N-CSR 1 iblf_ncsr.htm N-CSR

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: 811-22746

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

6455 Irvine Center Drive

Irvine, California 92618

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (213) 486-9200

Date of fiscal year end: November 30

Date of reporting period: November 30, 2017

Steven I. Koszalka

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

333 South Hope Street

Los Angeles, California 90071

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

ITEM 1 – Reports to Stockholders

American Funds Inflation
Linked Bond Fund^®

Annual report
for the year ended
November 30, 2017

Invest with the
goal of preserving
purchasing power.

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund seeks to provide inflation protection and income consistent with investment in inflation linked securities.

This fund is one of more than 40 offered by one of the nation’s largest mutual fund families, American Funds, from Capital Group. For more than 85 years, Capital 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 2.50%) had been deducted, the results would have been lower. Results are for past periods and are not predictive of results for future periods. Current and future results may be lower or higher than those shown. Share prices and returns will vary, so investors may lose money. Investing for short periods makes losses more likely. For current information and month-end results, visit americanfunds.com.

Here are the average annual total returns on a $1,000 investment with all distributions reinvested for the period ended December 31, 2017 (the most recent calendar quarter-end):

Class A shares	1 year	5 years	Lifetime (since 12/14/12)

Reflecting 2.50% maximum sales charge	–0.02%	–0.02%	–0.15%

The total annual fund operating expense ratio is 0.73% for Class A shares as of the prospectus dated February 1, 2018 (unaudited).

Investment results assume all distributions are reinvested and reflect applicable fees and expenses. When applicable, investment results reflect fee reimbursements, without which results would have been lower.

The fund’s 30-day yield for Class A shares as of December 31, 2017, reflecting the 2.50% maximum sales charge and calculated in accordance with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission formula, was –0.54%.

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. The values of inflation-linked bonds generally fluctuate in response to changes in real interest rates. Inflation-linked bonds may experience greater losses than other debt securities with similar durations. There can be no assurance that the value of inflation-linked securities will be directly correlated to changes in interest rates. Refer to the fund prospectus and the Risk Factors section of this report for more information on these and other risks associated with investing in the fund.

Investments are not FDIC-insured, nor are they deposits of or guaranteed by a bank or any other entity, so they may lose value.

Contents

1	Letter to investors
3	The value of a $10,000 investment
4	Investment portfolio
9	Financial statements
34	Board of trustees and other officers

Fellow investors:

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund’s past fiscal year was a period in which actual and anticipated inflation ebbed and flowed. Over the 12 months ended November 30, 2017, the fund generated a 1.64% return. Investors who reinvested dividends of 9 cents a share (paid in December 2016) earned an income return of 0.89%, the same as those who took dividends in cash.

The fund’s result slightly lagged broad inflation-linked U.S. bond returns. The unmanaged Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) Index — a measure of the market in which the fund primarily invests — rose 1.97%. The values of TIPS (which are issued by the United States Treasury Department) are directly linked to the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) for All Urban Consumers.

Management of the fund’s duration — a measure of overall sensitivity to changes in interest rates — helped relative results.

Even so, the portfolio’s maturity profile detracted as yields (which move inversely to prices) for shorter maturities rose, and longer maturity yields declined. Bond selection among TIPS and corporates was a positive factor.

The Lipper Inflation Protected Bond Funds Average, a peer group measure, recorded a return of 1.91% for the 12 months. See the table below for longer term results.

Market overview

U.S. inflation expectations jumped following President Trump’s election in November 2016. Investors reasoned that various policy proposals would lift inflation.

The initial optimism faded fast as the administration’s ability to smoothly navigate its policy agenda through Congress was called into question. By January, expectations began to moderate.

Results at a glance

For periods ended November 30, 2017, with all distributions reinvested

	Cumulative total returns						Average annual total returns
	6 months			1 year			3 years			Lifetime (since 12/14/12)

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund (Class A shares)		0.00	%		1.64	%		1.42	%		0.24	%
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) Index*		0.25			1.97			1.36			–0.16
Lipper Inflation Protected Bond Funds Average^†		0.36			1.91			0.88			–0.48

The market index is unmanaged and, therefore, has no expenses. Investors cannot invest directly in an index. Bloomberg Barclays source: Bloomberg Index Services Ltd.

^†

Lipper averages reflect the current composition of all eligible mutual funds (all share classes) within a given category. Source: Thomson Reuters Lipper. Lipper categories are dynamic and averages may have few funds, especially over longer periods. To see the number of funds included in the Lipper category for each fund’s lifetime, please see the Quarterly Statistical Update, available on our website.

