American High Income Trust (AHITX) N-CSR Certified annual shareholder report (management investment company)

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: 811-05364

American High-Income Trust

(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: September 30, 2011

Courtney R. Taylor

Capital Research and Management Company

333 South Hope Street

Los Angeles, California 90071

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

Copies to:

Michael Glazer

Bingham McCutchen LLP

355 South Grand Avenue, Suite 4400

Los Angeles, California 90071

(Counsel for the Registrant)

ITEM 1 – Reports to Stockholders

   

American High-Income TrustSM

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Special feature

Understanding and managing the risks of high-yield bonds

u See page 4

Annual report for the year ended September 30, 2011

American High-Income Trust seeks a high level of current income and, secondarily, capital appreciation through a diversified, carefully supervised portfolio consisting primarily of lower rated, higher risk corporate bonds.

This fund is one of the 33 American Funds. American Funds is one of the nation’s largest mutual fund families. For 80 years, Capital Research and Management Company,SM the American Funds adviser, 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 3.75%) had been deducted, the results would have been lower. Results are for past periods and are not predictive of results for future periods. Current and future results may be lower or higher than those shown. Share prices and returns will vary, so investors may lose money. Investing for short periods makes losses more likely. Investments are not FDIC-insured, nor are they deposits of or guaranteed by a bank or any other entity, so they may lose value. For current information and month-end results, visit americanfunds.com.

Results at a glance
For periods ended September 30, 2011, with all distributions reinvested
	Total returns			Average annual total returns
	1 year			5 years			10 years			Lifetime
										(since 2/19/88)
American High-Income Trust
(Class A shares)		0.7	%		5.0	%		7.6	%		8.3	%
Barclays Capital U.S. Corporate High Yield
2% Issuer Capped Index*,†		1.7			7.3			8.9			—
Lipper High Current Yield Funds Index		0.9			4.8			7.0			6.7
Citigroup Broad Investment-Grade
(BIG) Bond Index†		5.3			6.7			5.8			7.3
*This index did not exist prior to December 31, 1992.
†The market indexes are unmanaged and, therefore, have no expenses.

Since its inception through September 30, 2011, American High-Income Trust ranked 3rd in total return among the 32 high current yield funds in existence throughout the period, according to Lipper. For the 10 years ended September 30, 2011, the fund ranked 77th of 232; for the five years ended September 30, 2011, it ranked 194th of 350; and for the 12 months ended September 30, 2011, it ranked 278th of 495. Lipper rankings do not reflect the effect of sales charges.

Investment results assume all distributions are reinvested and reflect applicable fees and expenses. The fund’s investment adviser waived a portion of its management fees from September 1, 2004, through December 31, 2008. Applicable fund results shown reflect the waiver, without which they would have been lower. See the Financial Highlights table on pages 25 and 26 for details.

The fund’s 30-day yield for Class A shares as of October 31, 2011, calculated in accordance with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission formula, was 7.97%. The fund’s distribution rate for Class A shares as of that date was 7.81%. Both reflect the 3.75% maximum sales charge. The SEC yield reflects the rate at which the fund is earning income on its current portfolio of securities while the distribution rate reflects the fund’s past dividends paid to shareholders. Accordingly, the fund’s SEC yield and distribution rate may differ.

See page 3 for Class A share results with relevant sales charges deducted. Results for other share classes can be found on page 30.

The return of principal for bond funds and for funds with significant underlying bond holdings is not guaranteed. Fund shares are subject to the same interest rate, inflation and credit risks associated with the underlying bond holdings. High-yield bonds are subject to greater fluctuations in value and risk of loss of income and principal than investment-grade bonds. Bond ratings, which typically range from Aaa/AAA (highest) to D (lowest), are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and/or Fitch as an indication of an issuer’s creditworthiness. Investing in bonds issued outside the U.S. may be subject to additional risks. They include currency fluctuations, political and social instability, differing securities regulations and accounting standards, higher transaction costs, possible changes in taxation, illiquidity and price volatility. These risks may be heightened in connection with investments in developing countries. See the prospectus and the Risk Factors section of this report for more information on these and other risks associated with investing in the fund.

Fellow investors:

After a strong start to the fiscal year beginning on October 1, 2010, growing concerns about the European sovereign debt crisis, policy uncertainty in the U.S. and weak global economic growth caused investors to sell off riskier assets in favor of higher quality investments such as Treasuries. The shift marked the end of a high-yield market rally that began in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.

In this environment, American High-Income Trust reported a total return of 0.7% for the 12 months ended September 30, 2011, assuming the reinvestment of monthly dividends totaling 88 cents a share. Shareholders who reinvested dividends received an income return of 8.2% for the year. Those who elected to take their dividends in cash received an income return of 7.9% and saw the value of their holdings decline by 6.9%.

By comparison, the Lipper High Current Yield Funds Index, a benchmark of similar funds, posted a 0.9% total return, and the Barclays Capital U.S. Corporate High Yield 2% Issuer Capped Index, which covers the universe of fixed-rate, non-investment-grade debt and limits the maximum exposure of any one issuer to 2%, earned 1.7%. The latter index is unmanaged and, therefore, has no expenses.

The year in review

The 2011 fiscal year was a tale of two markets. Throughout the first half of the period, liquidity in the credit markets, low default rates, an improving economy and strong investor demand helped high-yield bond markets post healthy returns. Companies were focused on reducing their leverage, lowering their debt burdens, extending their debt maturities and improving their balance sheets overall. In the first six months of the fiscal year, American High-Income Trust posted a 7.7% gain, with dividends reinvested.

But as the year progressed, market and investor sentiment weakened amid concerns that global economic growth was stalling and the European sovereign debt crisis was escalating. The European financial crisis, a reflection of high debt levels in Europe, sparked concerns about leverage and debt levels throughout the world. The high-yield market, which by definition is a market of leverage, was a target of those concerns. Investors sold off riskier assets in favor of the relative safety of higher quality bonds, causing U.S. Treasuries to rally. The fund posted a –6.5% return for the last half of the fiscal year, ending the 12 months relatively flat.

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In this report
	Special feature
4	Understanding and managing the risks of high-yield bonds
	Contents
1	Letter to investors
3	The value of a long-term perspective
10	Summary investment
	portfolio
15	Financial statements
31	Board of trustees and
	other officers

[End Sidebar]

[Begin Sidebar]

High-yield bonds of companies that aren’t necessarily growing but are able to service their debt can provide a stream of income during periods of muted growth and can do reasonably well as part of a diversified portfolio.

[End Sidebar]

Finding opportunity in a volatile environment

The recent market weakness has made high-yield bond valuations more attractive, allowing the fund’s managers to become more fully invested through the second half of the year. Because we cannot depend on economic growth in the immediate future to fuel rapid credit improvement, we are seeking higher yielding investments that we believe can support their capital structures in a weak or stalled economy.

With that in mind, we have increased our ownership of leveraged loans, which tend to be more senior in the capital structure, which means they have better loss-protection features. They also tend to have floating rates, which will help protect against interest rate increases.

Because of the opportunity created by lower valuations, we are also taking more credit risk by increasing our investments in lower rated parts of the market.

While a weakening economy will be detrimental for high-yield bonds, a low-growth environment can be beneficial. In a low-growth and low-return environment, income can be a good way to generate investment returns. High-yield bonds of companies that aren’t necessarily growing but are able to service their debt can provide a stream of income during periods of muted growth and can do reasonably well as part of a diversified portfolio.

American High-Income Trust’s investment professionals focus on in-depth fundamental research to make the right credit selections and balance risk with return in different market environments. When choosing holdings for the portfolio, the fund’s investment professionals actively manage all dimensions of risk. To gain a better understanding of the risks associated with high-yield bonds and how we manage those risks in the portfolio, please see the feature on page 4.

Maintaining a long-term perspective

Despite the market challenges and the possibility of slow growth going forward, it is important for investors to maintain a long-term perspective. The last several years have certainly been volatile for investors, but over the long run high-yield bonds have provided attractive returns and a steady source of income. For the past 10-year period ended September 30, 2011, the fund’s shareholders earned an average annual total return of 7.6%, with dividends reinvested. That compares with a 7.0% average annual total return for the Lipper High Current Yield Funds Index and an 8.9% gain for Barclays Capital U.S. Corporate High Yield 2% Issuer Capped Index for that same period.

Those long-term returns surpassed other asset classes over the same 10-year time period. Investment-grade bonds, as measured by the Citigroup BIG Index, earned an average annual total return of 5.8% and Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Index, a broad measure of mostly large U.S. stocks, posted a 2.8% annualized return. Both indexes are unmanaged and, therefore, have

no expenses.

As always, we appreciate your continued support and long-term investment perspective.

Sincerely,

/s/ Paul G. Haaga, Jr.

Paul G. Haaga, Jr.

Vice Chairman

/s/ David C. Barclay

David C. Barclay

President

November 11, 2011

For current information about the fund, visit americanfunds.com.

The value of a long-term perspective

Here’s how a $10,000 investment in American High-Income Trust grew between February 19, 1988, when the fund began operations, and September 30, 2011, the end of its latest fiscal year. As you can see, that $10,000 grew to $62,731 with all distributions reinvested.

Fund results shown reflect deduction of the maximum sales charge of 3.75% on the $10,000 investment.1 Thus, the net amount invested was $9,625.2

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Year ended September 30	American High-Income Trust		Barclays Capital U.S. Corporate High Yield 2% Issuer Capped Index3,4		Lipper High Current Yield Funds Index5		Citigroup Broad Investment-Grade (BIG) Bond Index3		Consumer Price Index (inflation)6
2/19/88	$	9,625	$	10,000	$	10,000	$	10,000	$	10,000
1988		10,182		10,447		10,475		10,222		10,328
1989		11,189		11,026		10,935		11,367		10,776
1990		10,735		10,047		9,570		12,237		11,440
1991		13,873		13,757		12,290		14,198		11,828
1992		16,376		16,573		15,132		15,999		12,181
1993		18,764		18,976		17,473		17,627		12,509
1994		19,066		19,580		17,899		17,063		12,879
1995		21,604		22,549		20,178		19,461		13,207
1996		24,570		25,035		22,644		20,423		13,603
1997		28,176		28,661		26,120		22,406		13,897
1998		27,491		29,160		25,688		24,975		14,103
1999		29,721		30,002		27,037		24,908		14,474
2000		31,295		30,288		27,021		26,632		14,974
2001		30,218		28,647		23,569		30,110		15,371
2002		28,442		28,400		22,814		32,632		15,603
2003		38,197		36,767		28,862		34,423		15,966
2004		42,235		41,372		32,215		35,738		16,371
2005		45,421		44,096		34,421		36,783		17,138
2006		49,174		47,286		36,744		38,147		17,491
2007		53,103		50,887		39,586		40,148		17,973
2008		46,800		45,540		35,054		41,947		18,861
2009		53,376		55,792		39,311		46,553		18,618
2010		62,318		65,967		46,058		50,168		18,831
2011		62,731		67,119		46,476		52,804		19,559

[end mountain chart]

1As outlined in the prospectus, the sales charge is reduced for accounts (and aggregated investments) of $100,000 or more and is eliminated for purchases of $1 million or more. There is no sales charge on dividends or capital gain distributions that are reinvested in additional shares.

2The maximum initial sales charge was 4.75% prior to January 10, 2000.

3The market indexes are unmanaged and, therefore, have no expenses.

4From February 19, 1988, through December 31, 1992, the Credit Suisse High Yield Index was used because the Barclays Capital U.S. Corporate High Yield 2% Issuer Capped Index did not yet exist. Since January 1, 1993, the Barclays Capital U.S. Corporate High Yield 2% Issuer Capped Index has been used.

5Results for the Lipper High Current Yield Funds Index do not reflect sales charges.

6Computed from data supplied by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

7For the period February 19, 1988 (when the fund began operations) through September 30, 1988.

Past results are not predictive of results for future periods. The results shown are before taxes on fund distributions and sale of fund shares.

Average annual total returns based on a $1,000 investment (for periods ended September 30, 2011)*
	1 year			5 years			10 years
Class A shares		–3.08	%		4.19	%		7.17	%
*Assumes reinvestment of all distributions and payment of the maximum 3.75% sales charge.

The total annual fund operating expense ratio was 0.67% for Class A shares as of the most recent fiscal year-end.

Investment results assume all distributions are reinvested and reflect applicable fees and expenses. The fund’s investment adviser waived a portion of its management fees from September 1, 2004, through December 31, 2008. Applicable fund results shown reflect the waiver, without which they would have been lower. See the Financial Highlights table on pages 25 and 26 for details.

Understanding and managing the risks of high-yield bonds

American High-Income Trust’s investment professionals explain the main types of risk associated with high-yield bonds and dispel some common misperceptions about investing in this market.

For many investors still recovering from the 2008-2009 financial crisis, risk has become a four-letter word. “Since 2008, there are some investors whose primary concern is to avoid risk,” says David Barclay, president of American High-Income Trust. “Although that’s an understandable reaction, the reality is that investing is always a risk. What investors can do is manage their exposure by taking risks appropriate to their time horizon and making sure their portfolios are well-diversified.”

With high-yield bonds, it’s understood that a certain amount of risk comes with the territory. Commonly referred to as “junk” bonds, they often pay higher yields than investment-grade bonds because they have a higher chance of default and are therefore rated lower by rating agencies. But investors often misunderstand the nature of that risk.

“People view bonds with high yields as having high risk,” says Richard Lewis, an analyst for the fund. “While that may sometimes be true, there are also companies where people assumed the risks to be very low because they were rated higher, and yet the company ended up having serious problems.”

Sometimes, the policy of being too cautious can be the biggest risk of all. “Some investors become so blinded by fear that they talk themselves out of investing altogether,” says Barclay, who is also a portfolio counselor for the fund. “There always will be reasons not to invest and there is always the possibility of losing money, but there’s also the opportunity cost of not investing at all.”

In the following pages, we talk with several of the fund’s investment professionals to better understand the various risks associated with high-yield bonds and the strategies used by American Funds analysts and traders to balance those risks with the potential for return.

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[photo of Richard Lewis]

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flexibility

“You can never predict all the financial outcomes, but you can try to understand the flexibilities and options a company may have in order to persevere through different environments.”

— Richard Lewis, analyst

[End Sidebar]

Credit analysis is key

In the world of high-yield bonds, credit analysis is crucial in managing risk. Credit risk measures how likely it is that the issuer may not be able to make its scheduled interest and principal payments. “Our analysts evaluate the potential impact of improving, stable or deteriorating credit,” says Barclay.

As part of his analysis, David Daigle, a portfolio counselor for the fund, looks at the underlying stability of the company’s earnings stream. “I think about how a company’s earnings could potentially weaken over a three- to five-year time horizon. Even if the company is at a record level of earnings, I think about what could happen that would impact profitability,” he says. “For example, if there is a health care provider that currently has strong earnings, but the vast majority of its revenues are from Medicare, what is the risk that Medicare reimbursement cuts could have a material adverse impact on these earnings over time?”

Irina Goedemans, an analyst with the fund, says her credit analysis is both quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative part of her analysis includes looking at a company’s cash flows, the sustainability of those cash flows and its capital structure. The capital structure represents a hierarchy of claims on a company and will determine the priority of that debt getting paid in the event of a corporate reorganization.

The qualitative part of her analysis focuses on the company’s management. “I build a relationship with management to understand whether they behave more conservatively or tend to take more risks,” says Goedemans. She also researches the industry by evaluating the competition and reading her colleagues’ research. “From that, I can come up with an expectation of cash flows and volatility of cash flows, and look at all the paths the company can take.”

Evaluating the creditworthiness of high-yield bonds can be complex, mainly because high-yield companies’ capital structures often have several layers of debt (senior secured, senior unsecured, subordinated), and most high-yield securities have covenants. Covenants are clauses in the formal debt agreement, usually designed to protect the lender, that dictate what each party can and cannot do.

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[photo of Jim Hudnall]

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liquidity

“Liquidity risk can negatively impact an actively managed portfolio in two ways. First, it can raise the cost of transacting and, second, it can limit your ability to transact altogether.”

— Jim Hudnall, trader

[End Sidebar]

Because of these complexities, the high-yield market is an area where in-depth research can add value. “We must analyze the overall attributes of a specific bond within the context of a capital structure that has multiple types of liabilities,” says Daigle, “and we need to understand the covenants and the extent to which they will provide protection for us as investors in the securities.”

Defaults don’t tell the whole story

Defaults occur when a company fails to make a scheduled interest or principal payment to a bondholder. The risk of default can be on principal or interest, or both. Myriad factors can lead to a default, including business cycle volatility and excessive leverage, as was the case in 2008. Other cycles where defaults became prominent were the 1990 recession and the aftermath of the technology bubble in 2002.

While the likelihood of defaults is certainly an issue, fixating on the default rate alone can be misleading because you miss a lot of the dynamics, says Lewis. “It goes back to what you are actually paying for the investment. You can generate a 0% default rate by selling investments right before they default, but that’s not necessarily beneficial for shareholders. We have sometimes bought companies’ bonds knowing they would default because we believed they offered good return potential. Our reasoning was that if the company converted some of its debt to equity, it could ease the burden on the company, allowing it to generate the cash flow needed to meet its debt obligations. So looking at the default rate alone gives you very little information about the returns of a portfolio. In fact, focusing only on avoiding defaults can be detrimental to shareholders.”

Preparing for “event” risk

Another type of risk, known as “event” risk, occurs whenever a company makes a decision to increase its debt load, which then causes the value of its bonds to decline or impacts its ability to make timely interest and principal payments to bondholders. “A company may be trying to buy back shares or fund an acquisition or dividend payment,” says Barclay. “In effect, the company increases its leverage and reduces its equity, causing its bonds to be downgraded.”

This type of risk can sometimes vary by industry. For example, if a particular industry is experiencing consolidation, more companies in that sector may make the decision to increase their debt levels in order to purchase a competing company.

Event risk can also encompass a variety of unforeseen situations that could result in an abrupt downgrade of a company’s corporate bonds, such as management changes, rising costs, regulatory shifts or a natural disaster. “In these circumstances, we try to imagine a company’s financial flexibility in different scenarios,” says Lewis. “Does it have assets it can sell? Can it raise capital in different ways in different markets?  You can never predict all the financial outcomes, but you can try to understand the flexibilities and options a company may have in order to persevere through different environments.”

The link between liquidity and price

Liquidity risk, which was a big issue during the financial crisis and leverage unwind of 2008-2009, refers to the investor’s ability to transact in a bond quickly and at an attractive price, as reflected in what is called the bid-ask spread. Much like the process of selling a home, a difference may exist between the prices sellers are asking and the prices buyers are bidding. When the gap is small, it produces greater liquidity because sellers can find buyers. When the spread rises on less actively traded bonds, liquidity tightens.

Because new financial regulations will restrict proprietary trading and effectively reduce the number of buyers and sellers in the market, liquidity will become an even greater risk than in recent years.

“Liquidity risk can negatively impact an actively managed portfolio in two ways. First, it can raise the cost of transacting and, second, it can limit your ability to transact altogether,” says Jim Hudnall, a trader for the fund. “Traders are the eyes and ears of the firm. It’s our job to understand the market’s ‘risk appetite’ before we make a decision to purchase a particular security.”

The risks are pronounced in the high-yield market, which can sometimes be less liquid than equities and other parts of fixed income. “High yield is a more ‘technical’ market than equities, meaning supply-demand characteristics play a more important role in determining bid-offer spreads. In general, there are more participants in equity markets and that leads to more buyers and sellers, and ultimately more liquidity.”

Experiencing the liquidity issues of 2008 and 2009 emphasized the benefits of being a contrarian in liquidity-challenged times, says Hudnall. “Buying into market weakness is a much more efficient way to invest than waiting for the market to turn positive and then trying to buy into strength,” he says. “In high yield, liquidity can be challenging both when the market is going down and when it is going up. When ‘the market’ wants to sell, you have to be ready to be a buyer, and when ‘the market’ wants to buy, you have to be willing to sell. A contrarian approach can be painful in the short term, but it pays off over the long run.”

[photo of David Barclay]

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“Some investors become so blinded by fear that they talk themselves out of investing altogether. There always will be reasons not to invest and there is always the possibility of losing money, but there’s also the opportunity cost of not investing at all.”

David Barclay

Portfolio counselor

[End Sidebar]

[photo of David Daigle]

[Begin Sidebar]

“There is always a tension between protecting against near-term losses and getting good long-term returns. We could choose to be ultra conservative — for example, we could totally protect ourselves against another European debt shock — but it may be at the cost of giving up attractive long-term returns.”

