The Bond Fund
of America^® Summary prospectus March 1, 2014

Class A	B	C	F-1	F-2	529-A	529-B	529-C
ABNDX	BFABX	BFACX	BFAFX	ABNFX	CFAAX	CFABX	CFACX
529-E	529-F-1	R-1	R-2	R-3	R-4	R-5	R-6
CFAEX	CFAFX	RBFAX	RBFBX	RBFCX	RBFEX	RBFFX	RBFGX

Before you invest, you may want to review the fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, which contain more information about the fund and its risks. You can find the fund’s prospectus, statement of additional information and other information about the fund online at americanfunds.com/ prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling (800) 421-4225 or by sending an email request to prospectus@americanfunds.com. The current prospectus and statement of additional information, dated March 1, 2014, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus.

Investment objective

The fund’s investment objective is to provide as high a level of current income as is consistent with the preservation of capital.

Fees and expenses of the fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in American Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the “Sales charge reductions and waivers” section on page 28 of the prospectus and on page 62 of the fund’s statement of additional information.

Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
	Share classes
		A and 529-A	B and 529-B	C and 529-C	529-E	F-1, F-2 and 529-F-1	All R share classes
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)		3.75%	none	none	none	none	none
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of the amount redeemed)		1.001	5.00%	1.00%	none	none	none
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested dividends		none	none	none	none	none	none
Redemption or exchange fees		none	none	none	none	none	none
Maximum annual account fee (529 share classes only)		$10	$10	$10	$10	$10	N/A

Annual fund operating expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
	Share classes
		A	B	C	F-1	F-2	529-A	529-B	529-C
Management fees		0.19%	0.19%	0.19%	0.19%	0.19%	0.19%	0.19%	0.19%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees		0.24	1.00	1.00	0.25	none	0.23	0.99	0.99
Other expenses		0.18	0.17	0.22	0.20	0.18	0.28	0.31	0.30
Total annual fund operating expenses		0.61	1.36	1.41	0.64	0.37	0.70	1.49	1.48

	529-E	529-F-1	R-1	R-2	R-3	R-4	R-5	R-6
Management fees	0.19%	0.19%	0.19%	0.19%	0.19%	0.19%	0.19%	0.19%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees	0.50	0.00	1.00	0.74	0.49	0.25	none	none
Other expenses	0.24	0.29	0.18	0.442	0.24	0.16	0.12	0.07
Total annual fund operating expenses	0.93	0.48	1.37	1.37	0.92	0.60	0.31	0.26

¹ A contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% applies on certain redemptions within one year following purchases of $1 million or more made without an initial sales charge.

² Estimated based on current fees.

The Bond Fund of America / Summary prospectus 1

Example This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Share classes	1 year	3 years	5 years	10 years
A	$435	$563	$  703	$1,109
B	638	831	945	1,429
C	244	446	771	1,691
F-1	65	205	357	798
F-2	38	119	208	468
529-A	464	630	809	1,318
529-B	671	910	1,070	1,667
529-C	270	507	865	1,868
529-E	115	336	573	1,247
529-F-1	69	194	328	710
R-1	139	434	750	1,646
R-2	139	434	750	1,646
R-3	94	293	509	1,131
R-4	61	192	335	750
R-5	32	100	174	393
R-6	27	84	146	331

For the share classes listed below, you would pay the following if you did not redeem your shares:

Share classes	1 year	3 years	5 years	10 years
B	$138	$431	$745	$1,429
C	144	446	771	1,691
529-B	171	510	870	1,667
529-C	170	507	865	1,868

Portfolio turnover The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s investment results. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 419% of the average value of its portfolio. The fund’s portfolio turnover was primarily due to the fund investing in securities issued by the U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities. These securities typically have lower transaction costs than other types of securities, such as stocks and corporate bonds.

Principal investment strategies

The fund seeks to maximize your level of current income and preserve your capital by investing primarily in bonds. Normally the fund invests at least 80% of its assets in bonds and other debt securities. The fund invests a majority of its assets in debt securities with quality ratings of A3 or better or A- or better by Nationally

The Bond Fund of America / Summary prospectus 2

Recognized Statistical Ratings Organizations designated by the fund’s investment adviser, or in debt securities that are unrated but determined to be of equivalent quality by the fund’s investment adviser, including securities issued and guaranteed by the United States and other governments, securities of corporate issuers and securities backed by mortgages and other assets.

The fund may also invest in debt securities and mortgage-backed securities issued by government-sponsored entities and federal agencies and instrumentalities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The fund invests in debt securities with a wide range of maturities.