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

For example, 10-year break-even inflation rates (the average inflation required over the life of a bond for TIPS and nominal Treasuries to generate the same total returns) declined by 0.4 percentage points between January and June to around 1.66%. Annualized core CPI — the inflation measure that strips out food and energy — also trended lower through mid-2017.

Recent inflation reports have offered mixed signals on whether a rebound is imminent. That said, there’s good reason to believe that, before too long, inflation could turn a corner as the negative impact of recent temporary factors (associated with cell phone service costs and clothing prices) recedes.

Inside the portfolio

As of November 30, 2017, 91.49% of the fund’s net assets were invested in inflation-linked government bonds, mostly U.S. TIPS. Corporate credits remain a small but meaningful part of the portfolio — though overall exposure declined. As of November 30, 2017, 3.01% of the fund’s assets were invested in investment-grade corporate bonds.

In the preceding 12 months, managers took advantage of insights from our macroeconomic and fundamental credit analysts to identify a range of opportunities.

For instance, oil price weakness earlier in the first half of 2017 created some good buying opportunities, and managers added to investments in corporate bonds from the energy sector. The portfolio’s relatively small exposure to non–U.S. inflation-linked government bonds, the majority of which are Japanese, declined.

Consistent with the fund’s investment guidelines, we have made careful use of interest rate swaps. When used in conjunction with bonds, these financial instruments have, for example, helped the fund to gain more precisely targeted exposures to inflation and interest rates. A complete list of fund holdings can be found beginning on page 4.

Looking forward

Tepid wage increases help explain why inflation has lagged the Federal Reserve’s 2% target lately — despite the U.S. economy’s steady growth. Even so, the stage appears set for inflation to exceed levels reflected in recent TIPS prices.

The unemployment rate was 4.1% in November 2017; a tight labor market tends to be supportive of core inflation. And, as mentioned earlier, the impact of temporary factors should diminish.

Against this backdrop of solid growth and modest inflation, the Fed raised the federal funds target rate by 0.25 percentage points three times in 2017. It now stands at a range of 1.25%–1.50%, but how will the Fed proceed in 2018?

In the absence of unforeseen circumstances, a fairly gradual approach to interest rate hikes seems likely — especially if, as seems possible, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 has a modest impact on economic activity. Bond yields could, therefore, remain relatively low in historical terms.

With all that in mind, valuations among TIPS appear fairly attractive. The downside risk seems quite modest. Meanwhile, there’s great potential for inflation to outpace current market expectations.

We believe there’s good relative value to be found in TIPS at present, and that this fund can act as a complement to other bond investments that may not hold up well in an inflationary environment or provide diversification to equity-heavy portfolios.

We look forward to reporting to you again in six months’ time.

Cordially,

David A. Hoag
President

January 12, 2018

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

2	American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

The value of a $10,000 investment

How a $10,000 investment has fared for the period December 14, 2012, to November 30, 2017, with all distributions reinvested.

Fund results shown reflect deduction of the maximum sales charge of 2.50% on the $10,000 investment.¹Thus, the net amount invested was $9,750.

¹	As outlined in the prospectus, the sales charge is reduced for accounts (and aggregated investments) of $500,000 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.
²	The index is unmanaged and, therefore, has no expenses. Investors cannot invest directly in an index. Bloomberg Barclays source: Bloomberg Index Services Ltd.
³	Results of the Lipper Inflation Protected Bond Funds Average do not reflect any sales charges. Source: Thomson Reuters Lipper. Lipper averages reflect the current composition of all eligible mutual funds (all share classes) within a given category. Lipper categories are dynamic and averages may have few funds, especially over longer periods. To see the number of funds included in the Lipper category for each fund’s lifetime, please see the Quarterly Statistical Update, available on our website.
⁴	For the period December 14, 2012, commencement of operations, through December 31, 2012.

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

Total returns based on a $1,000 investment (for periods ended November 30, 2017)*

	Cumulative total return	Average annual total return
	1 year	Lifetime (since 12/14/12)

Class A shares	–0.92%	–0.27%

*	Assumes reinvestment of all distributions and payment of the maximum 2.50% sales charge.

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

Investment portfolio November 30, 2017

Portfolio by type of security

Percent of net assets

Portfolio quality summary*	Percent of net assets
U.S. Treasury and agency^†		90.19	%
AAA/Aaa		1.06
AA/Aa		.50
A/A		1.99
BBB/Baa		2.79
Short-term securities & other assets less liabilities		3.47

Bond ratings, which typically range from AAA/Aaa (highest) to D (lowest), are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and/or Fitch as an indication of an issuer’s creditworthiness. In assigning a credit rating to a security, the fund looks specifically to the ratings assigned to the issuer of the security by Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and/or Fitch. If agency ratings differ, the security will be considered to have received the highest of those ratings, consistent with the fund’s investment policies. The ratings are not covered by the Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

^†

These securities are guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.

