,657 |
Sampo Oyj, Class A | 2,265,112 | 102,677 |
Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Class A1 | 280 | 84,340 |
UniCredit SpA | 5,707,501 | 73,166 |
T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. | 725,000 | 72,587 |
Macquarie Group Ltd. | 735,000 | 67,543 |
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA | 11,375,959 | 64,992 |
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., subordinate voting shares (CAD denominated) | 132,200 | 61,235 |
Morgan Stanley | 1,270,500 | 53,615 |
Bank of New York Mellon Corp. | 1,003,100 | 50,586 |
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. | 262,326 | 50,364 |
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. | 7,758,500 | 38,502 |
Bank of China Ltd., Class H | 73,145,000 | 33,172 |
Barclays PLC | 16,302,781 | 32,844 |
Société Générale | 1,083,000 | 31,313 |
New Perspective Fund — Page 3 of 7
unaudited
Common stocks (continued) Financials (continued) | Shares | Value (000) |
AXA SA | 1,203,000 | $30,269 |
KBC Groep NV | 412,849 | 28,843 |
Deutsche Bank AG | 2,899,744 | 23,615 |
MetLife, Inc. | 403,800 | 17,190 |
Brighthouse Financial, Inc.1 | 36,709 | 1,332 |
8,958,483 | ||
Communication services 8.92% | ||
Facebook, Inc., Class A1 | 13,114,800 | 2,186,106 |
Alphabet Inc., Class C1 | 926,723 | 1,087,333 |
Alphabet Inc., Class A1 | 622,800 | 732,967 |
Netflix, Inc.1 | 3,341,000 | 1,191,267 |
SoftBank Group Corp. | 6,757,834 | 655,174 |
Nintendo Co., Ltd. | 1,555,100 | 442,831 |
Activision Blizzard, Inc. | 6,635,900 | 302,132 |
América Móvil, SAB de CV, Series L (ADR) | 19,353,600 | 276,369 |
Vodafone Group PLC | 106,665,167 | 194,219 |
Altice Europe NV, Class A1 | 60,844,890 | 159,780 |
CBS Corp., Class B | 1,908,924 | 90,731 |
Spotify Technology SA1 | 596,000 | 82,725 |
Cellnex Telecom, SA | 2,772,358 | 81,355 |
Koninklijke KPN NV | 14,222,073 | 45,085 |
Altice USA, Inc., Class A | 2,042,784 | 43,879 |
Inmarsat PLC | 3,807,400 | 27,522 |
Bharti Airtel Ltd. | 4,702,452 | 22,611 |
MultiChoice Group Ltd.1 | 2,582,219 | 21,601 |
7,643,687 | ||
Industrials 8.24% | ||
Airbus SE, non-registered shares | 7,096,759 | 938,577 |
Safran SA | 5,937,126 | 814,182 |
ASSA ABLOY AB, Class B | 21,942,886 | 473,679 |
IDEX Corp. | 3,023,500 | 458,786 |
Ryanair Holdings PLC (ADR)1 | 4,828,200 | 361,825 |
Boeing Co. | 930,800 | 355,026 |
DSV A/S | 3,909,797 | 323,339 |
Equifax Inc. | 2,297,900 | 272,301 |
Deere & Co. | 1,387,700 | 221,810 |
MTU Aero Engines AG | 952,000 | 215,503 |
MISUMI Group Inc. | 7,686,200 | 190,855 |
Fortive Corp. | 2,000,000 | 167,780 |
Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp. | 2,275,900 | 167,779 |
Edenred SA | 3,619,413 | 164,717 |
TransDigm Group Inc.1 | 336,450 | 152,745 |
RELX PLC | 7,043,200 | 150,582 |
Johnson Controls International PLC | 3,900,000 | 144,066 |
SMC Corp. | 382,800 | 143,442 |
Aalberts Industries NV, non-registered shares | 3,965,000 | 137,124 |
Aggreko PLC2 | 12,982,339 | 133,106 |
Eaton Corp. PLC | 1,650,000 | 132,924 |
Northrop Grumman Corp. | 491,300 | 132,455 |
Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. | 3,776,348 | 107,706 |
DP World PLC | 6,196,231 | 99,140 |
International Consolidated Airlines Group, SA (CDI) | 14,024,984 | 93,526 |
Epiroc AB1 | 8,765,051 | 86,105 |
New Perspective Fund — Page 4 of 7
unaudited
Common stocks (continued) Industrials (continued) | Shares | Value (000) |
Middleby Corp.1 | 550,130 | $71,533 |
Spirax-Sarco Engineering PLC | 708,230 | 66,323 |
Nidec Corp. | 505,100 | 63,918 |
Rheinmetall AG | 489,351 | 50,985 |
Larsen & Toubro Ltd. | 2,525,314 | 50,499 |