David Daigle

Portfolio counselor

[End Sidebar]

A long-term approach is also crucial. “We constantly evaluate all the potential risks and liquidity factors, particularly in good markets,” says Hudnall. “During the good times, it is tempting to reach for small incremental yield pickups, but ‘reaching’ often leads to buying less liquid securities that lag in bad markets. The old adage, ‘bad loans are made in good markets,’ still rings true. Having a long-term time horizon gives us confidence to stay in more liquid investments. If your goal is to beat the benchmark this quarter, you may feel more pressure to take a bad risk.”

Why rising rates can actually be good for high-yield bonds

Fixed-income investors understand that rising interest rates cause bond prices to decline. Longer maturity bonds are the most vulnerable when rates rise because they have a long future stream of interest rate payments that are now lower than the current rates, and so their bond prices must drop to compensate for the difference.

High-yield bonds, however, are not as susceptible to rising rates as other parts of the fixed-income market for two reasons. First, rising rates are usually a sign of an improving economy, which is beneficial to high-yield bonds, which often act more like stocks. And second, rising rates have a greater impact on bonds with longer maturity dates; because high-yield bonds are shorter in duration compared with the rest of the bond market, they are not as affected by a rate increase.

The fund’s investment professionals also have options to manage the effects of rising rates. “We can shorten our duration and invest in floating-rate instruments such as leveraged loans,” says Goedemans. “We can also invest in lower quality bonds, which tend to trade on an absolute yield basis and are less sensitive to interest rate risk.”

Daigle adds, “People tend to overestimate the interest rate risk with high-yield bonds, and underestimate the correlation with equities. A 20% decline in equities will represent a greater risk to high-yield bond prices than a 100-basis-point rise in Treasury bond yields.”

The pros and cons of reinvestment

A consequence of falling interest rates is reinvestment risk. Much like the homeowner who refinances his mortgage at a lower rate when rates decline, the same happens with issuers of corporate bonds. Many corporate bonds are callable, which means they can be redeemed or paid off prior to the bonds’ maturity dates. Typically, an issuer will call its bonds when interest rates drop, worsening the investor’s total return potential as a result. Analysts consider whether call options exist and when they may be exercised when determining the price they are willing to pay for a bond.

Because a bond fund is able to invest in hundreds of individual securities with varying maturity dates, it can better adapt to fluctuating rates and reinvestment risk than a portfolio with fewer bonds. As bonds in a fund with earlier dates mature, the proceeds from those bonds can be reinvested in bonds with higher interest rates. “For that reason, a fund is a lot safer from a diversification standpoint than individual bonds,” says Lewis. “In high yield, you have to face reinvestment constantly so we just deal with it on a constant, ongoing basis.”

[photo of a glass ceiling]

[photo of Irina Goedemans]

[Begin Sidebar]

opportunity

“We know the various drivers of our companies and have seen how they act in various environments. We can envision macro scenarios and translate how it will impact companies. That helps us to find opportunities and have conviction in them when they arrive.”

— Irina Goedemans, analyst

[End Sidebar]

As such, reinvestment is often viewed more as a portfolio strategy than a cyclical risk. “I don’t have high conviction about where interest rates and inflation will be in three years,” says Daigle, “so for now I am keeping my portfolio duration quite short, as I want the ability to reinvest over shorter cycles.”

The impact of economic downturns

Economic risk refers to the vulnerability of a bond to downturns in the economy. High-yield bonds behave more like stocks in periods of economic uncertainty, and will typically lose more of their principal value than investment-grade bonds as investors seek the safety of higher quality investments.

High-yield bonds also have a lower margin for error during these periods. “Some may only have a certain amount of free cash flow and others may rely on the ability to come to market in order to refinance maturing obligations,” says Goedemans.

The biggest issues right now are a weakening economic environment and the European sovereign debt crisis. “Our credit selections reflect these concerns,” says Goedemans, who is investing in companies that she believes will withstand a weak or stalled recovery. “We know the various drivers of our companies and have seen how they act in various environments. We can envision macro scenarios and translate how they will impact companies. That helps us to find opportunities and have conviction in them when they arrive.”

While a deteriorating economic environment will have a negative effect on high-yield bonds, periods of weak but positive growth can actually be advantageous. “Income can be a good way to generate investment returns in a low-growth and low-return environment,” says Barclay. “High-yield bonds of companies that can service their debt, even if they aren’t necessarily growing, can provide a stream of income during periods of sluggish growth and can serve a purpose in a diversified portfolio.”  

A balance of risk and return

Ultimately, achieving the best returns with the least amount of risk is a matter of balance. “We actively manage the portfolio across all dimensions of risk,” says Daigle. “There is always a tension between protecting against near-term losses and getting good long-term returns. We could choose to be ultra conservative — for example, we could totally protect ourselves against another European debt shock — but it may be at the cost of giving up attractive long-term returns.”

Lewis adds, “Each investment is different. I weigh what I like versus what I worry about and how much we are getting paid in yield to own it. We always try to calibrate one investment opportunity relative to other bonds, which have different sets of risks, opportunities and valuation. While we do a similar kind of risk-return analysis with every bond we consider for the portfolio, we can never use a single lens for understanding the risks in every investment.” n

Summary investment portfolio September 30, 2011

The following 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.

[begin pie chart]

Portfolio by type of security (percent of net assets)
U.S. corporate bonds & notes	63.9	%
Corporate bonds & notes of issuers outside the U.S.	13.1
Corporate loans	11.4
Other	3.6
Common stocks & warrants	1.6
Convertible securities	0.9
Preferred securities	0.6
Short-term securities & other assets less liabilities	4.9

[end pie chart]

	Principal						Percent
	amount			Value			of net
Bonds, notes & other debt instruments - 91.95%		(000	)		(000	)	assets
Corporate bonds, notes & loans - 88.37%
Consumer discretionary - 24.51%
MGM Resorts International:
5.875% 2014	$	82,445		$	75,643
6.625 %-13.00% 2012-2020		238,118			234,186
Mandalay Resort Group 6.375% 2011		4,150			4,129			1.97	%
Charter Communications Operating, LLC and Charter Communications Operating Capital Corp.:
7.25% 2017		70,900			71,255
7.875%-8.125% 2018-2020		78,600			81,228
Charter Communications Operating, LLC, Term Loan B, 7.25% 2014 (1) (2) (3)		28			28
Charter Communications, Inc. 13.50% 2016		47,704			54,621
CCO Holdings LLC and CCO Holdings Capital Corp. 7.00% 2019		10,000			9,750			1.36
Univision Communications Inc.,:
Term Loan, 4.489% 2017 (1) (2) (3)		133,119			112,357
6.875%-8.50% 2019-2021  (4)		75,605			61,696			1.09
Virgin Media Finance PLC:
Series 1, 9.50% 2016		88,775			96,321
8.375% 2019  (4)		57,435			61,312
Virgin Media Secured Finance PLC 6.50% 2018		9,325			9,954			1.05
Michaels Stores, Inc.:
0%/13.00% 2016 (5)		67,520			69,883
Term Loans 2.50%-4.75% 2013-2016 (1) (2) (3)		23,223			22,264
7.75%-11.375% 2016-2018		76,100			72,386			1.03
Needle Merger Sub Corp. 8.125% 2019 (4)		122,990			107,616			.67
Nara Cable Funding Ltd. 8.875% 2018	€	93,800			103,039			.64
Neiman Marcus Group, Inc., Term Loan B, 4.75% 2018 (1) (2) (3)	$	102,945			95,467			.60
Clear Channel Worldwide Holdings, Inc., Series B, 9.25% 2017		82,450			84,717			.53
Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. 11.00% 2015 (4)		73,035			75,956			.48
DISH DBS Corp 6.75% 2021 (4)		74,265			71,294			.45
Revel Entertainment, Term Loan B, 9.00% 2018 (1) (2) (3)		83,325			69,368			.43
Bon-Ton Department Stores, Inc. 10.25% 2014		85,775			69,049		��	.43
Mediacom Broadband LLC and Mediacom Broadband Corp. 8.50% 2015		67,753			67,753			.42
Other securities					2,134,804			13.36
					3,916,076			24.51
Telecommunication services - 11.42%
Nextel Communications, Inc.:
Series E, 6.875% 2013		46,088			45,051
Series F, 5.95% 2014		117,065			110,334
Series D, 7.375% 2015		178,423			169,948
Sprint Capital Corp. 8.375%-8.75% 2012-2032		11,800			11,553
Sprint Nextel Corp. 6.00% 2016		12,000			10,380			2.17
Clearwire Communications and Clearwire Finance, Inc.:
Series B, 12.00% 2015 (4)		136,130			116,051
Series A, 12.00% 2015 (4)		129,180			110,126
12.00% 2017 (4)		87,930			53,198			1.75
Cricket Communications, Inc.:
7.75% 2016		151,590			152,916
7.75%-10.00% 2015-2020		49,245			46,622			1.25
Wind Acquisition SA:
11.75% 2017  (4)		127,465			108,983
7.25% 2018  (4)		30,530			26,141
7.375% 2018	€	21,915			24,957			1.00
Level 3 Escrow Inc. 8.125% 2019 (4)	$	96,750			85,745			.54
Trilogy International Partners, LLC, 10.25% 2016 (4)		85,890			84,602			.53
LightSquared, Term Loan B, 12.00% 2014 (2) (3) (6)		147,173			72,430			.45
Digicel Group Ltd. 12.00% 2014 (4)		61,825			69,553			.44
Other securities					525,415			3.29
					1,824,005			11.42
Financials - 10.82%
Realogy Corp.:
10.50% 2014		1,000			865
Letter of Credit, 4.518% 2016 (1) (2) (3)		14,852			12,120
Term Loan B, 4.522% 2016 (1) (2) (3)		148,893			121,507
Second Lien Term Loan A, 13.50% 2017 (2) (3)		147,699			143,268
7.875% 2019  (4)		150,435			114,331			2.45
CIT Group Inc. Series A:
7.00% 2014  (2)		12,585			12,852
7.00% 2015		164,536			163,508
7.00% 2016		167,495			162,679			2.12
Other securities					997,083			6.25
					1,728,213			10.82
Industrials - 9.91%
Hawker Beechcraft Acquisition Co., LLC:
Letter of Credit, 2.146% 2014 (1) (2) (3)		9,456			6,564
Term Loan B, 2.369% 2014 (1) (2) (3)		156,753			108,808
Term Loan B, 10.50% 2014 (1) (2) (3)		22,071			19,257
8.50%-9.75% 2015-2017 (1)  (6)		65,620			27,495			1.02
Ply Gem Industries, Inc. 8.25% 2018		142,150			116,563			.73
Associated Materials, LLC and AMH New Finance, Inc. 9.125% 2017		121,680			99,169			.62
DAE Aviation Holdings, Inc. 11.25% 2015 (4)		80,629			81,838			.51
Other securities					1,123,978			7.03
					1,583,672			9.91
Health care - 8.51%
Elan Finance PLC and Elan Finance Corp.:
8.875% 2013		90,830			94,009
8.75% 2016		115,660			120,286
8.75% 2016		45,885			48,294			1.64
VWR Funding, Inc., Series B, 10.25% 2015 (1) (6)		138,533			137,841			.86
Quintiles, Term Loan B, 5.00% 2018 (1) (2) (3)		137,176			129,431			.81
PTS Acquisition Corp. 9.50% 2015 (1) (6)		120,218			110,300			.69
Other securities					719,909			4.51
					1,360,070			8.51
Information technology - 7.09%
First Data Corp.:
Term Loan B2, 2.985% 2014 (1) (2) (3)		69,455			60,535
12.625% 2021 (4)		190,117			141,637
8.75% 2022  (1)  (4)  (6)		106,127			84,371
7.375%-11.25% 2015-2021 (4)  (6)		203,025			155,986			2.77
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.:
Term Loan, 4.472% 2016 (1) (2) (3)		19,735			18,131
10.125% 2016		87,627			89,599
9.25%-10.125% 2018  (4)		86,911			90,263			1.24
NXP BV and NXP Funding LLC:
10.00% 2013  (7)	$	77,049			85,428
2.999%-9.75% 2013-2018 (1)  (4)		58,084			60,797
4.355%-8.625% 2013-2015 (1)  (2)	€	10,223			13,831			1.00
Blackboard Inc., Term Loan B, 7.50% 2018 (1) (2) (3)		76,925			71,694			.45
Other securities					260,728			1.63
					1,133,000			7.09
Materials - 5.29%
Reynolds Group:
9.875% 2019  (4)		80,890			71,588
7.125%-9.00% 2016-2019 (4)		160,930			150,765			1.39
Georgia Gulf Corp. 9.00% 2017 (4) (8)		92,490			93,877			.59
Other securities					528,680			3.31
					844,910			5.29
Energy - 3.88%
Petroplus Finance Ltd.:
6.75% 2014  (4)		75,767			66,296
7.00% 2017  (4)		107,488			87,603
9.375% 2019  (4)		32,210			27,701			1.14
Other securities					438,416			2.74
					620,016			3.88
Consumer staples - 3.84%
SUPERVALU INC. 8.00% 2016		81,860			77,767			.49
Other securities					535,959			3.35
					613,726			3.84
Utilities - 3.10%
Intergen Power 9.00% 2017 (4)		71,950			73,569			.46
Other securities					421,897			2.64
					495,466			3.10
Total corporate bonds, notes & loans					14,119,154			88.37
Other - 3.58%
Other securities					571,098			3.58
Total bonds, notes & other debt instruments (cost: $15,301,044,000)					14,690,252			91.95
				Value			of net
Convertible securities - 0.94%					(000	)	assets
Telecommunication services - 0.16%
Clearwire Corp. 8.25% convertible notes 2040 (4)	$	7,722			3,803			.02
Other securities					22,253			.14
					26,056			.16
Other - 0.78%
Other securities					123,995			.78
Total convertible securities (cost: $152,489,000)					150,051			.94
Preferred securities - 0.61%
Other - 0.61%
Other securities					97,814			.61
Total preferred securities (cost: $104,487,000)					97,814			.61
							Percent
				Value			of net
Common stocks - 1.53%		Shares			(000	)	assets
Financials - 0.20%
CIT Group Inc. (9)		124,904			3,793			.02
Other securities					27,960			.18
					31,753			.20
Energy - 0.09%
Petroplus Holdings AG (9)		2,440,000			13,783			.09
Other - 1.24%
Other securities					199,078			1.24
Total common stocks (cost: $255,792,000)					244,614			1.53
							Percent
		Shares		Value			of net
Warrants - 0.04%					(000	)	assets
Consumer discretionary - 0.04%
Charter Communications, Inc., warrants, expire 2014 (9) (10)		13,390			151			.01
Other securities					4,835			.03
					4,986			.04
Other - 0.00%
Other securities					641			.00
Total warrants (cost: $45,203,000)					5,627			.04
	Principal						Percent
	amount			Value			of net
Short-term securities - 2.95%		(000	)		(000	)	assets
Freddie Mac 0.11%-0.21% due 11/9/2011-6/7/2012	$	114,540		$	114,506			.72
Coca-Cola Co. 0.09%-0.10% due 10/24-11/16/2011 (4)		90,800			90,790			.57
Other securities					266,235			1.66
Total short-term securities (cost: $471,464,000)					471,531			2.95
Total investment securities (cost: $16,330,479,000)					15,659,889			98.02
Other assets less liabilities					316,674			1.98
Net assets				$	15,976,563			100.00	%

"Other securities" includes all issues that are not disclosed separately in the summary investment portfolio.

Investments in affiliates

A company is considered to be an affiliate of the fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940 if the fund's holdings in that company represent 5% or more of the outstanding voting shares. The value of the fund's affiliated-company holdings is either shown in the summary investment portfolio or included in the value of "Other securities" under the respective industry sectors. Further details on such holdings and related transactions during the year ended September 30, 2011, appear below.

	Beginning shares or principal amount		Additions		Reductions		Ending shares or principal amount		Dividendor interest income (000)		Value of  affiliates at 9/30/2011 (000)
Georgia Gulf Corp. 9.00% 2017  (4)	$	90,285,000	$	2,205,000		-	$	92,490,000	$	8,248	$	93,877
Georgia Gulf Corp. (9)		4,809,206		525,000		3,135,798		2,198,408		-		30,404
Georgia Gulf Corp. 10.75% 2016	$	5,388,000		-		-	$	5,388,000		587		5,630
Nortek Inc. 10.00% 2018  (4)		-	$	50,485,000		-	$	50,485,000		3,921		46,951
Nortek Inc. 8.50% 2021  (4)		-	$	51,015,000		-	$	51,015,000		1,374		41,322
Nortek, Inc. (9)		793,646		-		-		793,646		-		17,064
Nortek, Inc. 11.00% 2013	$	66,164,079	$	9,500,000	$	75,664,079		-		3,255		-
Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. (4)  (9)		1,139,235		85,450		-		1,224,685		-		51,437
Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. 7.00% convertible preferred (4)  (10)		101,063		-		1,376		99,687		836		19,056
Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc., warrants, expire 2017 (4)  (9) (10)		190,869		5,096		-		195,965		-		4,801
American Media, Inc. (7) (9) (10)		-		1,122,345		-		1,122,345		-		14,366
American Media, Inc.		823,272		-		823,272		-		-		-
American Media, Inc. 13.50% 2018		-	$	3,723,386	$	3,723,386		-		40		-
American Media Operations, Inc. 9.00% 2013	$	3,548,854	$	159,698	$	3,708,552		-		21		-
American Media Operations, Inc. 14.00% 2013	$	45,751,556		-	$	45,751,556		-		1,247		-
Clarent Hospital Corp. Liquidating Trust (11)		576,849		-		576,849		-		-		-
									$	19,529	$	324,908

The following footnotes apply to either the individual securities noted or one or more of the securities aggregated and listed as a single line item.

(1) Coupon rate may change periodically.

(2) Principal payments may be made periodically. Therefore, the effective maturity date may be earlier than the stated maturity date.

(3) Loan participations and assignments; may be subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale. The total value of all such loans, including those in "Other securities," was $1,816,000,000, which represented 11.37% of the net assets of the fund.

(4) Acquired in a transaction exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933. May be resold in the U.S. in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. The total value of all such securities, including those in "Other securities," was $5,246,784,000, which represented 32.84% of the net assets of the fund.

(5) Step bond; coupon rate will increase at a later date.

(6) Payment in kind; the issuer has the option of paying additional securities in lieu of cash.

(7) Acquired through a private placement transaction exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933. This security (acquired 7/17/2009 at a cost of $68,045,000) may be subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale. The total value of all such securities, including those in "Other securities," was $144,126,000, which represented .90% of the net assets of the fund. These securities were acquired from 12/17/2007 to 9/16/2011 at an aggregate cost of $143,409,000.

(8) Represents an affiliated company as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

(9) Security did not produce income during the last 12 months.

(10) Valued under fair value procedures adopted by authority of the board of trustees. The total value of all such securities, including those in "Other securities," was $296,833,000, which represented 1.86% of the net assets of the fund.

(11) Unaffiliated issuer at 9/30/2011.