Bonds, notes & other debt instruments 96.53%	Principal amount (000)				Value (000)
U.S. Treasury bonds & notes 90.19%
U.S. Treasury inflation-protected securities 89.88%
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 0.125% 2018^1,2		$	7,046	$	7,026
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 1.875% 2019²			31,437		32,407
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 1.375% 2020²			29,671		30,433
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 0.125% 2021²			30,195		30,003
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 0.625% 2021^1,2			104,016		105,836
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 1.125% 2021²			39,483		40,617
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 0.125% 2022²			101,472		100,559
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 0.125% 2022²			62,148		61,792
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 0.125% 2022²			33,159		33,012
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 0.125% 2023²			32,020		31,656
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 0.375% 2023²			28,631		28,729
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 0.125% 2024²			297,653		292,673
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 0.625% 2024²			101,532		102,926
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 0.25% 2025²			248,074		244,268
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 0.375% 2025²			365,570		363,452
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 2.375% 2025²			30,700		34,792
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 0.125% 2026²			129,718		125,477
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 0.625% 2026²			170,845		172,126
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 2.00% 2026²			129,307		144,368
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 0.375% 2027²			473,137		465,615
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 0.375% 2027²			164,478		161,589
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 2.375% 2027²			186,246		216,059
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 1.75% 2028²			71,855		79,903
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 2.50% 2029²			2,299		2,754
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 2.125% 2040²			51,378		65,147
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 2.125% 2041²			49,019		62,526
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 0.75% 2042²			54,606		53,391
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 0.625% 2043²			10,733		10,154
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 1.375% 2044²			31,871		35,589
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 1.00% 2046²			48,789		50,198

4	American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

	Principal amount (000)				Value (000)
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security 0.875% 2047²		$	187,081	$	187,031
					3,372,108

U.S. Treasury 0.31%
U.S. Treasury 2.75% 2047			11,797		11,592

Total U.S. Treasury bonds & notes					3,383,700

Corporate bonds & notes 3.01%
Energy 1.68%
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. 3.85% 2027			7,130		7,229
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. 4.95% 2047			4,530		4,876
Cenovus Energy Inc. 5.25% 2037³			5,796		5,889
Cenovus Energy Inc. 5.40% 2047³			4,028		4,119
Enbridge Inc. 2.90% 2022			16,247		16,172
Enbridge Inc. 5.50% 2046			4,510		5,217
Energy Transfer Partners, LP 5.40% 2047			13,155		13,146
Petróleos Mexicanos 5.375% 2022³			3,765		4,034
Petróleos Mexicanos 7.47% 2026		MXN	30		1
Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC 4.20% 2028		$	2,225		2,246
					62,929

Telecommunication services 0.38%
AT&T Inc. 5.15% 2050			6,930		6,887
Verizon Communications Inc. 4.50% 2033			7,000		7,267
					14,154

Health care 0.32%
Becton, Dickinson and Co. 3.70% 2027			11,810		11,792
Pfizer Inc. (3-month USD-LIBOR + 0.30%) 1.62% 2018⁴			300		300
					12,092

Utilities 0.31%
FirstEnergy Corp. 3.90% 2027			4,725		4,830
FirstEnergy Corp. 4.85% 2047			4,890		5,290
Mississippi Power Co. 4.25% 2042			1,660		1,600
					11,720

Consumer staples 0.28%
British American Tobacco PLC 4.54% 2047³			10,000		10,369

Consumer discretionary 0.03%
Newell Rubbermaid Inc. 3.85% 2023			1,190		1,235

Financials 0.01%
American Express Co. (3-month USD-LIBOR + 0.59%) 2.036% 2018⁴			300		301

Total corporate bonds & notes					112,800

Bonds & notes of governments & government agencies outside the U.S. 2.84%
Colombia (Republic of) 5.00% 2045			600		628
European Stability Mechanism 2.125% 2022³			40,000		39,674
Japan, Series 18, 0.10% 2024²		¥	2,212,350		20,503
Japan, Series 20, 0.10% 2025²			4,262,750		39,713
South Africa (Republic of), Series R-197, 5.50% 2023²		ZAR	690		58
Uruguay (Oriental Republic of) 8.50% 2028		UYU	172,200		5,933

Total bonds & notes of governments & government agencies outside the U.S.					106,509

Municipals 0.32%
Municipals 0.32%
City of South Pasadena, Water Rev. Ref. Bonds, BAM insured, 5.00% 2031		$	1,000		1,184
City of South Pasadena, Water Rev. Ref. Bonds, BAM insured, 5.00% 2032			2,140		2,521
City of South Pasadena, Water Rev. Ref. Bonds, BAM insured, 5.00% 2033			2,250		2,638
City of South Pasadena, Water Rev. Ref. Bonds, BAM insured, 5.00% 2034			2,365		2,763
City of South Pasadena, Water Rev. Ref. Bonds, BAM insured, 5.00% 2035			2,485		2,893

