December 5, 2018

2018 Year-End Distributions

The actual distribution amounts can be found in Historical Distributions on the fund’s December record dates.

Capital Gain Distributions

The anticipated capital gain distributions for 2018 are listed below. The actual distribution amounts will be based on gains and losses realized through October 31 (or later for certain funds). The funds’ long-term approach to investing means that the capital gains realized in a particular year can be the result of an investment held over an extended period of time. The amount of capital gain distributions may vary year over year since the distributions are based on net capital gains realized each year.

Read our Capital Gains FAQ to learn about capital gain distributions and how they affect your account.

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Dividends

Income Dividends

In December, many of the American Funds are expected to pay regular income dividends. In addition, several funds will pay special dividends.

Please refer to the estimated taxable income dividends (PDF) — which includes regular and special dividends — for your year-end planning.

Actual dividend amounts will be determined by each fund’s board of directors/trustees.

Special Dividends

The following American Funds are expected to pay special dividends in December, in addition to their regular dividend payments.

Qualified Dividends

Funds that invest in stocks of U.S. corporations and many of those based outside the U.S. pay dividends that qualify for lower tax rates. However, when a fund derives a significant portion of its income from sources such as interest, short-term capital gains and dividends from certain international corporations, a portion of its dividend does not qualify for reduced tax rates. Instead, that portion is taxed at the ordinary income rates. Funds that derive all of their income from investments in bonds, money market instruments and non-dividend-paying investments do not pay qualified dividends.

Below are preliminary 2018 estimates of the percentage range of each fund’s taxable dividends that qualify for lower tax rates. The final percentages for 2018 could vary. The actual amount of qualified dividends will be reported on the 2018 Form 1099-DIV (available late January).

Return of Capital

A portion of the income dividends distributed by American Funds Emerging Markets Bond Fund, American Funds Strategic Bond Fund and Capital World Bond Fund during 2018 may be classified as a return of capital. The actual amount of return of capital will be reported in Box 3 “Nondividend Distributions” of the 2018 1099-DIV (available late January).

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