Key to symbol

€ = Euros

See Notes to Financial Statements

Financial statements

Statement of assets and liabilities
at September 30, 2011	(dollars in thousands)
Assets:
Investment securities, at value:
Unaffiliated issuers (cost: $16,012,509)	$	15,334,981
Affiliated issuers (cost: $317,970)		324,908	$	15,659,889
Cash				31,393
Unrealized appreciation on open forward currency contracts				5,955
Receivables for:
Sales of investments		115,988
Sales of fund's shares		27,660
Closed forward currency contracts		2,196
Dividends and interest		357,081		502,925
				16,200,162
Liabilities:
Unrealized depreciation on open forward currency contracts				120
Payables for:
Purchases of investments		171,376
Repurchases of fund's shares		33,934
Dividends on fund's shares		6,974
Closed forward currency contracts		163
Investment advisory services		4,321
Services provided by related parties		6,389
Trustees' deferred compensation		180
Other		142		223,479
Net assets at September 30, 2011			$	15,976,563
Net assets consist of:
Capital paid in on shares of beneficial interest			$	17,623,353
Undistributed net investment income				34,947
Accumulated net realized loss				(1,015,881	)
Net unrealized depreciation				(665,856	)
Net assets at September 30, 2011			$	15,976,563

	(dollars and shares in thousands, except per-share amounts)
Shares of beneficial interest issued and outstanding (no stated par value) -
unlimited shares authorized (1,542,218 total shares outstanding)
		Net assets		Shares outstanding		Net asset value per share
Class A		$	11,223,267		1,083,382	$	10.36
Class B			263,749		25,460		10.36
Class C			1,228,396		118,577		10.36
Class F-1			1,264,157		122,029		10.36
Class F-2			568,036		54,832		10.36
Class 529-A			260,743		25,170		10.36
Class 529-B			15,887		1,534		10.36
Class 529-C			100,980		9,748		10.36
Class 529-E			14,677		1,417		10.36
Class 529-F-1			14,200		1,371		10.36
Class R-1			20,005		1,931		10.36
Class R-2			200,145		19,320		10.36
Class R-3			266,160		25,692		10.36
Class R-4			208,266		20,104		10.36
Class R-5			223,673		21,591		10.36
Class R-6			104,222		10,060		10.36
See Notes to Financial Statements

Statement of operations
for the year ended September 30, 2011	(dollars in thousands)
Investment income:
Income:
Interest (net of non-U.S. taxes of $49;
also includes $18,693 from affiliates)	$	1,433,346
Dividends (also includes $836 from affiliates)		11,147		$	1,444,493
Fees and expenses*:
Investment advisory services		53,627
Distribution services		55,499
Transfer agent services		14,182
Administrative services		8,485
Reports to shareholders		929
Registration statement and prospectus		491
Trustees' compensation		142
Auditing and legal		132
Custodian		246
State and local taxes		155
Other		678
Total fees and expenses before reimbursement		134,566
Less reimbursement of fees and expenses		91
Total fees and expenses after reimbursement					134,475
Net investment income					1,310,018
Net realized gain and unrealized depreciation
on investments, forward currency contracts and currency:
Net realized gain (loss) on:
Investments (includes $341 net gain from affiliates)		550,425
Forward currency contracts		(667	)
Currency transactions		739			550,497
Net unrealized (depreciation) appreciation on:
Investments		(1,737,817	)
Forward currency contracts		7,686
Currency translations		(1,725	)		(1,731,856	)
Net realized gain and unrealized depreciation
on investments, forward currency contracts and currency					(1,181,359	)
Net increase in net assets resulting
from operations				$	128,659
(*) Additional information related to class-specific fees and expenses is included in the Notes to Financial Statements.
See Notes to Financial Statements
Statements of changes in net assets
		(dollars in thousands)
	Year ended September 30
		2011			2010
Operations:
Net investment income	$	1,310,018		$	1,283,077
Net realized gain on investments, forward currency contracts and currency transactions		550,497			165,208
Net unrealized (depreciation) appreciation on investments, forward currency contracts and currency translations		(1,731,856	)		984,640
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations		128,659			2,432,925
Dividends paid or accrued to shareholders from net investment income		(1,350,032	)		(1,193,041	)
Net capital share transactions		305,028			632,268
Total (decrease) increase in net assets		(916,345	)		1,872,152
Net assets:
Beginning of year		16,892,908			15,020,756
End of year (including undistributed
net investment income: $34,947 and $79,931, respectively)	$	15,976,563		$	16,892,908
See Notes to Financial Statements

Notes to financial statements

1.   Organization

American High-Income Trust (the "fund") is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 as an open-end, diversified management investment company.  The fund seeks a high level of current income and, secondarily, capital appreciation through a diversified, carefully supervised portfolio consisting primarily of lower rated, higher risk corporate bonds. Effective December 1, 2010, the fund reorganized from a Massachusetts business trust to a Delaware statutory trust in accordance with a proposal approved by shareholders on November 24, 2009.

The fund has 16 share classes consisting of five retail share classes, five 529 college savings plan share classes and six retirement plan share classes. The 529 college savings plan share classes (529-A, 529-B, 529-C, 529-E and 529-F-1) can be used to save for college education. The six retirement plan share classes (R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5 and R-6) are generally offered only through eligible employer-sponsored retirement plans. The fund’s share classes are described below:

Share class	Initial sales charge	Contingent deferred sales charge upon redemption	Conversion feature
Classes A and 529-A	Up to 3.75%	None (except 1% for certain redemptions within one year of purchase without an initial sales charge)	None
Classes B and 529-B*	None	Declines from 5% to 0% for redemptions within six years of purchase	Classes B and 529-B convert to Classes A and 529-A, respectively, after eight years
Class C	None	1% for redemptions within one year of purchase	Class C converts to Class F-1 after 10 years
Class 529-C	None	1% for redemptions within one year of purchase	None
Class 529-E	None	None	None
Classes F-1, F-2 and 529-F-1	None	None	None
Classes R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5 and R-6	None	None	None

*Class B and 529-B shares of the fund are not available for purchase.

Holders of all share classes have equal pro rata rights to assets, dividends and liquidation proceeds.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, administrative and shareholder 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 class.

2.   Significant accounting policies

The financial statements have been prepared to comply with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These principles require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts and disclosures. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The fund follows the significant accounting policies described below, 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 recognizedon 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) are allocated daily among the various share classes based on the relative value of their settled shares. 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, administrative and shareholder services, are charged directly to the respective share class.

Dividends and distributions to shareholders –Dividends paid to shareholders are declared daily after the determination of the fund’s net investment income and are paid to shareholders monthly. Distributions paid to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date.

Currency translation – Assets and liabilities, including investment securities, denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates in effect 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. On the accompanying financial statements, 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. 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.

Loan transactions – The fund may enter into loan transactions in which the fund acquires a loan either through an agent, by assignment from another holder, or as a participation interest in another holder's portion of a loan. The loan is often administered by a financial institution that acts as agent for the holders of the loan, and the fund may be required to receive approval from the agent and/or borrower prior to the sale of the investment. The loan's interest rate and maturity date may change based on the terms of the loan, including potential early payments of principal.

3.   Valuation

The fund’s investments are reported at fair value as defined by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The fund generally determines the net asset value of each share class as of approximately 4:00 p.m. New York time each day the New York Stock Exchange is open.

Methods and inputs – The fund uses the following methods and inputs to establish the fair value of its 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 purchased with more than 60 days left to maturity, are generally valued at prices obtained from one or more pricing vendors. Vendors value such securities based on one or more of the inputs described in the following table. The table provides examples of inputs that are commonly relevant for valuing particular classes of fixed-income securities in which the fund is authorized to invest. However, these classifications are not exclusive, and any of the inputs may be used to value any other class of fixed-income security.

Fixed-income class	Examples of standard inputs
All	Benchmark yields, transactions, bids, offers, quotations from dealers and trading systems, new issues, spreads and other relationships observed in the markets among comparable securities; and proprietary pricing models such as yield measures calculated using factors such as cash flows, financial or collateral performance and other reference data (collectively referred to as “standard inputs”)
Corporate bonds & notes; convertible securities	Standard inputs and underlying equity of the issuer
Bonds & notes of governments & government agencies	Standard inputs and interest rate volatilities
Mortgage-backed; asset-backed obligations	Standard inputs and cash flows, prepayment information, default rates, delinquency and loss assumptions, collateral characteristics, credit enhancements and specific deal information
Municipal securities	Standard inputs and, for certain distressed securities, cash flows or liquidation values using a net present value calculation based on inputs that include, but are not limited to, financial statements and debt contracts

Where the investment adviser deems it appropriate to do so (such as when vendor prices are unavailable or not deemed to be representative), fixed-income securities will be valued in good faith at the mean quoted bid and asked prices that are reasonably and timely available (or bid prices, if asked prices are not available) or at prices for securities of comparable maturity, quality and type.

Securities with both fixed-income and equity characteristics, or equity securities traded principally among fixed-income dealers, are generally valued in the manner described above for either equity or fixed-income securities, depending on which method is deemed most appropriate by the investment adviser. Short-term securities purchased within 60 days to maturity are valued at amortized cost, which approximates fair value. The value of short-term securities originally purchased with maturities greater than 60 days is determined based on an amortized value to par when they reach 60 days.Forward currency contracts are valued at the mean of representative quoted bid and asked prices, generally based on prices supplied by one or more pricing vendors.

Securities and other assets for which representative market quotations are not readily available or are considered unreliable by the investment adviser are fair valued as determined in good faith under guidelines adopted by authority of the fund's board of trustees. Various inputs may be reviewed in order to make a good faith determination of a security’s fair value. These inputs include, but are not limited to, 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. 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.

Classifications – The fund classifies its 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. Level 3 values are based on significant unobservable inputs that reflect the fund’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 tables presentthe fund’s valuation levels as of September 30, 2011 (dollars in thousands):

Investment securities:	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Bonds, notes & other debt instruments:
Corporate bonds, notes, & loans	$	-	$	13,862,090	$	257,064	$	14,119,154
Other		-		571,098		-		571,098
Convertible securities		16,569		133,482		-		150,051
Preferred securities		17,988		79,826		-		97,814
Common stocks		229,528		-		15,086		244,614
Warrants		-		5,593		34		5,627
Short-term securities		-		471,531		-		471,531
Total	$	264,085	$	15,123,620	$	272,184	$	15,659,889

Forward currency contracts(1):	Level 1		Level 2			Level 3		Total
Unrealized appreciation on open forward currency contracts	$	-	$	5,955		$	-	$	5,955
Unrealized depreciation on open forward currency contracts		-		(120	)		-		(120	)
Total	$	-	$	5,835		$	-	$	5,835
(1) Forward currency contracts are not included in the investment portfolio.

The following table reconciles the valuation of the fund's Level 3 investment securities and related transactions for the year ended September 30, 2011 (dollars in thousands):
	Beginning value at 10/1/2010		Transfers into Level 3(2)		Purchases		Sales			Net realized loss(3)			Unrealized depreciation(3)			Transfers out of Level 3(2)			Ending value at 9/30/2011
Investment securities	$	220,515	$	41,182	$	183,269	$	(76,336	)	$	(2,679	)	$	(40,355	)	$	(53,412	)	$	272,184
Net unrealized depreciation during the period on Level 3 investment securities held at September 30, 2011 (dollars in thousands)(3):																			$	(21,487	)
(2) Transfers into or out of Level 3 are based on the beginning market value of the quarter in which they occurred.
(3) Net realized loss and unrealized depreciation are included in the related amounts on investments in the statement of operations.

4.   Risk factors

Investing in the fund may involve certain risks including, but not limited to, those described below.

Investing in lower rated bonds — Lower rated bonds and other lower rated debt securities generally have higher rates of interest and involve greater risk of default or price declines due to changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness than those of higher quality debt securities. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate more than the prices of higher quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. These risks may be increased with respect to investments in junk bonds.

Thinly traded securities — There may be little trading in the secondary market for particular bonds or other debt securities, which may make them more difficult to value, acquire or sell.

Investing in bonds — Rising interest rates will generally cause the prices of bonds and other debt securities to fall. Longer maturity debt securities may be subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities. In addition, falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem, call or refinance a security before its stated maturity, which may result in the fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities.

Bonds and other debt securities are subject to credit risk, which is the possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest and the security will go into default.

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the securities held by the fund may decline due to market conditions and other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of securities held by the fund.

Investing outside the U.S. — Securities of issuers domiciled outside the U.S., or with significant operations outside the U.S., may lose value because of political, social, economic or market developments in the countries or regions in which the issuer operates. 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. 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 settlement and accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and reporting standards, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the U.S.

Management — The investment adviser to the fund actively manages the fund’s investments. Consequently, the fund is subject to the risk that the methods and analyses employed by the investment adviser in this process may not produce the desired results. This could cause the fund to lose value or its investment results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

5.   Taxation and distributions

Federal income taxation – The fund complies with the requirements under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to mutual funds and intends to distribute substantially all of its net taxable income and net capital gains each year. The fund is not subject to income taxes to the extent such distributions are made. Therefore, no federal income tax provision is required.

As of and during the period ended September 30, 2011, the fund did not have a liability for any unrecognized tax benefits. The fund recognizes interest and penalties, if any, related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense in the statement of operations. During the period, the fund did not incur any interest or penalties.

The fund is not subject to examination by U.S. federal tax authorities for tax years before 2007 and by state tax authorities and tax authorities outside the U.S. for tax years before 2006.

Non-U.S. taxation – Dividend and interest income are recorded net of non-U.S. taxes paid.

Distributions – Distributions paid to shareholders are based on net investment income and net realized gains determined on a tax basis, which may differ from net investment income and net realized gainsfor 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; cost of investments sold; paydowns on fixed-income securities; net capital losses; 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 arerecorded by the fund for financial reporting purposes.

During the year ended September 30, 2011, the fund reclassified $4,954,000 from undistributed net investment income to accumulated net realized loss and $16,000 from undistributed net investment income to capital paid in on shares of beneficial interest to align financial reporting with tax reporting.

As of September 30, 2011, the tax basis components of distributable earnings, unrealized appreciation (depreciation) and cost of investment securities were as follows:

(dollars in thousands)
Undistributed ordinary income	$	67,652
Capital loss carryforward expiring 2018*		(998,023	)
Gross unrealized appreciation on investment securities		456,253
Gross unrealized depreciation on investment securities		(1,174,129	)
Net unrealized depreciation on investment securities		(717,876	)
Cost of investment securities		16,377,765
*Reflects the utilization of capital loss carryforwards of $470,531,000. The capital loss carryforward will be used to offset any capital gains realized by the fund in future years through the expiration date. The fund will not make distributions from capital gains while capital loss carryforward remains.

Under the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010 (the “Act”), net capital losses recognized after September 30, 2011, may be carried forward indefinitely, and their character is retained as short-term and/or long-term losses. Previously, net capital losses were carried forward for eight years and treated as short-term losses. As a transition rule, the Act requires that post-enactment net capital losses be used before pre-enactment net capital losses.

Tax-basis distributions paid or accruedto shareholders from ordinary income were as follows (dollars in thousands):

	Year ended September 30
Share class	2011		2010
Class A	$	948,181	$	834,904
Class B		26,714		34,275
Class C		95,927		86,904
Class F-1		115,447		111,786
Class F-2		46,320		29,436
Class 529-A		20,211		15,068
Class 529-B		1,431		1,534
Class 529-C		7,106		5,379
Class 529-E		1,063		786
Class 529-F-1		1,045		716
Class R-1		1,552		1,356
Class R-2		15,146		12,981
Class R-3		24,160		20,641
Class R-4		17,338		14,263
Class R-5		19,644		16,441
Class R-6		8,747		6,571
Total	$	1,350,032	$	1,193,041

6.   Fees and transactions with related parties

Capital Research and Management Company ("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.

Investment advisory services – The fund has an investment advisory and service agreement with CRMC that providesfor monthly fees accrued daily. These fees are based on a series of decreasing annual rates beginning with 0.300% on the first $60 million of daily net assets and decreasing to 0.135% on such assets in excess of $15 billion. The agreement also provides for monthly fees, accrued daily, based on a series of decreasing rates beginning with 3.00% on the first $8,333,333 of the fund's monthly gross income and decreasing to 1.50% on such income in excess of $50 million. For the year ended September 30, 2011, the investment advisory services fee was $53,627,000, which was equivalent to an annualized rate of 0.306% of average dailynet 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 described below:

Distribution services – The fund has plans of distribution for all share classes, except Classes F-2, R-5 and R-6. 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 0.30% to 1.00% as noted below. In some cases, the board of trustees has limited the amounts that may be paid to less than the maximum allowed by the plans.All share classes with a plan may use up to 0.25% of average daily net assets to pay service fees, or to compensate AFD for paying service fees, to firms that have entered into agreements with AFD to provide certain shareholder services. The remaining amounts available to be paid under each plan are paid to dealers to compensate them for their sales activities.

For Classes A and 529-A, distribution-related expenses include the reimbursement of dealer and wholesaler commissions paid by AFD for certain shares sold without a sales charge. These classes reimburse AFD for amounts billed within the prior 15 months but only to the extent that the overall annual expense limit of 0.30%is not exceeded. As of September 30, 2011, there were no unreimbursed expenses subject to reimbursement for Classes A or 529-A.

Share class	Currently approved limits	Plan limits
Class A	0.30%	0.30%
Class 529-A	0.30	0.50
Classes B and 529-B	1.00	1.00
Classes C, 529-C and R-1	1.00	1.00
Class R-2	0.75	1.00
Classes 529-E and R-3	0.50	0.75
Classes F-1, 529-F-1 and R-4	0.25	0.50

Transfer agent services –The fund hasa transfer agent agreement with AFS for Classes A and B. Under this agreement, these share classes compensate AFS for transfer agent services including shareholder recordkeeping, communications and transaction processing. AFS is also compensated for certain transfer agent services provided to all other share classes from the administrative services fees paid to CRMC as described below.

Administrative services – The fund has an administrative services agreement with CRMC for all share classes, except Classes A and B, to provide certain services, including transfer agent and recordkeeping services; coordinating, monitoring, assisting and overseeing third-party service providers; and educating advisers and shareholders about the impact of market-related events, tax laws affecting investments, retirement plan restrictions, exchange limitations and other related matters. Each relevant share class pays CRMC annual fees up to 0.15% (0.10% for Class R-5 and 0.05% for Class R-6) based on its respective average daily net assets. Each relevant share class also pays AFS additional amounts for certain transfer agent services. CRMC and AFS may use these fees to compensate third parties for performing these services. CRMC has agreed to pay AFS on the fund's behalf for a portion of the transfer agent services fees for some of the retirement plan share classes. For the year ended September 30, 2011, the total administrative services fees paid by CRMC were $91,000 for Class R-2.Administrative services fees are presented gross of any payments made by CRMC.

Each 529 share class is subject to an additional administrative services fee payable to the Commonwealth of Virginia for the maintenance of the 529 college savings plan.The quarterly fee is based on a series of decreasing annual rates beginning with 0.10% on the first $30 billion of the net assets invested in Class 529 shares of the American Funds and decreasing to 0.06% on such assets between $120 billion and $150 billion. The fee for any given calendar quarter is accrued and calculated on the basis of the average net assets of Class 529 shares of the American Funds for the last month of the prior calendar quarter. Although these amounts are included with administrative services fees on the accompanying financial statements, the Commonwealth of Virginia is not considered a related party.

Expenses under the agreements described above for the year ended September 30, 2011, were as follows (dollars in thousands):

					Administrative services
Share class	Distribution services		Transfer agent services		CRMC administrative services		Transfer agent services		Commonwealth of Virginia administrative services
Class A	$	28,461	$	13,748	Not applicable		Not applicable		Not applicable
Class B		3,766		434	Not applicable		Not applicable		Not applicable
Class C		13,712	Included in administrative services		$	1,925	$	294	Not applicable
Class F-1		3,693				2,085		143	Not applicable
Class F-2	Not applicable					762		41	Not applicable
Class 529-A		544				252		43	$	261
Class 529-B		205				19		7		21
Class 529-C		1,024				99		29		103
Class 529-E		71				12		2		14
Class 529-F-1		-				13		2		13
Class R-1		222				26		16	Not applicable
Class R-2		1,623				323		670	Not applicable
Class R-3		1,621				460		200	Not applicable
Class R-4		557				324		20	Not applicable
Class R-5	Not applicable					239		11	Not applicable
Class R-6	Not applicable					54		2	Not applicable
Total	$	55,499	$	14,182	$	6,593	$	1,480	$	412

Trustees’ deferred compensation – Trustees who are unaffiliated with CRMCmay 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 $142,000, shown on the accompanying financial statements, includes $120,000 in current fees (either paid in cash or deferred) and a net increase of $22,000 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, AFS and AFD. No affiliated officers or trustees received any compensation directly from the fund.