Total municipals					11,999

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

Bonds, notes & other debt instruments (continued)	Principal amount (000)		Value (000)
Asset-backed obligations 0.17%
SLM Private Credit Student Loan Trust, Series 2008-9, Class A, (3-month USD-LIBOR + 1.50%) 2.867% 2023^4,5	$	4,670	$	4,786
SLM Private Credit Student Loan Trust, Series 2010-1, Class A, (1-month USD-LIBOR + 0.40%) 1.728% 2025^4,5		1,690		1,673

Total asset-backed obligations				6,459

Total bonds, notes & other debt instruments (cost: $3,620,974,000)				3,621,467

Short-term securities 2.78%
Apple Inc. 1.20% due 1/4/2018³		17,000		16,980
CAFCO, LLC 1.52% due 2/27/2018³		23,000		22,916
Federal Home Loan Bank 1.19% due 1/9/2018		24,000		23,969
General Electric Co. 1.10% due 12/1/2017		2,450		2,450
IBM Credit Corp. 1.16% due 12/12/2017³		10,000		9,996
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 1.16%–1.18% due 12/14/2017—12/21/2017³		27,850		27,834

Total short-term securities (cost: $104,145,000)				104,145
Total investment securities 99.31% (cost: $3,725,119,000)				3,725,612
Other assets less liabilities 0.69%				25,899

Net assets 100.00%			$	3,751,511

Futures contracts

		Number of		Notional amount		⁶	Value at 11/30/2017		⁷	Unrealized (depreciation) appreciation at 11/30/2017
Contracts	Type	contracts	Expiration	(000)			(000)			(000)
10 Year U.S. Treasury Note Futures	Long	2,095	March 2018	$	209,500		$	259,878			$(1,256	)
20 Year U.S. Treasury Bond Futures	Short	100	March 2018		(10,000	)		(15,172	)		47
10 Year Ultra U.S. Treasury Note Futures	Short	1,076	March 2018		(107,600	)		(143,293	)		1,098
30 Year Ultra U.S. Treasury Bond Futures	Short	1,587	March 2018		(158,700	)		(261,657	)		2,649
5 Year U.S. Treasury Note Futures	Long	6,315	April 2018		631,500			734,711			(2,457	)
2 Year U.S. Treasury Note Futures	Long	653	April 2018		130,600			140,007			(112	)
90 Day Euro Dollar Futures	Short	1,324	June 2018		(331,000	)		(324,727	)		388
90 Day Euro Dollar Futures	Short	3,244	September 2018		(811,000	)		(794,861	)		1,298

											$1,655

Forward currency contracts

Contract amount				Unrealized appreciation (depreciation)
Purchases (000)	Sales (000)	Counterparty	Settlement date	at 11/30/2017 (000)
JPY4,099,200	USD35,987	JPMorgan Chase	12/6/2017		$444
USD15,851	CAD20,300	JPMorgan Chase	12/6/2017		116
USD4,284	JPY488,000	JPMorgan Chase	12/6/2017		(53	)
USD43,223	PLN158,000	Goldman Sachs	12/7/2017		(1,541	)
USD2,802	KRW3,120,000	Bank of America, N.A.	12/8/2017		(65	)
USD16,194	MXN310,000	HSBC Bank	12/8/2017		(416	)
USD2,285	SEK19,175	Bank of America, N.A.	12/11/2017		(7	)
USD2,847	MXN54,850	Citibank	12/11/2017		(91	)
USD14,681	KRW16,369,550	JPMorgan Chase	12/11/2017		(362	)
JPY3,950,000	USD34,772	Bank of America, N.A.	12/13/2017		349
USD5,330	AUD6,945	Goldman Sachs	12/13/2017		77
JPY1,668,045	USD14,656	Citibank	12/15/2017		178
USD10,914	CAD13,975	Citibank	12/15/2017		79
USD14,720	SEK122,800	Goldman Sachs	12/15/2017		32
USD11,325	JPY1,290,000	HSBC Bank	12/15/2017		(147	)