Honeywell International Inc. | 238,600 | 37,918 |
PageGroup PLC | 4,658,357 | 28,516 |
JGC Corp. | 2,096,300 | 27,823 |
United Technologies Corp. | 152,500 | 19,656 |
General Electric Co. | 1,053,000 | 10,520 |
7,066,771 | ||
Consumer staples 8.02% | ||
Nestlé SA | 10,777,488 | 1,027,149 |
Pernod Ricard SA | 4,297,502 | 771,316 |
Costco Wholesale Corp. | 2,365,700 | 572,831 |
British American Tobacco PLC | 10,084,370 | 419,512 |
Mondelez International, Inc. | 6,547,500 | 326,851 |
Carlsberg A/S, Class B | 2,355,213 | 294,145 |
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. | 4,484,500 | 283,734 |
KOSÉ Corp. | 1,437,200 | 263,631 |
Coca-Cola European Partners PLC | 5,060,479 | 261,829 |
Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. | 5,869,900 | 261,108 |
Coca-Cola Co. | 5,468,400 | 256,249 |
Associated British Foods PLC | 7,486,059 | 237,808 |
L’Oréal SA, bonus shares3 | 686,197 | 184,584 |
L’Oréal SA, non-registered shares | 197,010 | 52,995 |
WH Group Ltd. | 205,841,500 | 220,265 |
Japan Tobacco Inc. | 7,026,700 | 174,035 |
Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC | 1,876,176 | 155,952 |
Danone SA | 1,917,582 | 147,755 |
Diageo PLC | 3,449,522 | 140,985 |
Fomento Económico Mexicano, SAB de CV (ADR) | 800,000 | 73,824 |
Fomento Económico Mexicano, SAB de CV | 6,125,000 | 56,532 |
Shoprite Holdings Ltd. | 10,746,238 | 118,129 |
Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. | 11,431,785 | 113,204 |
PepsiCo, Inc. | 748,100 | 91,680 |
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) | 2,515,322 | 85,670 |
Unilever NV, depository receipts | 1,125,602 | 65,380 |
Uni-Charm Corp. | 1,890,000 | 62,466 |
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV | 595,000 | 49,898 |
Philip Morris International Inc. | 441,000 | 38,980 |
Unilever PLC | 666,760 | 38,167 |
General Mills, Inc. | 462,000 | 23,909 |
6,870,573 | ||
Materials 5.52% | ||
Vale SA, ordinary nominative (ADR) | 46,957,820 | 613,269 |
Vale SA, ordinary nominative | 7,577,155 | 98,562 |
Koninklijke DSM NV | 5,366,624 | 584,904 |
Linde PLC | 2,395,600 | 421,458 |
Linde PLC (EUR denominated) | 569,800 | 99,711 |
DowDuPont Inc. | 8,054,005 | 429,359 |
Asahi Kasei Corp. | 38,649,973 | 398,252 |
Sherwin-Williams Co. | 855,484 | 368,466 |
New Perspective Fund — Page 5 of 7
unaudited
Common stocks (continued) Materials (continued) | Shares | Value (000) |
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. | 3,440,000 | $288,038 |
Nutrien Ltd. (CAD denominated) | 4,155,400 | 219,159 |
Gerdau SA (ADR) | 51,653,912 | 200,417 |
Chr. Hansen Holding A/S | 1,919,776 | 194,591 |
Rio Tinto PLC | 3,000,000 | 174,307 |
LafargeHolcim Ltd. | 3,348,994 | 165,440 |
Air Liquide SA, non-registered shares | 925,310 | 117,654 |
Air Liquide SA, bonus shares1,3 | 156,272 | 19,870 |
LANXESS AG | 1,803,000 | 96,150 |
First Quantum Minerals Ltd. | 6,850,000 | 77,657 |
Barrick Gold Corp. | 3,968,000 | 54,401 |
Newmont Mining Corp. | 1,145,400 | 40,971 |
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. | 622,500 | 25,448 |
CCL Industries Inc., Class B, nonvoting shares | 603,000 | 24,411 |
Alrosa PJSC | 12,510,000 | 17,620 |
4,730,115 | ||
Energy 4.21% | ||
Enbridge Inc. (CAD denominated) | 15,936,052 | 577,173 |
Enbridge Inc. (CAD denominated)4 | 2,323,647 | 84,158 |
Reliance Industries Ltd. | 25,311,500 | 498,100 |
Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Class B | 12,911,100 | 408,294 |
Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Class A (GBP denominated) | 387,149 | 12,170 |
EOG Resources, Inc. | 3,678,000 | 350,072 |