7.   Capital share transactions

Capital share transactions in the fund were as follows (dollars and shares in thousands):

	Sales(*)				Reinvestments of dividends				Repurchases(*)						Net increase (decrease)
Share class	Amount		Shares		Amount		Shares		Amount			Shares			Amount			Shares
Year ended September 30, 2011
Class A	$	2,605,724		229,912	$	844,366		75,016	$	(3,058,911	)		(271,226	)	$	391,179			33,702
Class B		41,092		3,620		23,217		2,059		(236,503	)		(20,828	)		(172,194	)		(15,149	)
Class C		324,695		28,610		81,992		7,284		(421,827	)		(37,401	)		(15,140	)		(1,507	)
Class F-1		529,143		46,653		110,292		9,796		(730,942	)		(65,285	)		(91,507	)		(8,836	)
Class F-2		277,746		24,465		34,006		3,025		(210,334	)		(18,597	)		101,418			8,893
Class 529-A		75,124		6,629		20,114		1,788		(43,688	)		(3,871	)		51,550			4,546
Class 529-B		2,565		226		1,419		126		(9,838	)		(868	)		(5,854	)		(516	)
Class 529-C		30,054		2,653		7,072		629		(19,438	)		(1,725	)		17,688			1,557
Class 529-E		4,520		401		1,058		94		(1,995	)		(177	)		3,583			318
Class 529-F-1		6,417		566		1,037		92		(2,737	)		(244	)		4,717			414
Class R-1		6,478		571		1,518		135		(9,006	)		(796	)		(1,010	)		(90	)
Class R-2		78,238		6,908		14,994		1,332		(87,033	)		(7,692	)		6,199			548
Class R-3		119,975		10,572		24,046		2,133		(173,188	)		(15,397	)		(29,167	)		(2,692	)
Class R-4		91,285		8,062		17,262		1,533		(98,183	)		(8,664	)		10,364			931
Class R-5		95,406		8,410		19,487		1,731		(105,669	)		(9,381	)		9,224			760
Class R-6		49,975		4,389		8,737		776		(34,734	)		(3,110	)		23,978			2,055
Total net increase
(decrease)	$	4,338,437		382,647	$	1,210,617		107,549	$	(5,244,026	)		(465,262	)	$	305,028			24,934
Year ended September 30, 2010
Class A	$	2,549,658		237,137	$	718,689		66,733	$	(2,711,019	)		(253,025	)	$	557,328			50,845
Class B		59,021		5,490		28,604		2,660		(225,133	)		(20,994	)		(137,508	)		(12,844	)
Class C		333,246		30,974		69,926		6,493		(378,365	)		(35,308	)		24,807			2,159
Class F-1		567,831		52,781		96,858		8,992		(804,727	)		(74,985	)		(140,038	)		(13,212	)
Class F-2		310,713		28,776		21,074		1,954		(190,621	)		(17,930	)		141,166			12,800
Class 529-A		60,849		5,661		14,969		1,389		(33,452	)		(3,121	)		42,366			3,929
Class 529-B		3,632		338		1,524		142		(5,994	)		(557	)		(838	)		(77	)
Class 529-C		28,229		2,627		5,337		495		(16,411	)		(1,531	)		17,155			1,591
Class 529-E		3,160		295		780		73		(1,975	)		(184	)		1,965			184
Class 529-F-1		3,580		334		711		66		(1,922	)		(180	)		2,369			220
Class R-1		8,700		809		1,320		123		(6,828	)		(638	)		3,192			294
Class R-2		73,929		6,877		12,843		1,193		(62,328	)		(5,801	)		24,444			2,269
Class R-3		141,257		13,093		20,523		1,907		(139,982	)		(13,093	)		21,798			1,907
Class R-4		101,937		9,508		14,129		1,311		(88,963	)		(8,330	)		27,103			2,489
Class R-5		108,455		10,143		16,300		1,514		(111,893	)		(10,505	)		12,862			1,152
Class R-6		70,051		6,607		6,543		607		(42,497	)		(3,946	)		34,097			3,268
Total net increase
(decrease)	$	4,424,248		411,450	$	1,030,130		95,652	$	(4,822,110	)		(450,128	)	$	632,268			56,974
*Includes exchanges between share classes of the fund.

8.   Investment transactions

The fund made purchases and sales of investment securities, excluding short-term securities and U.S. government obligations, if any, of $8,713,606,000 and $8,233,164,000, respectively, during the year ended September 30, 2011.

9.   Forward currency contracts

The fund has entered into forward currency contracts, which represent agreements to exchange currencies on specific future dates at predetermined rates. The fund enters into these contracts to manage its exposure to changes in exchange rates. Upon entering into these contracts, risks may arise from the potential inability of counterparties to meet the terms of their contracts and from possible movements in exchange rates.

On a daily basis, the fund values forward currency contracts based on the applicable exchange rate and records unrealized appreciation or depreciation for open forward currency contracts in the statement of assets and liabilities. The fund records realized gains or losses at the time the forward currency contract is closed or offset by another contract with the same broker for the same settlement date and currency. Closed forward currency contracts that have not reached their settlement date are included in the respective receivables or payables for closed forward currency contracts in the statement of assets and liabilities. Net realized gains or losses from closed forward currency contracts and net unrealized appreciation or depreciation from open forward currency contracts are recorded in the statement of operations.

As of September 30, 2011, the fund had open forward currency contracts to sell currencies, as shown in the following table. The open forward currency contracts shown are generally indicative of the level of activity over the prior 12-month period.

					(amounts in thousands)
			Contract amount				Unrealized appreciation (depreciation) at 9/30/2011
Sales:	Settlement date	Counterparty	Receive		Deliver
Brazilian reais	10/18/2011	JPMorgan Chase	$	23,214	BRL40,000		$	2,040
Euros	10/19/2011	Barclays Bank PLC	$	13,880	€	10,000		485
Euros	10/20/2011	JPMorgan Chase	$	826	€	600		22
Euros	10/20/2011	HSBC Bank	$	14,193	€	10,300		396
Euros	10/21/2011	Bank of New York Mellon	$	9,542	€	7,000		166
Euros	10/25/2011	HSBC Bank	$	1,025	€	750		21
Euros	10/26/2011	UBS AG	$	420	€	305		12
Euros	10/26/2011	JPMorgan Chase	$	1,571	€	1,150		31
Euros	10/27/2011	Barclays Bank PLC	$	9,390	€	6,875		181
Euros	10/27/2011	Barclays Bank PLC	$	12,006	€	8,790		232
Euros	10/28/2011	Citibank	$	4,038	€	3,000		20
Euros	10/31/2011	JPMorgan Chase	$	56,606	€	41,500		1,019
Euros	10/31/2011	JPMorgan Chase	$	8,184	€	6,000		147
Euros	11/3/2011	UBS AG	$	2,046	€	1,500		37
Euros	11/3/2011	HSBC Bank	$	14,987	€	11,150		52
Euros	11/3/2011	Citibank	$	61,937	€	45,700		726
Euros	11/3/2011	JPMorgan Chase	$	23,139	€	17,000		368
Indonesian rupiah	10/18/2011	JPMorgan Chase	$	1,810	IDR16,973,450			(118	)
Philippine pesos	10/18/2011	JPMorgan Chase	$	4,707	PHP206,100			(2	)
Forward currency contracts - net							$	5,835

Financial highlights(1)

			Income (loss) from investment operations(2)								Dividends and distributions
	Net asset value, beginning of period		Net investment income		Net (losses) gains on securities (both realized and unrealized)			Total from investment operations			Dividends (from net investment income)			Distributions (from capital gains)			Total dividends and distributions			Net asset value, end of period		Total return(3) (4)			Net assets, end of period (in millions)		Ratio of expenses to average net assets before reimbursements/ waivers			Ratio of expenses to average net assets after reimbursements/ waivers(4)			Ratio of net income to average net assets(4)
Class A:
Year ended 9/30/2011	$	11.13	$	.85	$	(.74	)	$	.11		$	(.88	)	$	-		$	(.88	)	$	10.36		.67	%	$	11,223		.67	%		.67	%		7.57	%
Year ended 9/30/2010		10.29		.89		.78			1.67			(.83	)		-			(.83	)		11.13		16.75			11,687		.68			.68			8.26
Year ended 9/30/2009		10.01		.83		.33			1.16			(.88	)		-			(.88	)		10.29		14.03			10,274		.80			.79			9.57
Year ended 9/30/2008		12.35		.93		(2.32	)		(1.39	)		(.93	)		(.02	)		(.95	)		10.01		(11.87	)		8,074		.70			.67			8.14
Year ended 9/30/2007		12.30		.93		.04			.97			(.92	)		-			(.92	)		12.35		7.99			9,516		.69			.66			7.35
Class B:
Year ended 9/30/2011		11.13		.77		(.74	)		.03			(.80	)		-			(.80	)		10.36		(.10	)		264		1.44			1.44			6.82
Year ended 9/30/2010		10.29		.80		.78			1.58			(.74	)		-			(.74	)		11.13		15.86			452		1.46			1.46			7.50
Year ended 9/30/2009		10.01		.76		.33			1.09			(.81	)		-			(.81	)		10.29		13.18			550		1.56			1.55			8.93
Year ended 9/30/2008		12.35		.85		(2.32	)		(1.47	)		(.85	)		(.02	)		(.87	)		10.01		(12.55	)		557		1.47			1.44			7.37
Year ended 9/30/2007		12.30		.83		.04			.87			(.82	)		-			(.82	)		12.35		7.19			756		1.44			1.41			6.62
Class C:
Year ended 9/30/2011		11.13		.76		(.74	)		.02			(.79	)		-			(.79	)		10.36		(.15	)		1,229		1.48			1.48			6.76
Year ended 9/30/2010		10.29		.80		.78			1.58			(.74	)		-			(.74	)		11.13		15.80			1,337		1.51			1.51			7.44
Year ended 9/30/2009		10.01		.76		.33			1.09			(.81	)		-			(.81	)		10.29		13.15			1,213		1.58			1.57			8.74
Year ended 9/30/2008		12.35		.84		(2.32	)		(1.48	)		(.84	)		(.02	)		(.86	)		10.01		(12.59	)		890		1.52			1.48			7.32
Year ended 9/30/2007		12.30		.83		.04			.87			(.82	)		-			(.82	)		12.35		7.14			1,045		1.48			1.45			6.55
Class F-1:
Year ended 9/30/2011		11.13		.85		(.74	)		.11			(.88	)		-			(.88	)		10.36		.62			1,264		.72			.72			7.52
Year ended 9/30/2010		10.29		.88		.78			1.66			(.82	)		-			(.82	)		11.13		16.69			1,457		.74			.74			8.21
Year ended 9/30/2009		10.01		.83		.33			1.16			(.88	)		-			(.88	)		10.29		14.02			1,482		.81			.80			9.54
Year ended 9/30/2008		12.35		.93		(2.32	)		(1.39	)		(.93	)		(.02	)		(.95	)		10.01		(11.90	)		1,204		.74			.70			8.09
Year ended 9/30/2007		12.30		.92		.04			.96			(.91	)		-			(.91	)		12.35		7.98			1,166		.70			.67			7.32
Class F-2:
Year ended 9/30/2011		11.13		.88		(.74	)		.14			(.91	)		-			(.91	)		10.36		.88			568		.46			.46			7.77
Year ended 9/30/2010		10.29		.91		.78			1.69			(.85	)		-			(.85	)		11.13		16.98			511		.48			.48			8.44
Year ended 9/30/2009		10.01		.81		.37			1.18			(.90	)		-			(.90	)		10.29		14.32			341		.53			.53			8.99
Period from 8/4/2008 to 9/30/2008		11.01		.14		(1.00	)		(.86	)		(.14	)		-			(.14	)		10.01		(7.84	)		13		.08			.07			1.34
Class 529-A:
Year ended 9/30/2011		11.13		.85		(.74	)		.11			(.88	)		-			(.88	)		10.36		.59			261		.74			.74			7.50
Year ended 9/30/2010		10.29		.88		.78			1.66			(.82	)		-			(.82	)		11.13		16.66			230		.76			.76			8.18
Year ended 9/30/2009		10.01		.82		.33			1.15			(.87	)		-			(.87	)		10.29		13.99			172		.84			.83			9.50
Year ended 9/30/2008		12.35		.93		(2.32	)		(1.39	)		(.93	)		(.02	)		(.95	)		10.01		(11.91	)		120		.74			.71			8.11
Year ended 9/30/2007		12.30		.92		.04			.96			(.91	)		-			(.91	)		12.35		7.92			124		.76			.72			7.30
Class 529-B:
Year ended 9/30/2011		11.13		.75		(.74	)		.01			(.78	)		-			(.78	)		10.36		(.22	)		16		1.55			1.55			6.70
Year ended 9/30/2010		10.29		.79		.78			1.57			(.73	)		-			(.73	)		11.13		15.74			23		1.56			1.56			7.39
Year ended 9/30/2009		10.01		.75		.33			1.08			(.80	)		-			(.80	)		10.29		13.08			22		1.65			1.64			8.76
Year ended 9/30/2008		12.35		.84		(2.32	)		(1.48	)		(.84	)		(.02	)		(.86	)		10.01		(12.64	)		18		1.58			1.55			7.26
Year ended 9/30/2007		12.30		.82		.04			.86			(.81	)		-			(.81	)		12.35		7.06			21		1.56			1.53			6.50
Class 529-C:
Year ended 9/30/2011		11.13		.76		(.74	)		.02			(.79	)		-			(.79	)		10.36		(.21	)		101		1.54			1.54			6.70
Year ended 9/30/2010		10.29		.79		.78			1.57			(.73	)		-			(.73	)		11.13		15.75			91		1.56			1.56			7.39
Year ended 9/30/2009		10.01		.75		.33			1.08			(.80	)		-			(.80	)		10.29		13.08			68		1.64			1.63			8.71
Year ended 9/30/2008		12.35		.84		(2.32	)		(1.48	)		(.84	)		(.02	)		(.86	)		10.01		(12.64	)		49		1.57			1.54			7.27
Year ended 9/30/2007		12.30		.82		.04			.86			(.81	)		-			(.81	)		12.35		7.07			52		1.55			1.52			6.50
Class 529-E:
Year ended 9/30/2011		11.13		.81		(.74	)		.07			(.84	)		-			(.84	)		10.36		.31			15		1.02			1.02			7.22
Year ended 9/30/2010		10.29		.85		.78			1.63			(.79	)		-			(.79	)		11.13		16.34			12		1.04			1.04			7.90
Year ended 9/30/2009		10.01		.80		.33			1.13			(.85	)		-			(.85	)		10.29		13.66			9		1.13			1.12			9.23
Year ended 9/30/2008		12.35		.90		(2.32	)		(1.42	)		(.90	)		(.02	)		(.92	)		10.01		(12.18	)		7		1.06			1.02			7.79
Year ended 9/30/2007		12.30		.88		.04			.92			(.87	)		-			(.87	)		12.35		7.62			7		1.04			1.01			7.01
Class 529-F-1:
Year ended 9/30/2011	$	11.13	$	.87	$	(.74	)	$	.13		$	(.90	)	$	-		$	(.90	)	$	10.36		.80	%	$	14		.53	%		.53	%		7.70	%
Year ended 9/30/2010		10.29		.90		.78			1.68			(.84	)		-			(.84	)		11.13		16.91			11		.55			.55			8.40
Year ended 9/30/2009		10.01		.84		.33			1.17			(.89	)		-			(.89	)		10.29		14.23			7		.63			.62			9.72
Year ended 9/30/2008		12.35		.95		(2.32	)		(1.37	)		(.95	)		(.02	)		(.97	)		10.01		(11.74	)		6		.56			.52			8.29
Year ended 9/30/2007		12.30		.94		.04			.98			(.93	)		-			(.93	)		12.35		8.15			6		.54			.51			7.51
Class R-1:
Year ended 9/30/2011		11.13		.76		(.74	)		.02			(.79	)		-			(.79	)		10.36		(.17	)		20		1.50			1.50			6.74
Year ended 9/30/2010		10.29		.79		.78			1.57			(.73	)		-			(.73	)		11.13		15.78			23		1.53			1.53			7.41
Year ended 9/30/2009		10.01		.75		.33			1.08			(.80	)		-			(.80	)		10.29		13.08			18		1.64			1.63			8.65
Year ended 9/30/2008		12.35		.84		(2.32	)		(1.48	)		(.84	)		(.02	)		(.86	)		10.01		(12.62	)		12		1.55			1.52			7.29
Year ended 9/30/2007		12.30		.82		.04			.86			(.81	)		-			(.81	)		12.35		7.08			13		1.57			1.52			6.50
Class R-2:
Year ended 9/30/2011		11.13		.76		(.74	)		.02			(.79	)		-			(.79	)		10.36		(.15	)		200		1.53			1.48			6.76
Year ended 9/30/2010		10.29		.80		.78			1.58			(.74	)		-			(.74	)		11.13		15.80			209		1.58			1.51			7.44
Year ended 9/30/2009		10.01		.76		.33			1.09			(.81	)		-			(.81	)		10.29		13.17			170		1.79			1.56			8.81
Year ended 9/30/2008		12.35		.84		(2.32	)		(1.48	)		(.84	)		(.02	)		(.86	)		10.01		(12.58	)		128		1.70			1.48			7.34
Year ended 9/30/2007		12.30		.82		.04			.86			(.81	)		-			(.81	)		12.35		7.13			138		1.69			1.47			6.56
Class R-3:
Year ended 9/30/2011		11.13		.81		(.74	)		.07			(.84	)		-			(.84	)		10.36		.31			266		1.02			1.02			7.22
Year ended 9/30/2010		10.29		.85		.78			1.63			(.79	)		-			(.79	)		11.13		16.33			316		1.05			1.05			7.90
Year ended 9/30/2009		10.01		.80		.33			1.13			(.85	)		-			(.85	)		10.29		13.66			272		1.13			1.12			9.20
Year ended 9/30/2008		12.35		.89		(2.32	)		(1.43	)		(.89	)		(.02	)		(.91	)		10.01		(12.20	)		185		1.07			1.04			7.77
Year ended 9/30/2007		12.30		.88		.04			.92			(.87	)		-			(.87	)		12.35		7.58			186		1.07			1.04			6.98
Class R-4:
Year ended 9/30/2011		11.13		.85		(.74	)		.11			(.88	)		-			(.88	)		10.36		.61			208		.72			.72			7.52
Year ended 9/30/2010		10.29		.88		.78			1.66			(.82	)		-			(.82	)		11.13		16.68			213		.75			.75			8.19
Year ended 9/30/2009		10.01		.83		.33			1.16			(.88	)		-			(.88	)		10.29		14.02			172		.81			.80			9.56
Year ended 9/30/2008		12.35		.93		(2.32	)		(1.39	)		(.93	)		(.02	)		(.95	)		10.01		(11.93	)		125		.77			.73			8.08
Year ended 9/30/2007		12.30		.92		.04			.96			(.91	)		-			(.91	)		12.35		7.93			118		.75			.72			7.30
Class R-5:
Year ended 9/30/2011		11.13		.88		(.74	)		.14			(.91	)		-			(.91	)		10.36		.91			224		.42			.42			7.82
Year ended 9/30/2010		10.29		.91		.78			1.69			(.85	)		-			(.85	)		11.13		17.03			232		.44			.44			8.50
Year ended 9/30/2009		10.01		.85		.33			1.18			(.90	)		-			(.90	)		10.29		14.37			202		.51			.50			9.88
Year ended 9/30/2008		12.35		.96		(2.32	)		(1.36	)		(.96	)		(.02	)		(.98	)		10.01		(11.65	)		140		.45			.42			8.40
Year ended 9/30/2007		12.30		.96		.04			1.00			(.95	)		-			(.95	)		12.35		8.26			137		.44			.41			7.61
Class R-6:
Year ended 9/30/2011		11.13		.89		(.74	)		.15			(.92	)		-			(.92	)		10.36		.96			104		.37			.37			7.86
Year ended 9/30/2010		10.29		.92		.78			1.70			(.86	)		-			(.86	)		11.13		17.09			89		.39			.39			8.56
Period from 5/1/2009 to 9/30/2009		8.47		.33		1.83			2.16			(.34	)		-			(.34	)		10.29		25.96			49		.18			.18			3.55

	Year ended September 30
	2011			2010			2009			2008			2007
Portfolio turnover rate for all share classes		51	%		47	%		43	%		35	%		42	%

(1)Based on operations for the periods shown (unless otherwise noted) and, accordingly, may not be representative of a full year.

(2)Based on average shares outstanding.

(3)Total returns exclude any applicable sales charges, including contingent deferred sales charges.

(4)This column reflects the impact, if any, of certain reimbursements/waivers from CRMC. During some of the periods shown, CRMC reduced fees for investment advisory services. In addition, during some of the periods shown, CRMC paid a portion of the fund's transfer agent fees for certain retirement plan share classes.

See Notes to Financial Statements

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Shareholders and Board of Trustees of American High-Income Trust:

We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities of American High-Income Trust (the “Fund”), including the summary investment portfolio as of September 30, 2011, and the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the periods presented. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. The Fundis not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Fund’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of September 30, 2011, by correspondence with the custodian and brokers; where replies were not received from brokers, we performed other auditing procedures. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, such financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of American High-Income Trust as of September 30, 2011, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the periods presented, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Deloitte & Touche LLP

Costa Mesa, California

November 11, 2011

Expense example                                                                                                                                                 

    unaudited

As a shareholder of the fund, 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 (April 1, 2011, through September 30, 2011).