6	American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

Contract amount				Unrealized appreciation (depreciation)
Purchases (000)	Sales (000)	Counterparty	Settlement date	at 11/30/2017 (000)
CAD64,104	USD50,075	Goldman Sachs	12/15/2017		$(375	)
USD35,799	EUR30,650	Bank of America, N.A.	12/15/2017		(719	)
USD2,547	JPY285,000	Citibank	12/18/2017		12
USD16,418	AUD21,700	Citibank	12/18/2017		6
USD3,509	MXN66,762	Citibank	12/18/2017		(62	)
USD16,308	EUR13,800	UBS AG	12/18/2017		(139	)
USD12,320	AUD16,200	Bank of America, N.A.	1/10/2018		69
USD11,937	AUD15,700	Barclays Bank PLC	1/10/2018		64
USD3,497	AUD4,600	JPMorgan Chase	1/10/2018		18
USD2,725	MXN51,000	Bank of America, N.A.	1/10/2018		9
USD18,874	GBP14,000	JPMorgan Chase	1/10/2018		(92	)
USD18,823	GBP14,000	JPMorgan Chase	1/11/2018		(144	)
					$(2,760	)

Swap contracts

Interest rate swaps

Receive	Pay	Expiration date	Notional (000)		Value at 11/30/2017 (000)			Upfront payments/ receipts (000)		Unrealized appreciation (depreciation) at 11/30/2017 (000)
SONIA	0.4225%	12/14/2017	£	5,745,000	$	29			$—	$	29
1.345%	U.S. EFFR	1/31/2018	$	4,098,000		(168	)		—		(168	)
1.3475%	U.S. EFFR	1/31/2018	6,647,000			(251	)		—		(251	)
1.2975%	3-month Canada BA	7/5/2018	C$	956,439		(893	)		—		(893	)
1.54375%	3-month Canada BA	9/1/2018	530,000			3			—		3
1.76625%	3-month Canada BA	9/25/2018	322,350			412			—		412
1.7725%	3-month Canada BA	9/26/2018	322,650			426			—		426
7.49%	28-day MXN-TIIE	1/21/2019	MXN	3,040,000		(285	)		—		(285	)
7.46%	28-day MXN-TIIE	1/24/2019	1,725,000			(193	)		—		(193	)
1.32625%	U.S. EFFR	4/5/2019	$	193,500		(866	)		—		(866	)
7.51%	28-day MXN-TIIE	5/30/2019	MXN	1,454,000		(97	)		—		(97	)
3-month USD-LIBOR	1.504%	6/8/2019	$	185,000		1,081			—		1,081
3-month USD-LIBOR	1.5055%	6/8/2019	185,000			1,077			—		1,077
1.337%	U.S. EFFR	6/8/2019	370,000			(1,981	)		—		(1,981	)
3-month USD-LIBOR	1.5395%	6/12/2019	185,000			989			—		989
1.367%	U.S. EFFR	6/12/2019	185,000			(912	)		—		(912	)
3-month USD-LIBOR	1.555%	6/21/2019	185,000			978			—		978
1.362%	U.S. EFFR	6/21/2019	185,000			(951	)		—		(951	)
3-month USD-LIBOR	1.5445%	6/28/2019	185,000			1,023			—		1,023
1.351%	U.S. EFFR	6/28/2019	185,000			(1,003	)		—		(1,003	)
7.14%	28-day MXN-TIIE	4/29/2020	MXN	1,633,150		(621	)		—		(621	)
6.78%	28-day MXN-TIIE	7/6/2020	777,690			(650	)		—		(650	)
1.8005%	3-month USD-LIBOR	9/28/2020	$	177,000		(1,272	)		—		(1,272	)
6.99%	28-day MXN-TIIE	6/17/2022	MXN	480,000		(350	)		—		(350	)
2.80%	3-month USD-LIBOR	9/2/2022	$	280,000		2,177			—		2,177
2.75%	3-month USD-LIBOR	9/2/2022	280,000			1,917			—		1,917
1.8995%	3-month USD-LIBOR	9/22/2022	86,000			(1,153	)		—		(1,153	)
1.98%	3-month USD-LIBOR	10/17/2022	110,000			(1,088	)		—		(1,088	)
2.08613%	3-month USD-LIBOR	11/17/2022	150,200			(788	)		—		(788	)
2.08934%	3-month USD-LIBOR	11/17/2022	159,800			(815	)		—		(815	)
2.2025%	3-month USD-LIBOR	12/4/2022	79,000			—			—		—
1.5675%	3-month USD-LIBOR	8/17/2023	270,000			(4,323	)		—		(4,323	)
3-month USD-LIBOR	2.12813%	10/3/2024	185,000			1,901			—		1,901
2.277%	3-month USD-LIBOR	12/4/2024	107,000			—			—		—
2.319%	3-month USD-LIBOR	6/15/2025	340,000			(2,393	)		—		(2,393	)
2.344%	3-month USD-LIBOR	9/25/2025	449,000			(3,035	)		—		(3,035	)
6-month JPY-LIBOR	0.228%	2/8/2026	¥	4,250,000		(26	)		—		(26	)
3-month USD-LIBOR	1.3695%	9/9/2026	$	20,000		1,600			—		1,600

