This month, American Funds will begin offering C shares on all its funds. The shares will carry an annual load of 1%.
The company is also considering introducing a new no-load F share class through registered investment advisers via adviser platforms such as Schwab Institutional. That class could be ready beginning this summer, according to Schwab.
“There has been a demand in the marketplace for our funds,” says Chuck Freadhoff, spokesperson for American Funds in Los Angeles. “We're trying to make them available to investors and advisers who want them.”
Freadhoff is quick to note that the F shares will be sold only through fee-based adviser programs at firms such as Schwab and Fidelity.
“An individual can't just log onto Schwab's Web site and start buying our F shares,” he says. “You have to go through an adviser's platform.”
Last year, the fund group introduced B shares for all its funds. It was the first time since the company's founding in 1931 that American Funds were available in other than A shares.
“The market has moved very quickly,” Freadhoff says.