Actual expenses:

The first line of each share class in the table on the next page provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled "Expenses paid during period" to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

Hypothetical example for comparison purposes:

The second line of each share class in the table on the next 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:

There are some account fees that are charged to certain types of accounts, such as individual retirement accounts and 529 college savings plan accounts (generally, a $10 fee is charged to set up the account and an additional $10 fee is charged to the account annually), that would increase the amount of expenses paid on your account. In addition, retirement plan participants may be subject to certain fees charged by the plan sponsor, and Class F-1, F-2 and 529-F-1 shareholders may be subject to fees charged by financial intermediaries, typically ranging from 0.75% to 1.50% of assets annually depending on services offered. You can estimate the impact of these fees by adding the amount of the fees to the total estimated expenses you paid on your account during the period as calculated above. In addition, your ending account value would be lower by the amount of these fees.

Note that the expenses shown in the table 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.

	Beginning account value 4/1/2011		Ending account value 9/30/2011		Expenses paid during period*		Annualized expense ratio
Class A -- actual return	$	1,000.00	$	935.10	$	3.25		.67	%
Class A -- assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,021.71		3.40		.67
Class B -- actual return		1,000.00		931.49		6.97		1.44
Class B -- assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,017.85		7.28		1.44
Class C -- actual return		1,000.00		931.31		7.17		1.48
Class C -- assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,017.65		7.49		1.48
Class F-1 -- actual return		1,000.00		934.88		3.44		.71
Class F-1 -- assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,021.51		3.60		.71
Class F-2 -- actual return		1,000.00		936.11		2.18		.45
Class F-2 -- assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,022.81		2.28		.45
Class 529-A -- actual return		1,000.00		934.73		3.64		.75
Class 529-A -- assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,021.31		3.80		.75
Class 529-B -- actual return		1,000.00		930.92		7.55		1.56
Class 529-B -- assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,017.25		7.89		1.56
Class 529-C -- actual return		1,000.00		930.97		7.50		1.55
Class 529-C -- assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,017.30		7.84		1.55
Class 529-E -- actual return		1,000.00		933.48		4.94		1.02
Class 529-E -- assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,019.95		5.16		1.02
Class 529-F-1 -- actual return		1,000.00		935.72		2.62		.54
Class 529-F-1 -- assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,022.36		2.74		.54
Class R-1 -- actual return		1,000.00		931.16		7.26		1.50
Class R-1 -- assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,017.55		7.59		1.50
Class R-2 -- actual return		1,000.00		931.28		7.17		1.48
Class R-2 -- assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,017.65		7.49		1.48
Class R-3 -- actual return		1,000.00		933.41		4.94		1.02
Class R-3 -- assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,019.95		5.16		1.02
Class R-4 -- actual return		1,000.00		934.85		3.49		.72
Class R-4 -- assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,021.46		3.65		.72
Class R-5 -- actual return		1,000.00		936.28		2.04		.42
Class R-5 -- assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,022.96		2.13		.42
Class R-6 -- actual return		1,000.00		936.53		1.80		.37
Class R-6 -- assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,023.21		1.88		.37
*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).

Tax information

unaudited

We are required to advise you within 60 days of the fund’s fiscal year-end regarding the federal tax status of certain distributions received by shareholders during such fiscal year. The fund hereby designates the following amountsfor the fund’s fiscal year ended September 30, 2011:

Qualified dividend income	$	20,933,000
Corporate dividends received deduction	$	15,453,000
U.S. government income that may be exempt from state taxation	$	2,193,000

Individual shareholders should refer to their Form 1099 or other tax information, which will be mailed in January 2012, to determine the calendar year amounts to be included on their 2011 tax returns. Shareholders should consult their tax advisers.

Other share class results

unaudited

Classes B, C, F and 529

Fund results shown 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. For current information and month-end results, visit americanfunds.com.

Average annual total returns for periods ended September 30, 2011:
							10 years1/
	1 year			5 years			Life of class
Class B shares2
Reflecting applicable contingent deferred sales charge
(CDSC), maximum of 5%, payable only if shares are
sold within six years of purchase		−4.76	%		3.91	%		6.93	%
Not reflecting CDSC		−0.10			4.20			6.93
Class C shares
Reflecting CDSC, maximum of 1%, payable only
if shares are sold within one year of purchase		−1.08			4.15			6.70
Not reflecting CDSC		−0.15			4.15			6.70
Class F-1 shares3
Not reflecting annual asset-based fee charged
by sponsoring firm		0.62			4.96			7.52
Class F-2 shares3 — first sold 8/4/08
Not reflecting annual asset-based fee charged
by sponsoring firm		0.88			—			7.15
Class 529-A shares4 — first sold 2/19/02
Reflecting 3.75% maximum sales charge		−3.15			4.13			6.89
Not reflecting maximum sales charge		0.59			4.93			7.31
Class 529-B shares2,4 — first sold 2/25/02
Reflecting applicable CDSC, maximum of 5%, payable
only if shares are sold within six years of purchase		−4.87			3.80			6.70
Not reflecting CDSC		−0.22			4.08			6.70
Class 529-C shares4 — first sold 2/19/02
Reflecting CDSC, maximum of 1%, payable only
if shares are sold within one year of purchase		−1.14			4.09			6.43
Not reflecting CDSC		−0.21			4.09			6.43
Class 529-E shares3,4 — first sold 3/15/02		0.31			4.63			6.78
Class 529-F-1 shares3,4 — first sold 9/16/02
Not reflecting annual asset-based fee charged
by sponsoring firm		0.80			5.15			8.92

1Applicable to Classes B, C and F-1 shares only. All other share classes reflect results for the life of the class.

2These shares are not available for purchase.

3These shares are sold without any initial or contingent deferred sales charge.

4Results shown do not reflect the $10 account setup fee and an annual $10 account maintenance fee.

Investment results assume all distributions are reinvested and reflect applicable fees and expenses. The fund’s investment adviser waived a portion of its management fees from September 1, 2004, through December 31, 2008. Applicable fund results shown reflect the waiver, without which they would have been lower. See the Financial Highlights table on pages 25 and 26 for details that include expense ratios for all share classes.

For information regarding the differences among the various share classes, refer to the fund’s prospectus.

Board of trustees and other officers

“Independent” trustees1
	Year first
	elected a
	trustee of
Name and age	the fund2	Principal occupation(s) during past five years
Lee A. Ault III, 75	2010	Private investor and corporate director; former
		Chairman of the Board, In-Q-Tel, Inc. (technology
		venture company)
William H. Baribault, 66	2010	Chairman of the Board and CEO, Oakwood
		Enterprises (private investment and consulting)
James G. Ellis, 64	2006	Dean and Professor of Marketing, Marshall School of
		Business, University of Southern California
Martin Fenton, 76	1989	Chairman of the Board, Senior Resource Group LLC
Chairman of the Board		(development and management of senior living
(Independent and		communities)
Non-Executive)
Leonard R. Fuller, 65	1994	President and CEO, Fuller Consulting (financial
		management consulting firm)
W. Scott Hedrick, 66	2010	Founding General Partner, InterWest Partners
		(venture capital firm)
R. Clark Hooper, 65	2005	Private investor; former President, Dumbarton Group
		LLC (securities industry consulting)
Merit E. Janow, 53	2010	Professor, Columbia University, School of
		International and Public Affairs; former Member,
		World Trade Organization Appellate Body
Laurel B. Mitchell,	2010	Clinical Professor and Director, Accounting Program,
Ph.D., 56		University of Redlands
Frank M. Sanchez, 68	1999	Principal, The Sanchez Family Corporation dba
		McDonald’s Restaurants (McDonald’s licensee)
Margaret Spellings, 54	2010	President and CEO, Margaret Spellings & Company;
		President, U.S. Forum for Policy Innovation and
		Senior Advisor to the President and CEO, U.S.
		Chamber of Commerce; former United States
		Secretary of Education, United States Department of
		Education — Federal Government Agency
Steadman Upham, Ph.D., 62	2007	President and Professor of Anthropology,
		The University of Tulsa
“Independent” trustees1
	Number of
	portfolios
	in fund
	complex3
	overseen by
Name and age	trustee	Other directorships4 held by trustee
Lee A. Ault III, 75	42	Anworth Mortgage Asset Corporation
William H. Baribault, 66	42	None
James G. Ellis, 64	46	Quiksilver, Inc.
Martin Fenton, 76	42	Capital Private Client Services Funds; Capital
Chairman of the Board		Emerging Markets Total Opportunities Fund
(Independent and
Non-Executive)
Leonard R. Fuller, 65	46	None
W. Scott Hedrick, 66	42	Hot Topic, Inc.; Office Depot, Inc.
R. Clark Hooper, 65	48	JPMorgan Value Opportunities Fund, Inc.;
		The Swiss Helvetia Fund, Inc.
Merit E. Janow, 53	45	The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC;
		Trimble Navigation Limited
Laurel B. Mitchell,	42	None
Ph.D., 56
Frank M. Sanchez, 68	42	None
Margaret Spellings, 54	42	None
Steadman Upham, Ph.D., 62	45	None

Ambassador Richard G. Capen, Jr., a trustee of the fund since 1999, and Richard G. Newman, a trustee of the fund since 1991, have retired from the board. The trustees thank Ambassador Capen and Mr. Newman for their dedication and service to the fund.

See footnotes on page 32.

“Interested” trustees5
	Year first
	elected a
	trustee or	Principal occupation(s) during past five years and
Name, age and	officer of	positions held with affiliated entities or the
position with fund	the fund2	principal underwriter of the fund
Paul G. Haaga, Jr., 62	1987	Chairman of the Board, Capital Research and
Vice Chairman of the Board		Management
Company; Senior Vice President —
		Fixed Income, Capital Research and Management
		Company
John H. Smet, 55	2011	Senior Vice President — Fixed Income, Capital
		Research and Management Company; Director,
		The Capital Group Companies, Inc.6
“Interested” trustees5
	Number of
	portfolios
	in fund
	complex3
Name, age and	overseen by
position with fund	trustee	Other directorships4 held by trustee
Paul G. Haaga, Jr., 62	14	None
Vice Chairman of the Board
John H. Smet, 55	17	None

The fund’s statement of additional information includes further details about fund trustees and is available without charge upon request by calling American Funds Service Company at 800/421-0180 or by visiting the American Funds website at americanfunds.com. The address for all trustees and officers of the fund is 333 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071, Attention: Secretary.

Other officers
	Year first
	elected	Principal occupation(s) during past five years
Name, age and	an officer	and positions held with affiliated entities or the
position with fund	of the fund2	principal underwriter of the fund
David C. Barclay, 55	1995	Senior Vice President — Fixed Income, Capital
President		Research and Management Company; Director,
		Capital Research and Management Company
Jennifer L. Hinman, 53	2001	Senior Vice President — Fixed Income, Capital
Senior Vice President		Research Company;6 Director, Capital International
		Research, Inc.;6 Director, Capital Strategy Research,
		Inc.6
David A. Daigle, 44	2008	Senior Vice President — Fixed Income, Capital
Vice President		Research Company6
Marcus B. Linden, 45	2008	Senior Vice President — Fixed Income, Capital
Vice President		Research Company6
Richard N. Lewis, 38	2011	Senior Vice President — Fixed Income, Capital
Vice President		Research Company6
Kristine M. Nishiyama, 41	2003	Senior Vice President and Senior Counsel — Fund
Vice President		Business Management Group, Capital Research and
		Management Company; Vice President and Senior
		Counsel, Capital Bank and Trust Company6
Courtney R. Taylor, 36	2006	Assistant Vice President — Fund Business
Secretary		Management Group, Capital Research and
		Management Company
Karl C. Grauman, 43	2011	Vice President — Fund Business Management
Treasurer		Group, Capital Research and Management Company
Steven I. Koszalka, 47	2010	Vice President — Fund Business Management
Assistant Secretary		Group, Capital Research and Management Company
M. Susan Gupton, 38	2008	Vice President — Fund Business Management
Assistant Treasurer		Group, Capital Research and Management Company
Dori Laskin, 60	2010	Vice President — Fund Business Management
Assistant Treasurer		Group, Capital Research and Management Company

1The term “independent” trustee refers to a trustee who is not an “interested person” of the fund within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940.

2Trustees and officers of the fund serve until their resignation, removal or retirement.

3Capital Research and Management Company manages the American Funds, consisting of 33 funds. Capital Research and Management Company also manages American Funds Insurance Series,® which is composed of 18 funds and serves as the underlying investment vehicle for certain variable insurance contracts; and American Funds Target Date Retirement Series,® which is composed of 10 funds and is available through tax-deferred retirement plans and IRAs.

4This includes all directorships (other than those in the American Funds or other funds managed by Capital Research and Management Company) that are held by each trustee as a director of a public company or a registered investment company.

5“Interested persons” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, on the basis of their affiliation with the fund’s investment adviser, Capital Research and Management Company, or affiliated entities (including the fund’s principal underwriter).

6Company affiliated with Capital Research and Management Company.

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

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

Bingham McCutchen LLP

355 South Grand Avenue, Suite 4400

Los Angeles, CA 90071-3106

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

Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the American Funds. This and other important information is contained in the fund’s 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 800/421-0180 or visit the American Funds website at americanfunds.com.

“American Funds Proxy Voting Procedures and Principles” — which describes how we vote proxies relating to portfolio securities — is available on the American Funds website or upon request by calling AFS. The fund files its proxy voting record with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the 12 months ended June 30 by August 31. The proxy voting record is available free of charge on the SEC website at sec.gov and on the American Funds website.

A complete September 30, 2011, portfolio of American High-Income Trust’s investments is available free of charge by calling AFS or visiting the SEC website (where it is part of Form N-CSR).

American High-Income Trust files a complete list of its portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. This filing is available free of charge on the SEC website. You may also review or, for a fee, copy this filing at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Additional information regarding the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy at 800/SEC-0330. Additionally, the list of portfolio holdings is available on the American Funds website or by calling AFS.

This report is for the information of shareholders of American High-Income Trust, 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 December 31, 2011, this report must be accompanied by an American Funds statistical update for the most recently completed calendar quarter.

   

The American Funds difference

Since 1931, American Funds has helped investors pursue long-term investment success. Our consistent approach — in combination with a proven system — has resulted in a superior

long-term track record.

Consistent approach

We base our decisions on a long-term perspective because we believe it is the best way to achieve superior long-term investment results. Our portfolio counselors average 27 years of investment experience, including 22 years at our company, reflecting a career commitment to our long-term approach.

Proven system

Our system combines individual accountability with teamwork. Each fund is divided into portions that are managed by investment professionals with varied backgrounds, ages and investment styles. An extensive global research effort is the backbone of our system.

Superior long-term track record

Our equity funds have beaten their Lipper peer indexes in 89% of 10-year periods and 96% of 20-year periods. Our fixed-income funds have beaten their Lipper indexes in 65% of 10-year periods and 75% of 20-year periods.* Our fund management fees have consistently been among the lowest in the industry.†

*Based on Class A share results for periods through 12/31/10. Periods covered are the shorter of the fund’s lifetime or since the comparable Lipper index inception date.

†Based on management fees for the 20-year period ended 12/31/10 versus comparable Lipper categories, excluding funds of funds.

American Funds span a range of investment objectives

• Growth funds

Emphasis on long-term growth through stocks

AMCAP Fund®

EuroPacific Growth Fund®

The Growth Fund of America®

The New Economy Fund®

New Perspective Fund®

New World Fund®

SMALLCAP World Fund®

• Growth-and-income funds

Emphasis on long-term growth and dividends through stocks

American Mutual Fund®

Capital World Growth and Income FundSM

Fundamental InvestorsSM

International Growth and Income FundSM

The Investment Company of America®

Washington Mutual Investors FundSM

• Equity-income funds

Emphasis on above-average income and growth through stocks and/or bonds

Capital Income Builder®

The Income Fund of America®

• Balanced funds

Emphasis on long-term growth and current income through stocks and bonds

American Balanced Fund®

American Funds Global Balanced FundSM

• Bond funds

Emphasis on current income through bonds

American Funds Mortgage FundSM

American High-Income TrustSM

The Bond Fund of AmericaSM

Capital World Bond Fund®

Intermediate Bond Fund of America®

Short-Term Bond Fund of AmericaSM

U.S. Government Securities FundSM

• Tax-exempt bond funds

Emphasis on tax-exempt current income through municipal bonds

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond FundSM

American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund®

Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of AmericaSM

The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America®

State-specific tax-exempt funds

American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New YorkSM

The Tax-Exempt Fund of California®

The Tax-Exempt Fund of Maryland®

The Tax-Exempt Fund of Virginia®

Money market fund

American Funds Money Market Fund®

• American Funds Target Date Retirement Series®

The Capital Group Companies

American FundsCapital Research and ManagementCapital InternationalCapital GuardianCapital Bank and Trust

Lit. No. MFGEAR-921-1111P

Litho in USA RCG/RRD/8049-S28688

Printed on paper containing 10% post-consumer waste

Printed with inks containing soy and/or vegetable oil

ITEM 2 – Code of Ethics

The Registrant has adopted a Code of Ethics that applies to its Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer.  The Registrant undertakes to provide to any person without charge, upon request, a copy of the Code of Ethics.  Such request can be made to American Funds Service Company at 800/421-0180 or to the Secretary of the Registrant, 333 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, California 90071.

ITEM 3 – Audit Committee Financial Expert

The Registrant’s board has determined that Frank M. Sanchez, a member of the Registrant’s audit committee, is an “audit committee financial expert” and "independent," as such terms are defined in this Item. This designation will not increase the designee’s duties, obligations or liability as compared to his or her duties, obligations and liability as a member of the audit committee and of the board, nor will it reduce the responsibility of the other audit committee members.  There may be other individuals who, through education or experience, would qualify as "audit committee financial experts" if the board had designated them as such.  Most importantly, the board believes each member of the audit committee contributes significantly to the effective oversight of the Registrant’s financial statements and condition.

ITEM 4 – Principal Accountant Fees and Services

Registrant:
	a)  Audit Fees:
		2010	$105,000
		2011	$109,000
	b)  Audit-Related Fees:
		2010	$5,000
		2011	$5,000
		The audit-related fees consist of assurance and related services relating to the examination of the Registrant’s investment adviser conducted in accordance with Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements Number 16 (which replaced Statement on Auditing Standards Number 70) issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
	c)  Tax Fees:
		2010	$7,000
		2011	$7,000
		The tax fees consist of professional services relating to the preparation of the Registrant’s tax returns.
	d)  All Other Fees:
		2010	None
		2011	None
Adviser and affiliates (includes only fees for non-audit services billed to the adviser and affiliates for engagements that relate directly to the operations and financial reporting of the Registrant and were subject to the pre-approval policies described below):
	a)  Audit Fees:
		Not Applicable
	b)  Audit-Related Fees:
		2010	$999,000
		2011	$1,055,000
		The audit-related fees consist of assurance and related services relating to the examination of the Registrant’s transfer agent, principal underwriter and investment adviser conducted in accordance with Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements Number 16 (which replaced Statement on Auditing Standards Number 70) issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
	c)  Tax Fees:
		2010	$10,000
		2011	$38,000
		The tax fees consist of consulting services relating to the Registrant’s investments.
	d)  All Other Fees:
		2010	$2,000
		2011	$2,000
		The other fees consist of subscription services related to an accounting research tool.

All audit and permissible non-audit services that the Registrant’s audit committee considers compatible with maintaining the independent registered public accounting firm’s independence are required to be pre-approved by the committee.  The pre-approval requirement will extend to all non-audit services provided to the Registrant, the investment adviser, and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the Registrant, if the engagement relates directly to the operations and financial reporting of the Registrant. The committee will not delegate its responsibility to pre-approve these services to the investment adviser. The committee may delegate to one or more committee members the authority to review and pre-approve audit and permissible non-audit services.  Actions taken under any such delegation will be reported to the full committee at its next meeting. The pre-approval requirement is waived with respect to non-audit services if certain conditions are met. The pre-approval requirement was not waived for any of the non-audit services listed above provided to the Registrant, adviser and affiliates.

Aggregate non-audit fees paid to the Registrant’s auditors, including fees for all services billed to the Registrant, adviser and affiliates that provide ongoing services to the Registrant, were $1,416,000 for fiscal year 2010 and $1,651,000 for fiscal year 2011. The non-audit services represented by these amounts were brought to the attention of the committee and considered to be compatible with maintaining the auditors’ independence.