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

Swap contracts (continued)
Receive	Pay	Expiration date	Notional (000)		Value at 11/30/2017 (000)			Upfront payments/ receipts (000)		Unrealized appreciation (depreciation) at 11/30/2017 (000)
3-month USD-LIBOR	1.567%	10/24/2026	$	35,000	$	2,284		$	—	$	2,284
28-day MXN-TIIE	8.11%	1/11/2027	MXN	800,000		(1,779	)		—		(1,779	)
28-day MXN-TIIE	8.135%	1/14/2027	453,000			(1,049	)		—		(1,049	)
0.8153%	6-month EURIBOR	4/28/2027	€	53,000		273			—		273
3-month SEK-STIBOR	1.125%	4/28/2027	SKr	505,000		(429	)		—		(429	)
28-day MXN-TIIE	7.625%	5/20/2027	MXN	385,000		(163	)		—		(163	)
3-month USD-LIBOR	2.1385%	6/2/2027	$	97,000		2,127			—		2,127
0.8518%	6-month EURIBOR	8/21/2027	€	23,000		127			—		127
3-month SEK-STIBOR	1.215%	8/21/2027	SKr	220,000		(327	)		—		(327	)
U.S. EFFR	2.045%	11/2/2027	$	290,000		1,490			—		1,490
3-month USD-LIBOR	2.31613%	11/17/2027	78,700			650			—		650
3-month USD-LIBOR	2.494%	6/15/2030	180,000			1,806			—		1,806
3-month USD-LIBOR	2.97125%	9/2/2030	57,050			(1,687	)		—		(1,687	)
3-month USD-LIBOR	3.005%	9/2/2030	57,050			(1,850	)		—		(1,850	)
3-month USD-LIBOR	2.507%	9/25/2030	239,000			2,410			—		2,410
3-month USD-LIBOR	1.83%	8/17/2031	58,000			4,037			—		4,037
								$	—	$	(2,581	)

Credit default swaps

Centrally cleared credit default swaps on credit indices — buy protection

Receive	Pay/ Payment frequency	Expiration date	Notional (000)	Value at 11/30/2017 (000)	Upfront payments (000)			Unrealized depreciation at 11/30/2017 (000)
CDX.NA.IG.27	1.00%/Quarterly	12/20/2021	$165,000	$(3,701)	$	(1,615	)		$	(2,086	)
CDX.NA.IG.28	1.00%/Quarterly	6/20/2022	335,000	(7,172)		(6,100	)			(1,072	)
					$	(7,715	)		$	(3,158	)

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	A portion of this security was pledged as collateral. The total value of pledged collateral was $44,580,000, which represented 1.19% of the net assets of the fund.
²	Index-linked bond whose principal amount moves with a government price index.
³	Acquired in a transaction exempt from registration under Rule 144A or Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933. May be resold in the U.S. in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. The total value of all such securities was $141,811,000, which represented 3.78% of the net assets of the fund.
⁴	Coupon rate may change periodically.
⁵	Principal payments may be made periodically. Therefore, the effective maturity date may be earlier than the stated maturity date.
⁶	Notional amount is calculated based on the number of contracts and notional contract size.
⁷	Value is calculated based on the notional amount and current market price.

Key to abbreviations and symbols

AUD = Australian dollars

BA = Banker’s acceptances

CAD/C$ = Canadian dollars

EFFR = Federal Funds Effective Rate

EUR/€ = Euros

EURIBOR = Euro Interbank Offered Rate

GBP/£ = British pounds

JPY/¥ = Japanese yen

KRW = South Korean won

LIBOR = London Interbank Offered Rate

MXN = Mexican pesos

PLN = Polish zloty

Ref. = Refunding

Rev. = Revenue

SEK/SKr = Swedish kronor

SONIA = Sterling Overnight Interbank Average Rate

STIBOR = Stockholm Interbank Offered Rate

TIIE = Equilibrium Interbank Interest Rate

USD/$ = U.S. dollars

UYU = Uruguayan pesos

ZAR = South African rand

See Notes to Financial Statements

8	American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

Financial statements

Statement of assets and liabilities
at November 30, 2017	(dollars in thousands)