Baker Hughes, a GE Co., Class A | 9,390,000 | 260,291 |
Occidental Petroleum Corp. | 3,300,300 | 218,480 |
Schlumberger Ltd. | 4,967,700 | 216,443 |
ConocoPhillips | 2,990,000 | 199,553 |
Canadian Natural Resources, Ltd. (CAD denominated) | 6,438,000 | 176,758 |
Rosneft Oil Co. PJSC (GDR) | 19,258,387 | 120,943 |
INPEX Corp. | 12,625,200 | 120,237 |
Halliburton Co. | 3,440,700 | 100,813 |
CNOOC Ltd. | 52,700,000 | 98,687 |
Chevron Corp. | 391,700 | 48,250 |
LUKOIL Oil Co. PJSC (ADR) | 444,000 | 39,782 |
Ensco PLC, Class A | 9,632,669 | 37,856 |
Core Laboratories NV | 333,343 | 22,977 |
Gazprom PJSC (ADR) | 4,662,000 | 21,044 |
3,612,081 | ||
Utilities 1.19% | ||
Ørsted AS | 4,969,200 | 376,606 |
Sempra Energy | 2,024,700 | 254,829 |
AES Corp. | 12,110,873 | 218,964 |
Enel SpA | 26,698,704 | 170,831 |
1,021,230 | ||
Real estate 0.75% | ||
American Tower Corp. REIT | 1,319,800 | 260,080 |
Equinix, Inc. REIT | 344,300 | 156,023 |
CK Asset Holdings Ltd. | 17,426,500 | 154,952 |
Digital Realty Trust, Inc. REIT | 591,900 | 70,436 |
641,491 | ||
Total common stocks(cost: $50,960,483,000) | 80,487,224 |
New Perspective Fund — Page 6 of 7
unaudited
Convertible bonds 0.04% Energy 0.04% | Principal amount (000) | Value (000) |
Weatherford International PLC, convertible notes, 5.875% 2021 | $41,536 | $33,748 |
Total convertible bonds(cost: $41,265,000) | 33,748 | |
Short-term securities 5.98% Money market investments 5.98% | Shares | |
Capital Group Central Cash Fund | 51,268,775 | 5,125,852 |
Total short-term securities(cost: $5,126,347,000) | 5,125,852 | |
Total investment securities 99.92%(cost: $56,128,095,000) | 85,646,824 | |
Other assets less liabilities 0.08% | 67,369 | |
Net assets 100.00% | $85,714,193 |
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 | Valued under fair value procedures adopted by authority of the board of trustees. The total value of all such securities was $204,454,000, which represented .24% of the net assets of the fund. |
4 | 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 $84,158,000, which represented .10% of the net assets of the fund. |
Key to abbreviations |
ADR = American Depositary Receipts |
CAD = Canadian dollars |
CDI = CREST Depository Interest |
EUR = Euros |
GBP = British pounds |
GDR = Global Depositary Receipts |
Additional financial disclosures are included in the fund’s current shareholder report and should be read in conjunction with this report.
Investments are not FDIC-insured, nor are they deposits of or guaranteed by a bank or any other entity, so they may lose value.
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. Fund shares offered through American Funds Distributors, Inc.
All Capital Group trademarks mentioned are owned by The Capital Group Companies, Inc., an affiliated company or fund. All other company and product names mentioned are the property of their respective companies.
© 2019 Capital Group. All rights reserved.
MFGEFPX-007-0519O-S66066 | New Perspective Fund — Page 7 of 7 |
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 semi-annual 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.
NEW PERSPECTIVE FUND | |
By__/s/ Walter R. Burkley____________________ | |
Walter R. Burkley, Executive Vice President and Principal Executive Officer | |
Date: May 31, 2019 |
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/ Walter R. Burkley_________________ |
Walter R. Burkley, Executive Vice President and Principal Executive Officer |
Date: May 31, 2019 |
By ___/s/ Brian C. Janssen __________ |
Brian C. Janssen, Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer |
Date: May 31, 2019 |