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

American High-Income TrustSM

Investment portfolio

September 30, 2011

Bonds, notes & other debt instruments — 91.95%	Principal amount (000)			Value (000)
CORPORATE BONDS, NOTES & LOANS — 88.37%
CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY — 24.51%
Mandalay Resort Group 6.375% 2011	$	4,150		$	4,129
MGM Resorts International 6.75% 2012		52,553			51,765
MGM Resorts International 6.75% 2013		45,790			44,645
MGM Resorts International 13.00% 2013		27,275			31,230
MGM Resorts International 5.875% 2014		82,445			75,643
MGM Resorts International 10.375% 2014		10,225			11,209
MGM Resorts International 6.625% 2015		18,975			16,176
MGM Resorts International 6.875% 2016		9,000			7,695
MGM Resorts International 7.50% 2016		40,600			35,424
MGM Resorts International 11.125% 2017		14,775			16,289
MGM Resorts International 9.00% 2020		18,925			19,753
Charter Communications Operating, LLC, Term Loan B, 7.25% 20141,2,3		28			28
Charter Communications, Inc. 13.50% 2016		47,704			54,621
Charter Communications Operating, LLC and Charter Communications Operating Capital Corp. 7.25% 2017		70,900			71,255
Charter Communications Operating, LLC and Charter Communications Operating Capital Corp. 7.875% 2018		40,425			41,335
CCO Holdings LLC and CCO Holdings Capital Corp. 7.00% 2019		10,000			9,750
Charter Communications Operating, LLC and Charter Communications Operating Capital Corp. 8.125% 2020		38,175			39,893
Univision Communications Inc., Term Loan, 4.489% 20171,2,3		133,119			112,357
Univision Communications Inc. 6.875% 20194		21,330			19,090
Univision Communications Inc. 8.50% 20214		54,275			42,606
Virgin Media Finance PLC, Series 1, 9.50% 2016		88,775			96,321
Virgin Media Secured Finance PLC 6.50% 2018		9,325			9,954
Virgin Media Finance PLC 8.375% 20194		57,435			61,312
Michaels Stores, Inc., Term Loan B1, 2.50% 20131,2,3		17,346			16,634
Michaels Stores, Inc. 0%/13.00% 20165		67,520			69,883
Michaels Stores, Inc., Term Loan B2, 4.75% 20161,2,3		5,877			5,630
Michaels Stores, Inc. 11.375% 2016		11,000			11,192
Michaels Stores, Inc. 7.75% 2018		65,100			61,194
Toys “R” Us-Delaware, Inc., Term Loan B, 6.00% 20161,2,3		14,157			13,626
Toys “R” Us-Delaware, Inc. 7.375% 20164		19,580			18,797
Toys “R” Us Property Co. II, LLC 8.50% 2017		38,025			37,265
Toys “R” Us Property Co. I, LLC 10.75% 2017		3,875			4,117
Toys “R” Us-Delaware, Inc., Term Loan B2, 5.25% 20181,2,3		65,486			62,469
Toys “R” Us, Inc. 7.375% 2018		9,550			8,165
Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. 10.375% 2015		34,125			34,637
Neiman Marcus Group, Inc., Term Loan B, 4.75% 20181,2,3		102,945			95,467
Boyd Gaming Corp. 6.75% 2014		27,850			24,090
Boyd Gaming Corp. 7.125% 2016		30,615			22,655
Boyd Gaming Corp. 9.125% 20184		79,570			65,844
Nara Cable Funding Ltd. 8.875% 2018	€	93,800			103,039
ONO Finance II PLC 10.875% 20194	$	350			247
ONO Finance II PLC 11.125% 2019	€	8,925			7,922
Needle Merger Sub Corp. 8.125% 20194	$	122,990			107,616
Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc., Term Loan B, 2.98% 20141,2,3		31,319			29,631
Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. 11.00% 20154		73,035			75,956
Revel Entertainment, Term Loan B, 9.00% 20181,2,3		83,325			69,368
Revel Entertainment 12.00% 20186,7,8		36,178			25,515
Mediacom Broadband LLC and Mediacom Broadband Corp. 8.50% 2015		67,753			67,753
Mediacom LLC and Mediacom Capital Corp. 9.125% 2019		26,450			26,450
Limited Brands, Inc. 5.25% 2014		703			735
Limited Brands, Inc. 8.50% 2019		14,560			16,526
Limited Brands, Inc. 7.00% 2020		18,193			19,194
Limited Brands, Inc. 6.625% 2021		55,628			56,323
J.C. Penney Co., Inc., Series A, 6.875% 2015		4,548			4,741
J.C. Penney Co., Inc. 5.75% 2018		52,184			51,140
J.C. Penney Co., Inc. 5.65% 2020		33,397			31,477
Clear Channel Worldwide Holdings, Inc., Series B, 9.25% 2017		82,450			84,717
EchoStar DBS Corp 7.125% 2016		7,000			7,122
DISH DBS Corp 7.875% 2019		3,550			3,639
DISH DBS Corp 6.75% 20214		74,265			71,294
Warner Music Group 9.50% 20164		10,550			10,735
Warner Music Group 9.50% 2016		7,550			7,682
Warner Music Group 11.50% 20184		48,350			44,724
Warner Music Group 13.75% 20194		16,975			15,023
AMC Entertainment Inc. 8.00% 2014		7,825			7,590
AMC Entertainment Inc. 8.75% 2019		46,675			46,092
AMC Entertainment Inc. 9.75% 2020		23,000			20,930
Hanesbrands Inc., Series B, 3.77% 20141		45,550			44,753
Hanesbrands Inc. 8.00% 2016		18,350			19,497
Hanesbrands Inc. 6.375% 2020		9,000			8,775
Burger King Corp. 9.875% 2018		28,250			29,239
Burger King Corp 0%/11.00% 20194,5		76,125			42,059
Bon-Ton Department Stores, Inc. 10.25% 2014		85,775			69,049
Macy’s Retail Holdings, Inc. 8.125% 20151		35,947			41,907
Federated Department Stores, Inc. 6.79% 2027		23,385			23,660
PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc. 9.25% 20184		63,505			63,823
Academy, Ltd., Term Loan B, 6.00% 20181,2,3		45,950			44,083
Academy, Ltd. 9.25% 20194		21,050			19,682
Wynn Las Vegas, LLC and Wynn Capital Corp. 7.875% 2017		3,400			3,578
Wynn Las Vegas, LLC and Wynn Capital Corp. 7.75% 2020		53,250			56,179
Cinemark USA, Inc., Term Loan, 3.48% 20161,2,3		5,466			5,373
Cinemark USA, Inc. 8.625% 2019		47,461			49,122
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. 6.875% 2013		4,000			4,050
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. 11.875% 2015		42,475			49,483
CityCenter Holdings, LLC 7.625% 20164		27,500			25,988
CityCenter Holdings, LLC 11.50% 20174,7		28,501			25,342
Sally Holdings LLC and Sally Capital Inc. 9.25% 2014		40,750			41,769
Sally Holdings LLC and Sally Capital Inc. 10.50% 2016		8,292			8,603
Regal Entertainment Group 9.125% 2018		17,450			17,363
Regal Cinemas Corp. 8.625% 2019		30,455			31,140
Tower Automotive Holdings 10.625% 20174		48,696			48,453
Jaguar Land Rover PLC 7.75% 20184		15,960			14,284
Jaguar Land Rover PLC 8.125% 20214		36,000			31,860
Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp., Term Loan B, 6.25% 20171,2,3		37,147			35,640
Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp. 10.00% 20194		9,550			8,165
Technical Olympic USA, Inc. 9.00% 20108,9		22,486			14,773
Technical Olympic USA, Inc. 9.00% 20108,9		7,325			4,813
Technical Olympic USA, Inc. 9.25% 20114,8,9		36,325			23,866
Local T.V. Finance LLC, Term Loan B, 2.24% 20131,2,3		7,206			6,770
Local T.V. Finance LLC 9.25% 20151,4,7		31,914			29,520
NCL Corp. Ltd. 11.75% 2016		18,925			21,385
NCL Corp. Ltd. 9.50% 20184		9,725			9,871
Fox Acquisition LLC 13.375% 20164		29,470			31,165
CSC Holdings, Inc. 8.50% 2014		14,750			15,985
CSC Holdings, Inc. 8.50% 2015		3,500			3,701
CSC Holdings, Inc. 8.625% 2019		10,125			11,112
DineEquity, Inc. 9.50% 2018		28,775			28,703
Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority 8.00% 2012		17,950			11,937
Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority 6.125% 2013		1,225			827
Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority 7.125% 2014		24,600			12,423
Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority 6.875% 2015		6,775			3,286
Marina District Finance Co., Inc. 9.50% 2015		10,000			9,075
Marina District Finance Co., Inc. 9.875% 2018		21,000			17,640
Gray Television, Inc. 10.50% 2015		9,175			8,349
Gray Television, Inc., Series D, 17.00%1,6,8,9		21,003			18,063
Vidéotron Ltée 6.875% 2014		4,110			4,131
Vidéotron Ltée 6.375% 2015		3,720			3,757
Quebecor Media Inc. 7.75% 2016		13,600			13,634
Quebecor Media Inc. 7.75% 2016		4,375			4,397
LBI Media, Inc. 8.50% 20174		40,150			25,495
Jarden Corp. 8.00% 2016		23,250			24,674
Radio One, Inc., Term Loan B, 7.50% 20161,2,3		25,079			24,156
Cumulus Media Inc., Term Loan, 7.50% 20191,2,3		4,665			4,423
Cumulus Media Inc. 7.75% 20194		22,000			18,645
Circus and Eldorado Joint Venture and Silver Legacy Resort Casino 10.125% 2012		28,180			21,910
Allbritton Communications Co. 8.00% 2018		22,000			20,790
Chrysler Group LLC, Term Loan B, 6.00% 20171,2,3		7,731			6,759
Chrysler Group LLC 8.00% 20194		13,585			10,664
UPC Germany GmbH 8.125% 20174		2,300			2,311
UPC Germany GmbH 9.625% 2019	€	10,800			14,096
Seneca Gaming Corp. 8.25% 20184	$	16,750			16,206
Education Management LLC and Education Management Finance Corp. 8.75% 2014		16,245			15,920
Lamar Media Corp. 7.875% 2018		13,525			13,593
Cequel Communications Holdings I, LLC and Cequel Capital Corp. 8.625% 20174		13,250			13,184
Gymboree Corp., Term Loan 1L, 5.00% 20181,2,3		13,994			12,523
Dynacast International Ltd. 9.25% 20194		10,950			9,964
Kabel BW Erste Beteiligu 7.50% 2019	€	7,250			9,373
Seminole Tribe of Florida 7.804% 20202,4	$	8,935			8,533
Meritage Corp. 7.731% 20174		9,000			7,965
Phillips-Van Heusen Co. 7.375% 2020		5,000			5,237
FCE Bank PLC 7.125% 2013	€	3,550			4,863
Marks and Spencer Group PLC 7.125% 20374	$	4,270			4,442
Tenneco Inc. 6.875% 2020		4,300			4,192
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. 5.00% 2012		2,815			2,787
Grupo Televisa, SAB 6.625% 2040		2,500			2,662
Time Warner Cable Inc. 7.50% 2014		750			849
Cox Communications, Inc. 5.45% 2014		390			432
KAC Acquisition Corp. 8.00% 20262,4,7,8		256			—
					3,916,076
TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES — 11.42%
Sprint Capital Corp. 8.375% 2012		8,800			8,932
Nextel Communications, Inc., Series E, 6.875% 2013		46,088			45,051
Nextel Communications, Inc., Series F, 5.95% 2014		117,065			110,334
Nextel Communications, Inc., Series D, 7.375% 2015		178,423			169,948
Sprint Nextel Corp. 6.00% 2016		12,000			10,380
Sprint Capital Corp. 8.75% 2032		3,000			2,621
Clearwire Communications and Clearwire Finance, Inc., Series B, 12.00% 20154		136,130			116,051
Clearwire Communications and Clearwire Finance, Inc., Series A, 12.00% 20154		129,180			110,126
Clearwire Communications and Clearwire Finance, Inc. 12.00% 20174		87,930			53,198
Cricket Communications, Inc. 10.00% 2015		29,245			29,172
Cricket Communications, Inc. 7.75% 2016		151,590			152,916
Cricket Communications, Inc. 7.75% 2020		20,000			17,450
Wind Acquisition SA 11.75% 20174		127,465			108,983
Wind Acquisition SA 7.25% 20184	$	30,530			26,141
Wind Acquisition SA 7.375% 2018	€	21,915			24,957
Level 3 Financing, Inc. 9.25% 2014	$	2,582			2,563
Level 3 Financing, Inc. 8.75% 2017		17,793			16,481
Level 3 Financing, Inc. 10.00% 2018		16,050			15,488
Level 3 Escrow Inc. 8.125% 20194		96,750			85,745
Level 3 Communications, Inc. 11.875% 20194		18,450			17,620
Digicel Group Ltd. 12.00% 20144		61,825			69,553
Digicel Group Ltd. 12.00% 2014		600			675
Digicel Group Ltd. 8.875% 20154		47,975			45,816
Digicel Group Ltd. 8.875% 2015		10,015			9,564
Digicel Group Ltd. 10.50% 20184		10,450			10,398
Frontier Communications Corp. 7.875% 2015		19,800			19,949
Frontier Communications Corp. 8.25% 2017		64,725			63,107
Frontier Communications Corp. 8.50% 2020		29,150			28,421
Frontier Communications Corp. 8.75% 2022		11,625			11,218
Vodafone Group PLC, Term Loan, 6.875% 20152,3,7,8		58,033			58,323
Vodafone Group PLC, Term Loan B, 6.25% 20162,3,7,8		44,900			44,900
Trilogy International Partners, LLC, 10.25% 20164		85,890			84,602
LightSquared, Term Loan B, 12.00% 20142,3,7		147,173			72,430
Crown Castle International Corp. 9.00% 2015		29,475			31,686
Crown Castle International Corp. 7.75% 20174		11,150			11,930
Crown Castle International Corp. 7.125% 2019		2,900			3,001
American Tower Corp. 7.00% 2017		21,825			24,729
American Tower Corp. 7.25% 2019		11,225			12,934
Intelsat Jackson Holding Co. 9.50% 2016		15,425			15,676
Intelsat Jackson Holding Co. 8.50% 2019		20,250			19,845
SBA Telecommunications, Inc. 8.00% 2016		12,850			13,525
Sorenson Communications 10.50% 20154		20,700			12,109
Portugal Telecom International Finance BV 5.625% 2016	€	10,000			11,353
América Móvil, SAB de CV 5.00% 2020	$	4,350			4,637
América Móvil, SAB de CV 8.46% 2036	MXN65,000				4,435
Telecom Italia Capital SA 6.999% 2018	$	5,950			5,976
Syniverse Holdings, Inc. 9.125% 2019		4,600			4,531
Hawaiian Telcom, Inc., Term Loan, 9.00% 20151,2,3,7		4,518			4,525
					1,824,005
FINANCIALS — 10.82%
Realogy Corp. 10.50% 2014		1,000			865
Realogy Corp., Letter of Credit, 4.518% 20161,2,3		14,852			12,120
Realogy Corp., Term Loan B, 4.522% 20161,2,3		148,893			121,507
Realogy Corp., Second Lien Term Loan A, 13.50% 20172,3		147,699			143,268
Realogy Corp. 7.875% 20194		150,435			114,331
CIT Group Inc., Series A, 7.00% 20142		12,585			12,852
CIT Group Inc., Series A, 7.00% 2015		164,536			163,508
CIT Group Inc., Series A, 7.00% 2016		167,495			162,679
Liberty Mutual Group Inc. 6.50% 20354		18,000			17,459
Liberty Mutual Group Inc., Series B, 7.00% 20671,4		11,185			9,563
Liberty Mutual Group Inc., Series A, 7.80% 20871,4		54,093			47,872
Liberty Mutual Group Inc., Series C, 10.75% 20881,4		47,950			57,540
Regions Financial Corp. 6.375% 2012		19,523			19,913
Regions Financial Corp. 7.75% 2014		36,979			37,256
Regions Financial Corp. 5.20% 2015		5,300			4,982
Regions Financial Corp. 5.75% 2015		5,024			4,873
Springleaf Finance Corp., Series I, 5.40% 2015		18,513			13,607
Springleaf Finance Corp., Term Loan B, 5.50% 20171,2,3		37,290			32,442
Springleaf Finance Corp., Series J, 6.90% 2017		20,000			14,500
HBOS PLC 6.75% 20184		26,925			23,007
LBG Capital No.1 PLC, Series 2, 7.875% 20204		29,490			21,675
Lloyds TSB Bank PLC 6.375% 2021		1,250			1,236
HBOS PLC 6.00% 20334		17,185			11,154
Lloyds Banking Group PLC, junior subordinated 6.657% preference shares (undated)1,4,9		5,000			2,530
Host Marriott, LP, Series O, 6.375% 2015		10,725			10,725
Host Hotels & Resorts, LP, Series Q, 6.75% 2016		18,325			18,417
Host Hotels & Resorts LP 9.00% 2017		3,850			4,177
Host Hotels & Resorts LP 5.875% 20194		16,100			15,456
Host Hotels & Resorts LP 6.00% 2020		4,000			3,910
Rouse Co. 7.20% 2012		12,145			12,509
Rouse Co. 5.375% 2013		22,130			22,019
Rouse Co. 6.75% 20134		17,950			18,152
MetLife Capital Trust IV, junior subordinated 7.875% 20671,4		14,950			14,801
MetLife Capital Trust X, junior subordinated 9.25% 20681,4		22,500			25,425
MetLife Inc., junior subordinated 10.75% 20691		7,000			8,771
Developers Diversified Realty Corp. 5.50% 2015		2,470			2,469
Developers Diversified Realty Corp. 9.625% 2016		20,326			23,054
Developers Diversified Realty Corp. 7.50% 2017		9,940			10,511
Developers Diversified Realty Corp. 7.875% 2020		6,040			6,417
Ford Motor Credit Co. 7.25% 2011		8,000			8,010
Ford Motor Credit Co. 8.70% 2014		2,000			2,166
Ford Motor Credit Co. 5.625% 2015		2,000			2,018
Ford Motor Credit Co. 7.00% 2015		6,000			6,315
Ford Motor Credit Co. 8.00% 2016		13,950			15,267
Ford Motor Credit Co. 6.625% 2017		5,150			5,373
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC 5.05% 2015		3,581			3,331
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC 4.70% 2018		18,909			15,373
RBS Capital Trust II 6.425% noncumulative trust1,9		24,535			11,900
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, junior subordinated 6.99% (undated)1,4,9		10,755			6,883
Hospitality Properties Trust 7.875% 2014		4,090			4,444
Hospitality Properties Trust 5.125% 2015		4,410			4,480
Hospitality Properties Trust 6.30% 2016		5,940			6,167
Hospitality Properties Trust 5.625% 2017		8,870			9,022
Hospitality Properties Trust 6.70% 2018		9,595			10,285
Prologis, Inc. 7.625% 2014		3,000			3,272
Prologis, Inc. 6.25% 2017		2,750			2,883
Prologis, Inc. 6.625% 2018		8,570			8,908
Prologis, Inc. 7.375% 2019		7,120			7,723
Prologis, Inc. 6.875% 2020		6,580			6,884
Zions Bancorporation 5.65% 2014		6,115			6,245
Zions Bancorporation 7.75% 2014		5,530			5,836
Zions Bancorporation 6.00% 2015		17,002			17,181
Catlin Insurance Ltd., junior subordinated 7.249% (undated)1,4		30,275			26,264
International Lease Finance Corp. 5.00% 2012		3,525			3,463
International Lease Finance Corp., Series R, 6.375% 2013		1,000			978
International Lease Finance Corp. 8.625% 2015		13,430			13,380
International Lease Finance Corp. 5.75% 2016		9,000			8,012
Lazard Group LLC 7.125% 2015		22,000			24,330
Genworth Financial, Inc. 7.625% 2021		14,935			12,909
Genworth Financial, Inc., junior subordinated 6.15% 20661		22,500			11,363
Barclays Bank PLC 5.14% 2020		5,000			4,067
Barclays Bank PLC, junior subordinated 7.434% (undated)1,4		21,226			17,511
Synovus Financial Corp. 4.875% 2013		3,355			3,137
Synovus Financial Corp. 5.125% 2017		19,612			16,670
Unum Group 7.125% 2016		12,425			14,342
Unum Group 5.625% 2020		1,155			1,276
ACE Cash Express, Inc. 11.00% 20194		17,300			15,440
Wells Fargo & Co., Series K, junior subordinated 7.98% (undated)1		13,810			14,293
Associated Banc-Corp 5.125% 2016		12,700			13,236
NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. 5.25% 2018		12,250			12,999
Community Choice Financial 10.75% 20194		9,825			9,579
BBVA Bancomer SA, junior subordinated 7.25% 20204		2,805			2,742
BBVA Bancomer SA 6.50% 20214		7,200			6,714
JPMorgan Chase & Co., Series I, junior subordinated 7.90% (undated)1		8,770			9,063
XL Capital Ltd., Series E, junior subordinated 6.50% (undated)1		11,250			8,944
Brandywine Operating Partnership, LP 7.50% 2015		7,000			7,593
Capital One Capital V 10.25% 2039		7,170			7,322
HSBK (Europe) BV 7.25% 20214		8,545			7,122
QBE Capital Funding III LP 7.25% 20411,4		7,650			6,935
Société Générale 5.75% 20164		6,000			5,456
Banco Mercantil del Norte, SA 6.135% 20161,4		3,500			3,469
Banco Mercantil del Norte, SA, junior subordinated 6.862% 20211,4		2,000			1,980
VEB Finance Ltd. 6.902% 20204		4,950			4,876
Banco de Crédito del Perú 5.375% 20204		5,000			4,775
The Export-Import Bank of Korea 4.375% 2021		2,900			2,750
Banco del Estado de Chile 4.125% 20204		2,500			2,511
Allstate Corp., Series B, junior subordinated 6.125% 20671		2,530			2,283
Ally Financial Inc. 6.875% 2012		1,468			1,499
Development Bank of Kazakhstan 5.50% 20154		1,475			1,412
					1,728,213
INDUSTRIALS — 9.91%
Hawker Beechcraft Acquisition Co., LLC, Letter of Credit, 2.146% 20141,2,3		9,456			6,564
Hawker Beechcraft Acquisition Co., LLC, Term Loan B, 2.369% 20141,2,3		156,753			108,808
Hawker Beechcraft Acquisition Co., LLC, Term Loan B, 10.50% 20141,2,3		22,071			19,257
Hawker Beechcraft Acquisition Co., LLC 8.50% 2015		8,045			3,459
Hawker Beechcraft Acquisition Co., LLC 8.875% 20151,7		54,450			23,005
Hawker Beechcraft Acquisition Co., LLC 9.75% 2017		3,125			1,031
Ply Gem Industries, Inc. 13.125% 2014		13,415			12,795
Ply Gem Industries, Inc. 8.25% 2018		142,150			116,563
US Investigations Services, Inc., Term Loan B, 2.981% 20151,2,3		6,544			5,955
US Investigations Services, Inc., Term Loan B, 7.75% 20151,2,3		53,773			52,787
US Investigations Services, Inc. 10.50% 20154		48,330			45,189
US Investigations Services, Inc. 11.75% 20164		17,700			16,372
CEVA Group PLC, Bridge Loan, 9.75% 20151,2,3,8		56,263			36,571
CEVA Group PLC 11.625% 20164		16,330			16,044
CEVA Group PLC 8.375% 20174		25,775			23,971
CEVA Group PLC 11.50% 20184		37,657			34,833
ARAMARK Corp. 3.754% 20151		28,570			26,570
ARAMARK Corp. 8.50% 2015		51,370			52,269
ARAMARK Corp. 8.625% 20164,7		23,800			23,562
Associated Materials, LLC and AMH New Finance, Inc. 9.125% 2017		121,680			99,169
DAE Aviation Holdings, Inc. and Standard Aero Ltd., Term Loan B1, 5.26% 20141,2,3		7,855			7,413
DAE Aviation Holdings, Inc. and Standard Aero Ltd., Term Loan B2, 5.26% 20141,2,3		7,528			7,104
DAE Aviation Holdings, Inc. 11.25% 20154		80,629			81,838
Nortek Inc. 10.00% 20184,10		50,485			46,951
Nortek Inc. 8.50% 20214,10		51,015			41,322
Continental Airlines, Inc. 8.75% 2011		2,450			2,459
United Air Lines, Inc., Term Loan B, 2.25% 20141,2,3		29,318			27,974
United Air Lines, 1991 Equipment Trust Certificates, Series A, 10.11% 20062,8,9		1,135			—
Continental Airlines, Inc., Series 2001-1, Class B, 7.373% 20172		2,370			2,344
Continental Airlines, Inc., Series 1998-1, Class B, 6.748% 20182		4,123			3,876
Continental Airlines, Inc., Series 1997-4B, Class B, 6.90% 20182		3,355			3,263
Continental Airlines, Inc., Series 1997-4, Class A, 6.90% 20192		4,345			4,443
Continental Airlines, Inc., Series 2000-2, Class B, 8.307% 20192		1,061			1,047
Continental Airlines, Inc., Series 1999-1, Class A, 6.545% 20202		3,305			3,316
Continental Airlines, Inc., Series 1999-1, Class B, 6.795% 20202		739			711
Continental Airlines, Inc., Series 2003-ERJ3, Class A, 7.875% 20202		10,587			10,217
United Air Lines, Inc., Series 2007-1, Class B, 7.336% 20212,4		8,271			7,599
Continental Airlines, Inc., Series 2001-1, Class A-1, 6.703% 20222		4,585			4,608
Continental Airlines, Inc., Series 2000-2, Class A-1, 7.707% 20222		2,487			2,579
Continental Airlines, Inc., Series 2000-1, Class A-1, 8.048% 20222		288			304
Continental Airlines, Inc., Series 2000-1, Class B, 8.388% 20222		5,655			5,549
United Air Lines, Inc., Series 2007-1, Class A, 6.636% 20242		2,722			2,639
Esterline Technologies Corp. 6.625% 2017		21,562			21,885
Esterline Technologies Corp. 7.00% 2020		44,360			45,802
Northwest Airlines, Inc., Term Loan B, 3.87% 20131,2,3		7,932			7,734
Delta Air Lines, Inc., Series 2002-1, Class G-2, MBIA insured, 6.417% 20142		8,113			8,204
Delta Air Lines, Inc., Series 2010-B, Class 2-B, 6.75% 20152,4		7,650			7,153
Northwest Airlines, Inc., Term Loan A, 2.12% 20181,2,3		9,430			8,676
Delta Air Lines, Inc., Series 2002-1, Class G-1, MBIA insured, 6.718% 20242		28,993			28,558
Euramax International, Inc. 9.50% 20164		65,835			52,833
Nielsen Finance LLC and Nielsen Finance Co. 11.625% 2014		2,557			2,915
Nielsen Finance LLC and Nielsen Finance Co. 11.50% 2016		6,492			7,401
Nielsen Finance LLC, Term Loan 1L, 8.50% 20172,3,8		28,000			30,240
Nielsen Finance LLC and Nielsen Finance Co. 7.75% 2018		9,700			9,942
Navios Maritime Acquisition Corporation and Navios Acquisition Finance (US) Inc. 8.625% 2017		34,840			29,179
Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. 8.125% 20194		21,275			17,871
Navios South American Logistics Inc. 9.25% 20194		3,225			2,830
Ashtead Capital, Inc. 9.00% 20164		48,955			48,710
TransDigm Inc. 7.75% 2018		46,445			47,490
RBS Global, Inc. and Rexnord LLC 11.75% 2016		3,525			3,613
RBS Global, Inc. and Rexnord LLC 8.50% 2018		39,800			38,308
JELD-WEN Escrow Corp. 12.25% 20174		38,625			38,046
AMR Corp. 9.00% 2012		16,155			15,266
American Airlines, Inc., Series 2001-2, Class A-2, 7.858% 20132		1,300			1,300
AMR Corp. 9.00% 2016		1,475			1,283
American Airlines, Inc., Series 2001-1, Class B, 7.377% 20192		6,428			4,339
AMR Corp. 9.88% 2020		1,275			1,026
AMR Corp. 9.80% 2021		2,555			2,057
AMR Corp. 10.00% 2021		9,000			7,245
H&E Equipment Services, Inc. 8.375% 2016		22,775			21,978
Baker Corp. 8.25% 20194		14,400			13,032