Assets:
Investment securities in unaffiliated issuers, at value (cost: $3,725,119)			$	3,725,612
Cash				4,356
Cash denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars (cost: $9,118)				9,123
Unrealized appreciation on open forward currency contracts				1,453
Receivables for:
Sales of fund’s shares	$	9,424
Closed forward currency contracts		154
Variation margin on futures contracts		1,515
Variation margin on swap contracts		4,989
Interest		10,641
Other		2		26,725
				3,767,269
Liabilities:
Unrealized depreciation on open forward currency contracts				4,213
Payables for:
Repurchases of fund’s shares		1,687
Closed forward currency contracts		1,122
Investment advisory services		892
Services provided by related parties		241
Trustees’ deferred compensation		3
Variation margin on futures contracts		2,742
Variation margin on swap contracts		4,853
Other		5		11,545
Net assets at November 30, 2017			$	3,751,511

Net assets consist of:
Capital paid in on shares of beneficial interest			$	3,698,651
Undistributed net investment income				56,874
Undistributed net realized gain				2,334
Net unrealized depreciation				(6,348	)
Net assets at November 30, 2017			$	3,751,511

(dollars and shares in thousands, except per-share amounts)

Shares of beneficial interest issued and outstanding (no stated par value) —

unlimited shares authorized (382,366 total shares outstanding)

	Net assets		Shares outstanding		Net asset value per share
Class A	$	532,639		54,546	$	9.77
Class C		14,435		1,498		9.64
Class T		10		1		9.78
Class F-1		48,980		5,016		9.76
Class F-2		339,124		34,565		9.81
Class F-3		98,971		10,103		9.80
Class 529-A		15,928		1,630		9.77
Class 529-C		3,036		315		9.62
Class 529-E		611		63		9.73
Class 529-T		10		1		9.78
Class 529-F-1		2,338		239		9.80
Class R-1		181		19		9.70
Class R-2		2,367		246		9.62
Class R-2E		810		83		9.73
Class R-3		3,736		385		9.70
Class R-4		3,220		330		9.77
Class R-5E		1,359		139		9.79
Class R-5		1,417		144		9.82
Class R-6		2,682,339		273,043		9.82

See Notes to Financial Statements

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

Statement of operations
for the year ended November 30, 2017	(dollars in thousands)

Investment income:
Income:
Interest (net of non-U.S. taxes of $18)				$	79,186
Fees and expenses*:
Investment advisory services	$	8,922
Distribution services		1,666
Transfer agent services		820
Administrative services		1,300
Reports to shareholders		100
Registration statement and prospectus		487
Trustees’ compensation		13
Auditing and legal		70
Custodian		18
Other		108
Total fees and expenses before reimbursement		13,504
Less transfer agent services reimbursement		—	^†
Total fees and expenses after reimbursement					13,504
Net investment income					65,682

Net realized gain and unrealized depreciation:
Net realized (loss) gain on:
Investments in unaffiliated issuers		(7,211	)
Futures contracts		(15,794	)
Forward currency contracts		2,559
Swap contracts		25,772
Currency transactions		(1,089	)		4,237
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:
Investments in unaffiliated issuers		13,062
Futures contracts		3,154
Forward currency contracts		(10,335	)
Swap contracts		(22,248	)
Currency translations		38			(16,329	)
Net realized gain and unrealized depreciation					(12,092	)
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations				$	53,590

*	Additional information related to class-specific fees and expenses is included in the Notes to Financial Statements.
^†	Amount less than one thousand.

See Notes to Financial Statements

10	American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

Statements of changes in net assets

(dollars in thousands)

	Year ended November 30
	2017			2016
Operations:
Net investment income	$	65,682		$	22,677
Net realized gain (loss)		4,237			(685	)
Net unrealized (depreciation) appreciation		(16,329	)		27,889
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations		53,590			49,881

Dividends and distributions paid to shareholders:
Dividends from net investment income		(22,760	)		(6,912	)
Distributions from net realized gain on investments		—			(9,751	)
Total dividends and distributions paid to shareholders		(22,760	)		(16,663	)

Net capital share transactions		1,643,644			855,001

Total increase in net assets		1,674,474			888,219

Net assets:
Beginning of year		2,077,037			1,188,818
End of year (including undistributed net investment income: $56,874 and $15,186, respectively)	$	3,751,511		$	2,077,037

See Notes to Financial Statements

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

Notes to financial statements

1. Organization

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund (the “fund”) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 as an open-end, diversified management investment company. The fund seeks to provide inflation protection and income consistent with investment in inflation linked securities.