The fund’s current practice is to invest no more than 10% of its assets in debt securities rated Ba1 and BB+ or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Ratings Organizations designated by the fund’s investment adviser, or in debt securities that are unrated but determined by the fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. Securities rated Ba1 and BB+ or below are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds.”

The investment adviser uses a system of multiple portfolio managers in managing the fund’s assets. Under this approach, the portfolio of the fund is divided into segments managed by individual managers who decide how their respective segments will be invested.

The fund relies on the professional judgment of its investment adviser to make decisions about the fund’s portfolio investments. The basic investment philosophy of the investment adviser is to seek to invest in attractively priced securities that, in its opinion, represent good, long-term investment opportunities. The investment adviser believes that an important way to accomplish this is through fundamental research, which may include analysis of credit quality, general economic conditions and various quantitative measures and, in the case of corporate obligations, meeting with company executives and employees, suppliers, customers and competitors. Securities may be sold when the investment adviser believes that they no longer represent relatively attractive investment opportunities.

Principal risks

This section describes the principal risks associated with the fund’s principal investment strategies. You may lose money by investing in the fund. The likelihood of loss may be greater if you invest for a shorter period of time.

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the securities held by the fund may decline in response to certain events taking place around the world, including those directly involving the issuers of securities held by the fund; conditions affecting the general economy; overall market changes; local, regional or global political, social or economic instability; governmental or governmental agency responses to economic conditions; and currency, interest rate and commodity price fluctuations.

Investing in debt instruments — The prices of, and the income generated by, bonds and other debt securities held by the fund may be affected by changing interest rates and by changes in the effective maturities and credit ratings of these securities.

The Bond Fund of America / Summary prospectus 3

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

Bonds and other debt securities are also 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. Lower quality debt securities generally have higher rates of interest and may be subject to greater price fluctuations than higher quality debt securities. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the credit ratings of the debt securities in which the fund invests. However, ratings are only the opinions of the rating agencies issuing them and are not guarantees as to credit quality or an evaluation of market risk. The fund’s investment adviser relies on its own credit analysts to research issuers and issues in seeking to mitigate various credit and default risks.

Investing in pass-through securities — Pass-through securities are debt obligations backed by a pool of assets, such as mortgages. In addition to the risks associated with investing in debt securities generally, pass-through securities are subject to changes in the payment patterns of borrowers of the underlying debt. When interest rates fall, borrowers are more likely to refinance or prepay their debt before its stated maturity. This may result in the fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities, effectively reducing the fund’s income. Conversely, if interest rates rise and borrowers repay their debt more slowly than expected, the time in which pass-through securities are paid off could be extended, reducing the fund’s cash available for reinvestment in higher yielding securities.

Investing in securities backed by the U.S. government — Securities backed by the U.S. Treasury or the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. Accordingly, the current market values for these securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Securities issued by government-sponsored entities and federal agencies and instrumentalities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. government.

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 outside the United States — Securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States, or with significant operations outside the United States, may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments in the countries or regions in which the issuers operate. 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 United States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to different accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and reporting standards, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the United States. In addition, the value of investments outside the United

The Bond Fund of America / Summary prospectus 4

States may be reduced by foreign taxes, including foreign withholding taxes on interest and dividends. Further, there may be increased risks of delayed settlement of securities purchased or sold by the fund. The risks of investing outside the United States may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.

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

Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, entity or person. You should consider how this fund fits into your overall investment program.

Investment results

The following bar chart shows how the fund’s investment results have varied from year to year, and the following table shows how the fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with different broad measures of market results. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The Lipper Core Bond Funds Average includes the fund and other funds that disclose investment objectives and/or strategies reasonably comparable to the fund’s objective and/or strategies. The Consumer Price Index provides a comparison of the fund’s results to inflation. Past investment results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future investment results. Updated information on the fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting americanfunds.com.