RSC Equipment Rental, Inc. and RSC Holdings III, LLC 9.50% 2014		2,960			2,960
RSC Equipment Rental, Inc. and RSC Holdings III, LLC 8.25% 2021		11,125			9,679
Manitowoc Company, Inc. 8.50% 2020		12,975			11,807
RailAmerica, Inc. 9.25% 2017		10,253			11,150
Kansas City Southern Railway Co. 8.00% 2015		10,392			11,106
Sequa Corp., Term Loan B, 3.50% 20141,2,3		6,469			6,113
CMA CGM 8.50% 20174		12,800			5,248
Odebrecht Finance Ltd 6.00% 20234		4,800			4,512
Florida East Coast Railway Corp. 8.125% 2017		3,950			3,851
					1,583,672
HEALTH CARE — 8.51%
Elan Finance PLC and Elan Finance Corp. 8.875% 2013		90,830			94,009
Elan Finance PLC and Elan Finance Corp. 8.75% 2016		115,660			120,286
Elan Finance PLC and Elan Finance Corp. 8.75% 2016		45,885			48,294
VWR Funding, Inc., Series B, 10.25% 20151,7		138,533			137,841
Quintiles, Term Loan B, 5.00% 20181,2,3		137,176			129,431
PTS Acquisition Corp. 9.50% 20151,7		120,218			110,300
PTS Acquisition Corp. 9.75% 2017	€	15,140			15,314
Tenet Healthcare Corp. 7.375% 2013	$	51,295			51,808
Tenet Healthcare Corp. 9.25% 2015		48,935			49,180
Bausch & Lomb Inc. 9.875% 2015		64,975			65,462
HCA Inc. 6.375% 2015		21,730			21,241
HCA Inc., Term Loan B2, 3.619% 20171,2,3		7,015			6,620
HCA Inc. 6.50% 2020		5,000			4,900
HCA Inc. 7.875% 2020		5,050			5,252
HCA Inc. 7.50% 2022		25,300			23,403
Symbion Inc 8.00% 20164		64,460			58,336
Alkermes, Inc., Term Loan B, 6.75% 20171,2,3		36,975			36,236
Alkermes, Inc., Term Loan B, 9.50% 20181,2,3		19,930			19,731
Patheon Inc. 8.625% 20174		63,911			54,644
inVentiv Health Inc. 10.00% 20184		51,720			45,772
inVentiv Health Inc. 10.00% 20184		2,305			2,040
Surgical Care Affiliates, Inc. 8.875% 20151,4,7		28,684			27,823
Surgical Care Affiliates, Inc. 10.00% 20174		19,430			18,556
Merge Healthcare Inc 11.75% 2015		27,425			27,974
Merge Healthcare Inc. 11.75% 20154		14,075			14,357
Grifols Inc 8.25% 20184		36,790			36,974
Rotech Healthcare Inc. 10.50% 2018		41,455			33,682
Centene Corp. 5.75% 2017		30,320			29,752
Multiplan Inc. 9.875% 20184		25,990			25,860
Boston Scientific Corp. 6.00% 2020		12,086			13,589
ConvaTec Healthcare 10.50% 20184		13,100			11,594
Accellent Inc. 8.375% 2017		7,500			7,181
Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. 7.00% 20194		1,960			1,977
Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. 7.00% 20204		3,500			3,526
DJO Finance LLC and DJO Finance Corp. 7.75% 20184		3,900			3,354
Health Management Associates, Inc. 6.125% 2016		3,000			2,962
Vanguard Health Systems Inc. 0% 2016		1,235			809
					1,360,070
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY — 7.09%
First Data Corp., Term Loan B2, 2.985% 20141,2,3		69,455			60,535
First Data Corp. 9.875% 2015		20,387			17,074
First Data Corp. 9.875% 2015		1,046			881
First Data Corp. 10.55% 20157		27,235			22,809
First Data Corp. 11.25% 2016		69,385			47,182
First Data Corp. 7.375% 20194		5,000			4,462
First Data Corp. 8.25% 20214		79,972			63,578
First Data Corp. 12.625% 20214		190,117			141,637
First Data Corp. 8.75% 20221,4,7		106,127			84,371
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., Term Loan, 4.472% 20161,2,3		19,735			18,131
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. 10.125% 2016		87,627			89,599
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. 9.25% 20184		44,725			46,179
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. 10.125% 20184		42,186			44,084
NXP BV and NXP Funding LLC 2.999% 20131		2,434			2,364
NXP BV and NXP Funding LLC 4.355% 20131,2	€	2,948			3,792
NXP BV and NXP Funding LLC 10.00% 20136	$	77,049			85,428
NXP BV and NXP Funding LLC 8.625% 2015	€	7,275			10,039
NXP BV and NXP Funding LLC 9.75% 20184	$	55,650			58,433
SRA International, Inc., Term Loan B, 6.50% 20181,2,3		54,250			50,272
Sterling Merger Inc. 11.00% 20194		60,220			57,510
Blackboard Inc., Term Loan B, 7.50% 20181,2,3		76,925			71,694
SunGard Data Systems Inc. 10.625% 2015		6,250			6,547
SunGard Data Systems Inc. 7.375% 2018		14,900			13,931
SunGard Data Systems Inc. 7.625% 2020		23,484			21,958
EH Holding Corp. 6.50% 20194		4,500			4,354
EH Holding Corp. 7.625% 20214		23,825			23,051
Serena Software, Inc. 10.375% 2016		24,540			25,153
Jabil Circuit, Inc. 8.25% 2018		11,915			13,553
Jabil Circuit, Inc. 5.625% 2020		6,000			5,880
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 8.125% 2017		11,050			11,105
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 7.75% 2020		3,750			3,694
Sanmina-SCI Corp. 3.097% 20141,4		3,105			2,981
Sanmina-SCI Corp. 8.125% 2016		11,466			11,609
Ceridian Corp. 11.25% 2015		11,000			9,130
					1,133,000
MATERIALS — 5.29%
Reynolds Group 8.50% 20164		52,340			52,733
Reynolds Group 8.75% 20184		34,685			29,482
Reynolds Group 7.125% 20194		15,495			14,488
Reynolds Group 7.875% 20194		35,840			34,765
Reynolds Group 9.00% 20194		22,570			19,297
Reynolds Group 9.875% 20194		80,890			71,588
Georgia Gulf Corp. 10.75% 201610		5,388			5,630
Georgia Gulf Corp. 9.00% 20174,10		92,490			93,877
Ardagh Packaging Finance 7.375% 2017	€	17,870			22,415
Ardagh Packaging Finance 7.375% 20174	$	7,180			6,893
Ardagh Packaging Finance 11.125% 20184,7		11,765			9,174
Ardagh Packaging Finance 9.125% 20204		5,715			5,172
Ardagh Packaging Finance 9.25% 2020	€	12,860			13,503
Ball Corp. 7.125% 2016	$	15,285			16,126
Ball Corp. 6.75% 2020		4,885			5,080
Ball Corp. 5.75% 2021		21,080			20,606
MacDermid 9.50% 20174		44,766			41,632
Smurfit Kappa Acquisition 7.75% 2019	€	11,610			14,932
Smurfit Capital Funding PLC 7.50% 2025	$	25,515			23,346
Packaging Dynamics Corp. 8.75% 20164		34,325			33,810
Nalco Co. 8.25% 2017		26,500			29,017
Nalco Co. 6.625% 20194		3,000			3,300
Newpage Corp. 11.375% 2014		41,050			30,685
Consolidated Minerals Ltd. 8.875% 20164		33,060			28,349
JMC Steel Group Inc. 8.25% 20184		28,400			26,838
CEMEX Finance LLC 9.50% 20164		18,150			13,340
CEMEX Finance LLC 9.50% 2016		6,850			5,035
CEMEX SA 9.25% 20204		7,635			5,039
Graphic Packaging International, Inc. 9.50% 2017		11,715			12,594
Graphic Packaging International, Inc. 7.875% 2018		8,965			9,234
International Paper Co. 7.95% 2018		17,575			20,347
Mirabela Nickel Ltd. 8.75% 20184		21,025			17,135
Sappi Papier Holding GmbH 6.625% 2018	€	5,850			6,388
Sappi Papier Holding GmbH 6.625% 20214	$	12,245			10,469
Rockwood Specialties Group, Inc. 7.50% 2014		5,840			5,913
Rockwood Specialties Group, Inc. 7.625% 2014	€	8,035			10,539
FMG Resources 7.00% 20154	$	16,475			15,404
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. 8.375% 2017		12,175			13,072
Fibria Overseas Finance Ltd. 6.75% 20214		13,400			12,127
Berry Plastics Corp. 9.50% 2018		12,665			10,829
OMNOVA Solutions Inc. 7.875% 2018		12,800			10,432
LBI Escrow Corp 8.00% 20174		7,307			7,910
ArcelorMittal 6.75% 2041		5,400			4,690
Solutia Inc. 8.75% 2017		1,565			1,675
					844,910
ENERGY — 3.88%
Petroplus Finance Ltd. 6.75% 20144		75,767			66,296
Petroplus Finance Ltd. 7.00% 20174		107,488			87,603
Petroplus Finance Ltd. 9.375% 20194		32,210			27,701
Arch Coal, Inc. 8.75% 2016		7,560			8,051
Arch Coal, Inc. 7.00% 20194		34,150			32,613
Arch Coal, Inc. 7.25% 20214		40,400			39,087
Laredo Petroleum, Inc. 9.50% 20194		59,850			63,142
Energy Transfer Partners, LP 7.50% 2020		39,325			40,603
CONSOL Energy Inc. 8.00% 2017		24,690			25,925
CONSOL Energy Inc. 8.25% 2020		8,850			9,359
Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. 6.00% 2019		30,375			28,477
TransCanada PipeLines Ltd., junior subordinated 6.35% 20671		19,950			19,901
QGOG Atlantic/Alaskan Rigs Ltd. 5.25% 20182,4		20,250			18,428
Teekay Corp. 8.50% 2020		19,135			18,417
Odebrecht Drilling Norbe VIII/IX Ltd 6.35% 20212,4		17,370			17,370
Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. 8.125% 2018		20,725			17,305
Denbury Resources Inc. 9.75% 2016		7,400			8,029
Denbury Resources Inc. 8.25% 2020		6,088			6,423
Pemex Project Funding Master Trust 5.75% 2018		5,850			6,391
Pemex Project Funding Master Trust, Series 13, 6.625% 2035		6,500			7,036
Enterprise Products Operating LLC 7.00% 20671		10,055			9,711
Concho Resources Inc. 8.625% 2017		3,300			3,514
Concho Resources Inc. 7.00% 2021		4,400			4,400
Continental Resources Inc. 8.25% 2019		1,800			1,935
Continental Resources Inc. 7.375% 2020		700			728
Continental Resources Inc. 7.125% 2021		5,000			5,075
Enbridge Energy Partners, LP, junior subordinated 8.05% 20771		7,220			7,469
Petrobras International 5.75% 2020		2,780			2,913
Petrobras International 6.875% 2040		4,130			4,398
General Maritime Corp. 12.00% 2017		19,450			7,051
Regency Energy Partners LP and Regency Energy Finance Corp. 6.50% 2021		5,750			5,807
Forest Oil Corp. 8.50% 2014		1,500			1,594
Forest Oil Corp. 7.25% 2019		4,000			3,960
Gazprom OJSC 5.092% 20154		2,340			2,317
Gazprom OJSC, Series 9, 6.51% 2022		1,075			1,056
Gazprom OJSC 7.288% 20374		1,800			1,762
Reliance Holdings Ltd. 6.25% 20404		5,000			4,476
El Paso Pipeline Partners Operating Co., LLC 5.00% 2021		2,105			2,122
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. 6.20% 2040		1,500			1,571
					620,016
CONSUMER STAPLES — 3.84%
SUPERVALU INC. 7.50% 2012		3,860			3,947
Albertson’s, Inc. 7.25% 2013		4,990			4,965
SUPERVALU INC. 7.50% 2014		25,950			25,561
SUPERVALU INC. 8.00% 2016		81,860			77,767
Albertson’s, Inc. 7.45% 2029		2,684			2,026
Albertson’s, Inc. 8.00% 2031		26,420			21,004
Rite Aid Corp. 9.75% 2016		22,200			23,532
Rite Aid Corp. 10.375% 2016		13,700			14,077
Rite Aid Corp. 10.25% 2019		30,345			31,786
Rite Aid Corp. 8.00% 2020		41,150			43,105
Stater Bros. Holdings Inc. 7.75% 2015		37,765			38,709
Stater Bros. Holdings Inc. 7.375% 2018		19,175			19,654
C&S Group Enterprises LLC 8.375% 20174		55,870			56,429
Tops Holding Corp. and Tops Markets, LLC. 10.125% 2015		51,959			52,219
Ingles Markets, Inc. 8.875% 2017		38,775			40,811
BFF International Ltd. 7.25% 20204		28,950			30,470
Smithfield Foods, Inc., Series B, 7.75% 2013		2,776			2,880
Smithfield Foods, Inc. 10.00% 2014		12,799			14,591
Smithfield Foods, Inc. 7.75% 2017		9,350			9,654
Cott Beverages Inc. 8.375% 2017		8,700			8,918
Cott Beverages Inc. 8.125% 2018		13,325			13,658
Tyson Foods, Inc. 10.50% 2014		16,525			19,169
Spectrum Brands Inc. 9.50% 2018		12,175			13,027
Constellation Brands, Inc. 8.375% 2014		4,650			5,127
Constellation Brands, Inc. 7.25% 2017		6,500			6,857
Del Monte Foods Co. 7.625% 20194		11,875			10,094
CEDC Finance Corp. 9.125% 20164		11,500			8,337
TreeHouse Foods, Inc. 7.75% 2018		7,400			7,677
Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. 7.875% 20184		10,000			7,675
					613,726
UTILITIES — 3.10%
Edison Mission Energy 7.50% 2013		40,575			37,938
Edison Mission Energy 7.75% 2016		12,825			8,657
Midwest Generation, LLC, Series B, 8.56% 20162		30,982			31,137
Edison Mission Energy 7.00% 2017		23,995			14,397
Edison Mission Energy 7.20% 2019		38,950			22,396
Homer City Funding LLC 8.734% 20262		7,792			6,584
Edison Mission Energy 7.625% 2027		32,830			18,221
TXU, Term Loan, 3.726% 20141,2,3		9,397			6,674
TXU, Term Loan, 4.772% 20171,2,3		84,978			57,028
Texas Competitive Electric Holdings Co. LLC, 11.50% 20204		44,925			36,165
Intergen Power 9.00% 20174		71,950			73,569
AES Corp. 7.75% 2015		5,575			5,686
AES Corp. 8.00% 2017		34,000			34,340
AES Corp. 8.00% 2020		16,300			16,382
AES Corp. 7.375% 20214		5,775			5,699
NRG Energy, Inc. 7.375% 2017		42,835			44,388
NRG Energy, Inc. 8.25% 2020		6,000			5,700
Nevada Power Co., General and Refunding Mortgage Notes, Series I, 6.50% 2012		525			539
Sierra Pacific Resources 6.75% 2017		14,385			14,616
NV Energy, Inc 6.25% 2020		22,150			23,263
CMS Energy Corp. 8.75% 2019		18,425			21,591
CMS Energy Corp. 6.25% 2020		2,700			2,800
Enersis SA 7.375% 2014		5,000			5,474
Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. PJSC (TAQA) 6.165% 20174		2,000			2,222
					495,466
Total corporate bonds, notes & loans					14,119,154
BONDS & NOTES OF GOVERNMENTS & GOVERNMENT AGENCIES OUTSIDE THE U.S. — 2.57%
Brazil (Federal Republic of) 10.00% 2017	BRL35,620				17,846
Brazil (Federal Republic of) 6.00% 201711		24,499			13,573
Brazil (Federal Republic of) Global 8.00% 20182	$	2,954			3,497
Brazil (Federal Republic of) Global 4.875% 2021		3,100			3,329
Brazil (Federal Republic of) Global 10.25% 2028	BRL15,000				8,416
Brazil (Federal Republic of) Global 7.125% 2037	$	2,500			3,206
Brazil (Federal Republic of) 6.00% 204511	BRL20,432				11,465
Turkey (Republic of) 16.00% 2012	TRY 8,000				4,455
Turkey (Republic of) 4.00% 201511		22,903			13,219
Turkey (Republic of) 10.00% 2015		15,100			8,491
Turkey (Republic of) 7.50% 2017	$	9,700			11,082
Turkey (Republic of) 6.75% 2018		3,250			3,595
Turkey (Republic of) 6.75% 2040		2,500			2,619
Colombia (Republic of) Global 10.00% 2012		1,500			1,539
Colombia (Republic of) Global 10.75% 2013		3,800			4,228
Colombia (Republic of) Global 8.25% 2014		4,000			4,726
Colombia (Republic of) Global 12.00% 2015	COP19,150,000				12,080
Colombia (Republic of) Global 11.75% 2020	$	1,936			2,977
Colombia (Republic of) Global 7.75% 2021	COP 1,780,000				996
Colombia (Republic of) Global 9.85% 2027		12,085,000			7,905
Colombia (Republic of) Global 10.375% 2033	$	823			1,325
Colombia (Republic of) Global 7.375% 2037		4,139			5,428
United Mexican States Government, Series MI10, 9.50% 2014	MXN 80,000				6,539
United Mexican States Government, Series M20, 10.00% 2024		106,500			9,813
United Mexican States Government Global, Series A, 6.75% 2034	$	6,105			7,540
United Mexican States Government, Series M30, 10.00% 2036	MXN47,000				4,232
United Mexican States Government 4.00% 204011		92,484			6,974
Polish Government, Series 0414, 5.75% 2014	PLN51,554				15,960
Polish Government, Series 1017, 5.25% 2017		2,050			610
Polish Government 6.375% 2019	$	3,535			3,897
Polish Government 5.125% 2021		14,225			14,225
Russian Federation 7.85% 2018	RUB160,000				4,891
Russian Federation 7.85% 2018		115,000			3,515
Russian Federation 5.00% 2020	$	2,100			2,068
Russian Federation 12.75% 2028		2,000			3,315
Russian Federation 7.50% 20302		15,536			17,527
Argentina (Republic of) 0.055% 20121,2		16,240			1,914
Argentina (Republic of) 7.00% 2015		9,560			7,981
Argentina (Republic of) 8.28% 20332,7		6,455			4,454
Argentina (Republic of) GDP-Linked 2035		77,377			10,833
Uruguay (Republic of) 5.00% 201811	UYU276,007				14,110
Uruguay (Republic of) 4.25% 20272,11		164,795			8,022
Venezuela (Republic of) 10.75% 2013	$	6,000			5,925
Venezuela (Republic of) 8.50% 2014		1,250			1,106
Venezuela (Republic of) 7.65% 2025		8,455			4,819
Venezuela (Republic of) 9.25% 2027		9,795			6,269
Venezuela (Republic of) 9.25% 2028		2,390			1,482
Indonesia (Republic of) 10.375% 2014		1,800			2,110
Indonesia (Republic of), Series 30, 10.75% 2016	IDR20,135,000				2,697
Indonesia (Republic of) 6.875% 20174	$	1,000			1,130
Indonesia (Republic of) 6.875% 2018		5,000			5,638
Indonesia (Republic of) 6.875% 20184		3,725			4,200
Indonesia (Republic of) 6.625% 20374		2,500			2,819
Panama (Republic of) Global 7.125% 2026		585			735
Panama (Republic of) Global 8.875% 2027		6,500			9,328
Panama (Republic of) Global 6.70% 20362		6,440			7,825
South Korean Government 5.00% 2014	KRW11,325,000				9,987
South Korean Government 5.50% 2017		2,800,000			2,605
Croatian Government 6.75% 20194	$	9,400			9,104
Croatian Government 6.375% 20214		2,810			2,597
Dominican Republic 7.50% 20212,4		10,000			9,850
Philippines (Republic of) 6.25% 2036	PHP293,000				6,350
Hungarian Government, Series 17/B, 6.75% 2017	HUF1,012,000				4,450
Chilean Government 5.50% 2020	CLP1,790,000				3,644
Peru (Republic of) 7.125% 2019	$	2,945			3,560
Corporación Andina de Fomento 5.75% 2017		3,000			3,287
Sri Lanka (Republic of) 6.25% 20214		3,300			3,179
Province of Buenos Aires 10.875% 20212,4		1,500			1,110
					410,223
MORTGAGE-BACKED OBLIGATIONS2 — 0.52%
American Tower Trust I, Series 2007-1A, Class E, 6.249% 20374		10,725			11,559
American Tower Trust I, Series 2007-1A, Class F, 6.639% 20374		27,010			29,050
WaMu Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates Trust, Series 2006-AR12, Class 1-A2, 5.932% 20361		15,000			10,154
WaMu Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates Trust, Series 2007-HY6, Class 2-A3, 5.55% 20371		17,469			13,624
Wells Fargo Mortgage-backed Securities Trust, Series 2006-AR4, Class 2-A-4, 5.617% 20361		6,000			5,336
Morgan Stanley Mortgage Loan Trust, Series 2005-3AR, Class 3-A, 2.603% 20351		5,999			4,012
Bear Stearns ARM Trust, Series 2006-2, Class 2-A-1, 2.802% 20361		4,834			2,754
CS First Boston Mortgage Securities Corp., Series 2007-3, Class 4-A-1, 5.00% 2037		2,126			2,018
Citicorp Mortgage Securities, Inc. 5.50% 2035		1,906			1,905
Banc of America Mortgage Securities, Inc., Series 2005-E, Class 4-A1, 5.321% 20351		1,945			1,720
					82,132
U.S. TREASURY BONDS & NOTES — 0.34%
U.S. Treasury 1.375% 2012		10,000			10,113
U.S. Treasury 1.375% 2013		21,500			21,836
U.S. Treasury 3.25% 2016		20,000			22,200
					54,149
MUNICIPALS — 0.12%
State of New Jersey, Economic Development Authority, Energy Facility Revenue Bonds
(ACR Energy Partners, LLC Project), Series 2011-B, 12.00% 20304		12,385			12,644
State of Texas, Sabine River Authority, Pollution Control Revenue Refunding Bonds (TXU Electric Co. Project),
Series 2001-B, Alternative Minimum Tax, 5.75% 2030 (put 2011)		2,800			2,768
State of Texas, Brazos River Authority, Pollution Control Revenue Refunding Bonds (TXU Electric Co. Project),
Series 2001-C, Alternative Minimum Tax, 5.75% 2036 (put 2011)		2,515			2,486
State of Connecticut, Mohegan Tribe of Indians, Gaming Authority Priority Distribution Payment,
Public Improvement Bonds, Series 2003, 5.25% 2033		2,500			1,731
					19,629
ASSET-BACKED OBLIGATIONS2 — 0.03%
AmeriCredit Automobile Receivables Trust, Series 2010-1, Class D, 6.65% 2017		2,500			2,676
Aesop Funding II LLC, Series 2010-3A, Class B, 6.74% 20164		2,000			2,289
					4,965
Total bonds, notes & other debt instruments (cost: $15,301,044,000)					14,690,252
	Shares or
Convertible securities — 0.94%	principal amount
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY — 0.52%
Linear Technology Corp., Series A, 3.00% convertible notes 2027	$	46,000,000			47,150
Liberty Media Corp. 3.50% convertible notes 2031	$	48,000,000			26,170
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. 3.00% convertible notes 2013	$	25,000,000			10,000
					83,320
TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES — 0.16%
Portugal Telecom, SGPS, SA convertible notes 2014	€	20,000,000			22,253
Clearwire Corp. 8.25% convertible notes 20404	$	7,722,000			3,803
					26,056
CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY — 0.12%
Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. 7.00% convertible preferred4,8,10		99,687			19,056
ENERGY — 0.08%
Apache Corp., Series D, 6.00% convertible preferred 2013		230,000			11,769
FINANCIALS — 0.03%
Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. 3.70% convertible notes 20274	$	5,000,000			5,050
UTILITIES — 0.03%
PPL Corp. 9.50% convertible preferred 2013, units		86,650			4,800
Total convertible securities (cost: $152,489,000)					150,051
Preferred securities — 0.61%	Shares
FINANCIALS — 0.51%
Ally Financial Inc., Series G, 7.00%4		41,250			27,626
Ally Financial Inc., Series 2, 8.125% preferred		650,000			11,741
Zions Bancorporation, Series C, 9.50% noncumulative depositary shares		500,000			12,625
Swire Pacific Ltd. 8.84% cumulative guaranteed perpetual capital securities4		450,000			12,431
Citigroup Inc. 6.95% preferred		228,000			5,363
Citigroup Inc. 7.875% preferred		150,150			3,955
HSBC Holdings PLC, Series 2, 8.00%		300,000			7,697
					81,438
CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY — 0.10%
Las Vegas Sands Corp., Series A, 10.00%		145,900			16,376
Total preferred securities (cost: $104,487,000)					97,814
Common stocks — 1.53%
CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY — 0.46%
Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc.4,10,12		1,224,685			51,437
American Media, Inc.6,8,10,12		1,122,345			14,366
Ford Motor Co.12		810,210			7,834
Adelphia Recovery Trust, Series ACC-112		10,643,283			213
Adelphia Recovery Trust, Series Arahova12		1,773,964			73
Five Star Travel Corp.6,8,12		83,780			11
					73,934
TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES — 0.37%
American Tower Corp., Class A12		538,967			28,997
AT&T Inc.		1,000,000			28,520
Hawaiian Telcom Holdco, Inc.12		86,239			1,202
					58,719
INDUSTRIALS — 0.22%
Delta Air Lines, Inc.12		2,373,769			17,803
Nortek, Inc.10,12		793,646			17,064
Atrium Corp.6,8,12		10,987			655
United Continental Holdings, Inc.12		22,981			445
ACF Industries Holding Corp.8,12		4,746			—
					35,967
FINANCIALS — 0.20%
Citigroup Inc.		998,169			25,573
CIT Group Inc.12		124,904			3,793
Bank of America Corp.		390,000			2,387
					31,753
MATERIALS — 0.19%
Georgia Gulf Corp.10,12		2,198,408			30,404
ENERGY — 0.09%
Petroplus Holdings AG12		2,440,000			13,783
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY — 0.00%
HSW International, Inc.6,8,12		25,710			54
Total common stocks (cost: $255,792,000)					244,614
				Value
Warrants — 0.04%	Shares				(000	)
CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY — 0.04%
Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc., warrants, expire 20174,8,10,12		195,965		$	4,801
Charter Communications, Inc., warrants, expire 20148,12		13,390			151
Revel Holdings, Inc., warrants, expire 20216,8,12		16,916			34
					4,986
TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES — 0.00%
Hawaiian Telcom Holdco, Inc., warrants, expire 20158,12		182,146			641
Total warrants (cost: $45,203,000)					5,627
	Principal amount
Short-term securities — 2.95%		(000	)
Freddie Mac 0.11%–0.21% due 11/9/2011–6/7/2012	$	114,540			114,506
Coca-Cola Co. 0.09%–0.10% due 10/24–11/16/20114		90,800			90,790
Straight-A Funding LLC 0.16% due 10/5/20114		50,500			50,497
Federal Home Loan Bank 0.13% due 5/30/2012		49,600			49,573
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 0.06% due 10/12/20114		42,900			42,899
Fannie Mae 0.14%–0.18% due 10/5/2011–1/3/2012		36,890			36,889
Variable Funding Capital Company LLC 0.20% due 11/22/20114		35,000			34,987
Procter & Gamble Co. 0.17% due 1/5/20124		15,300			15,296
U.S. Treasury Bill 0.205%–0.22% due 11/17/2011		12,600			12,600
Ciesco LLC 0.25% due 11/28/2011		12,200			12,197
NetJets Inc. 0.02%–0.11% due 10/3–11/16/20114		11,300			11,297
Total short-term securities (cost: $471,464,000)					471,531
Total investment securities (cost: $16,330,479,000)					15,659,889
Other assets less liabilities					316,674
Net assets				$	15,976,563