 

Average annual total returns For the periods ended December 31, 2013 (with maximum sales charge):
Share class	Inception date	1 year	5 years	10 years	Lifetime
A − Before taxes	5/28/1974	–5.63%	5.58%	3.12%	7.93%
− After taxes on distributions		–6.58	4.32	1.57	N/A
− After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		–3.18	3.86	1.82	N/A

The Bond Fund of America / Summary prospectus 5

Share classes (before taxes)	Inception date	1 year	5 years	10 years	Lifetime
B	3/15/2000	–7.51%	5.27%	2.90%	4.28%
C	3/15/2001	–3.72	5.55	2.69	3.76
F-1	3/15/2001	–2.03	6.37	3.50	4.40
F-2	8/4/2008	–1.75	6.65	N/A	4.16
529-A	2/15/2002	–5.72	5.50	3.06	4.02
529-B	2/15/2002	–7.63	5.15	2.78	3.77
529-C	2/19/2002	–3.78	5.48	2.63	3.53
529-E	3/7/2002	–2.30	6.04	3.16	4.08
529-F-1	9/26/2002	–1.86	6.54	3.63	4.69
R-1	6/11/2002	–2.72	5.57	2.70	3.60
R-2	5/31/2002	–2.70	5.56	2.70	3.56
R-3	6/4/2002	–2.30	6.04	3.16	4.00
R-4	5/20/2002	–1.99	6.37	3.49	4.39
R-5	5/15/2002	–1.70	6.69	3.80	4.72
R-6	5/1/2009	–1.65	N/A	N/A	6.73

Indexes	1 year	5 years	10 years	Lifetime (from Class A inception)
Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index (reflects no deductions for sales charges, account fees, expenses or U.S. federal income taxes)	–2.02%	4.44%	4.55%	N/A
Lipper Core Bond Funds Average (reflects no deductions for sales charges, account fees or U.S. federal income taxes)	–1.87	6.04	4.11	7.70%
Consumer Price Index	1.50	2.08	2.37	4.04
Class A annualized 30-day yield at December 31, 2013: 1.94% (For current yield information, please call American FundsLine® at (800) 325-3590.)

After-tax returns are shown only for Class A shares; after-tax returns for other share classes will vary. After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect during each year of the periods shown and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above. In addition, after-tax returns are not relevant if you hold your fund shares through a tax-favored arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan, individual retirement account (IRA) or 529 college savings plan.

Management

Investment adviser Capital Research and Management Company^SM

Portfolio managers The individuals primarily responsible for the portfolio management of the fund are:

Portfolio manager/ Fund title (if applicable)	Portfolio manager experience in this fund	Primary title with investment adviser
John H. Smet President and Trustee	25 years	Senior Vice President – Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research and Management Company
Andrew F. Barth Senior Vice President	4 years	Senior Vice President – Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research and Management Company

The Bond Fund of America / Summary prospectus 6

Portfolio manager/
Fund title (if applicable) Portfolio manager
experience in this fund Primary title
with investment adviser

Robert H. Neithart Senior Vice President	5 years	Senior Vice President – Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research and Management Company
David A. Daigle	3 years	Senior Vice President – Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research Company
David A. Hoag	5 years	Senior Vice President – Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research and Management Company
Thomas H. Høgh	5 years	Senior Vice President – Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research Company
Wesley K.-S. Phoa	3 years	Senior Vice President – Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research Company

Certain senior members of the fixed-income investment division serve on a portfolio strategy group. The group utilizes a research driven process with input from Capital’s analysts, portfolio managers and economists to define investment themes, and set guidance on a range of macro factors including duration, yield curve and sector allocation. The fund’s portfolio managers consider guidance of the portfolio strategy group in making their investment decisions.

Purchase and sale of fund shares

The minimum amount to establish an account for all share classes is $250 and the minimum to add to an account is $50. For a payroll deduction retirement plan account, payroll deduction savings plan account or employer-sponsored 529 account, the minimum is $25 to establish or add to an account.

If you are a retail investor, you may sell (redeem) shares through your dealer or financial advisor or by writing to American Funds Service Company® at P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6007; telephoning American Funds Service Company at (800) 421-4225; faxing American Funds Service Company at (888) 421-4351; or accessing our website at americanfunds.com. Please contact your plan administrator or recordkeeper to sell (redeem) shares from your retirement plan.

Tax information

Dividends and capital gain distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income taxes and may also be subject to state and local taxes, unless you are tax-exempt or your account is tax-favored.

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund and the fund’s distributor or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your individual financial advisor to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

MFGEIPX-008-0314P Litho in USA CGD/ALD/8005 Investment Company File No. 811-02444

THE FUND PROVIDES A SPANISH TRANSLATION OF THE ABOVE SUMMARY PROSPECTUS IN CONNECTION WITH THE PUBLIC OFFERING AND SALE OF ITS SHARES. THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE SUMMARY PROSPECTUS ABOVE IS A FAIR AND ACCURATE REPRESENTATION OF THE SPANISH EQUIVALENT.

/s/	COURTNEY R. TAYLOR
	COURTNEY R. TAYLOR
	SECRETARY