1Coupon rate may change periodically.

2Principal payments may be made periodically. Therefore, the effective maturity date may be earlier than the stated maturity date.

3Loan participations and assignments; may be subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale. The total value of all such loans was $1,816,000,000, which represented 11.37% of the net assets of the fund.

4Acquired in a transaction exempt from registration under 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 $5,246,784,000, which represented 32.84% of the net assets of

the fund.

5Step bond; coupon rate will increase at a later date.

6Acquired through a private placement transaction exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933. May be subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale. Further details on these holdings appear below.

								Percent
	Acquisition	Cost			Value			of net
	date(s)		(000	)		(000	)	assets
NXP BV and NXP Funding LLC 10.00% 2013	7/17/2009	$	68,045		$	85,428			.53	%
Revel Entertainment 12.00% 2018	2/15/2011–9/16/2011		34,858			25,515			.16
Revel Holdings, Inc., warrants, expire 2021	2/15/2011		—			34			.00
Gray Television, Inc., Series D, 17.00%	6/26/2008		19,901			18,063			.12
American Media, Inc.	11/17/2010		18,803			14,366			.09
Atrium Corp.	4/30/2010		990			655			.00
HSW International, Inc.	12/17/2007		791			54			.00
Five Star Travel Corp.	12/17/2007		21			11			.00
Total restricted securities		$	143,409		$	144,126			.90	%

7Payment in kind; the issuer has the option of paying additional securities in lieu of cash.

8Valued under fair value procedures adopted by authority of the board of trustees. The total value of all such securities was $296,833,000, which represented 1.86% of the net assets of the fund.

9Scheduled interest and/or principal payment was not received.

10Represents an affiliated company as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

11Index-linked bond whose principal amount moves with a government price index.

12Security did not produce income during the last 12 months.

Key to abbreviations and symbol

BRL = Brazilian reais

CLP = Chilean pesos

COP = Colombian pesos

€ = Euros

HUF = Hungarian forints

IDR = Indonesian rupiah

KRW = South Korean won

MXN = Mexican pesos

PHP = Philippine pesos

PLN = Polish zloty

RUB = Russian rubles

TRY = Turkish lira

UYU = Uruguayan pesos

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 the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the American Funds. This and other important information is contained in the fund’s 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 800/421-0180 or visit the American Funds website at americanfunds.com.

MFGEFP-921-1111O-S29406

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM ON INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO

To the Shareholders and Board of Trustees of

American High-Income Trust:

We have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the financial statements of American High-Income Trust (the “Fund”) as of September 30, 2011, and for the year then ended and have issued our report thereon dated November 11, 2011, which report and financial statements are included in Item 1 of this Certified Shareholder Report on Form N-CSR.  Our audit also included the Fund’s investment portfolio (the “Schedule”) as of September 30, 2011, appearing in Item 6 of this Form N-CSR.  This Schedule is the responsibility of the Fund’s management.  Our responsibility is to express an opinion based on our audit.  In our opinion, the Schedule referred to above, when considered in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole of the Fund referred to above, presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein.

DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP

Costa Mesa, California

November 11, 2011

ITEM 7 – Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies

Not applicable to this Registrant, insofar as the Registrant is not a closed-end management investment company.

ITEM 8 – Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies

Not applicable to this Registrant, insofar as the Registrant is not a closed-end management investment company.

ITEM 9 – Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers

Not applicable to this Registrant, insofar as the Registrant is not a closed-end management investment company.

ITEM 10 – Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

There have been no material changes to the procedures by which shareholders may recommend nominees to the Registrant’s board of trustees since the Registrant last submitted a proxy statement to its shareholders.  The procedures are as follows.  The Registrant has a nominating and governance committee comprised solely of persons who are not considered ‘‘interested persons’’ of the Registrant within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. The committee periodically reviews such issues as the board’s composition, responsibilities, committees, compensation and other relevant issues, and recommends any appropriate changes to the full board of trustees. While the committee normally is able to identify from its own resources an ample number of qualified candidates, it will consider shareholder suggestions of persons to be considered as nominees to fill future vacancies on the board. Such suggestions must be sent in writing to the nominating and governance committee of the Registrant, c/o the Registrant’s Secretary, and must be accompanied by complete biographical and occupational data on the prospective nominee, along with a written consent of the prospective nominee for consideration of his or her name by the nominating and governance committee.

ITEM 11 – Controls and Procedures

(a)	The Registrant’s Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer have concluded, based on their evaluation of the Registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 30a-3 under the Investment Company Act of 1940), that such controls and procedures are adequate and reasonably designed to achieve the purposes described in paragraph (c) of such rule.
(b)	There were no changes in the Registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) that occurred during the Registrant’s second fiscal quarter of the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

ITEM 12 – Exhibits

(a)(1)	The Code of Ethics that is the subject of the disclosure required by Item 2 is attached as an exhibit hereto.
(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.

AMERICAN HIGH-INCOME TRUST

By /s/ David C. Barclay

David C. Barclay, President and

Principal Executive Officer

Date: November 30, 2011

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/ David C. Barclay

David C. Barclay, President and

Principal Executive Officer

Date: November 30, 2011

By /s/ Karl C. Grauman

Karl C. Grauman, Treasurer and

Principal Financial Officer

Date: November 30, 2011