The fund has 19 share classes consisting of six retail share classes (Classes A, C, T, F-1, F-2 and F-3), five 529 college savings plan share classes (Classes 529-A, 529-C, 529-E, 529-T and 529-F-1) and eight retirement plan share classes (Classes R-1, R-2, R-2E, R-3, R-4, R-5E, R-5 and R-6). The 529 college savings plan share classes can be used to save for college education. The retirement plan share classes are generally offered only through eligible employer-sponsored retirement plans. The fund’s share classes are described further in the following table:

Share class	Initial sales charge	Contingent deferred sales charge upon redemption	Conversion feature
Classes A and 529-A	Up to 2.50%	None (except 1% for certain redemptions within one year of purchase without an initial sales charge¹)	None
Class C²	None	1% for redemptions within one year of purchase	Class C converts to Class F-1 after 10 years
Class 529-C²	None	1% for redemptions within one year of purchase	Class 529-C converts to Class 529-A after 10 years³
Class 529-E	None	None	None
Classes T and 529-T²	Up to 2.50%	None	None
Classes F-1, F-2, F-3 and 529-F-1	None	None	None
Classes R-1, R-2, R-2E, R-3, R-4, R-5E, R-5 and R-6	None	None	None

¹	18 months for shares purchased on or after August 14, 2017.
²	Class C, T, 529-C and 529-T shares are not available for purchase.
³	Effective December 1, 2017.

Holders of all share classes have equal pro rata rights to the assets, dividends and liquidation proceeds of the fund. Each share class has identical voting rights, except for the exclusive right to vote on matters affecting only its class. Share classes have different fees and expenses (“class-specific fees and expenses”), primarily due to different arrangements for distribution, transfer agent and administrative services. Differences in class-specific fees and expenses will result in differences in net investment income and, therefore, the payment of different per-share dividends by each share class.

2. Significant accounting policies

The fund is an investment company that applies the accounting and reporting guidance issued in Topic 946 by the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board. The fund’s financial statements have been prepared to comply with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”). These principles require the fund’s investment adviser to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts and disclosures. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Subsequent events, if any, have been evaluated through the date of issuance in the preparation of the financial statements. The fund follows the significant accounting policies described in this section, as well as the valuation policies described in the next section on valuation.

Security transactions and related investment income — Security transactions are recorded by the fund as of the date the trades are executed with brokers. Realized gains and losses from security transactions are determined based on the specific identified cost of the securities. In the event a security is purchased with a delayed payment date, the fund will segregate liquid assets sufficient to meet its payment obligations. Interest income is recognized on an accrual basis. Market discounts, premiums and original issue discounts on fixed-income securities are amortized daily over the expected life of the security.

Class allocations — Income, fees and expenses (other than class-specific fees and expenses) and realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated daily among the various share classes based on their relative net assets. Class-specific fees and expenses, such as distribution, transfer agent and administrative services, are charged directly to the respective share class.

Dividends and distributions to shareholders — Dividends and distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date.

12	American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

Currency translation — Assets and liabilities, including investment securities, denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates supplied by one or more pricing vendors on the valuation date. Purchases and sales of investment securities and income and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates on the dates of such transactions. The effects of changes in exchange rates on investment securities are included with the net realized gain or loss and net unrealized appreciation or depreciation on investments in the fund’s statement of operations. The realized gain or loss and unrealized appreciation or depreciation resulting from all other transactions denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars are disclosed separately.

3. Valuation

Capital Research and Management Company (“CRMC”), the fund’s investment adviser, values the fund’s investments at fair value as defined by U.S. GAAP. The net asset value of each share class of the fund is generally determined as of approximately 4:00 p.m. New York time each day the New York Stock Exchange is open.

Methods and inputs — The fund’s investment adviser uses the following methods and inputs to establish the fair value of the fund’s assets and liabilities. Use of particular methods and inputs may vary over time based on availability and relevance as market and economic conditions evolve.

Fixed-income securities, including short-term securities, are generally valued at prices obtained from one or more pricing vendors. Vendors value such securities based on one or more of the inputs described in the following table. The table provides examples of inputs that are commonly relevant for valuing particular classes of fixed-income securities in which the fund is authorized to invest. However, these classifications are not exclusive, and any of the inputs may be used to value any other class of fixed-income security.

Fixed-income class	Examples of standard inputs
All	Benchmark yields, transactions, bids, offers, quotations from dealers and trading systems, new issues, spreads and other relationships observed in the markets among comparable securities; and proprietary pricing models such as yield measures calculated using factors such as cash flows, financial or collateral performance and other reference data (collectively referred to as “standard inputs”)
Corporate bonds & notes; convertible securities	Standard inputs and underlying equity of the issuer
Bonds & notes of governments & government agencies	Standard inputs and interest rate volatilities
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

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

Exchange-traded futures are generally valued at the official settlement price of, or the last reported sale price on, the exchange or market on which such instruments are traded, as of the close of business on the day the futures are being valued or, lacking any sales, at the last available bid price. Prices for each future are taken from the exchange or market on which the security trades. Forward currency contracts are valued at the mean of representative quoted bid and ask prices, generally based on prices supplied by one or more pricing vendors. Interest rate swaps and credit default swaps are generally valued by pricing vendors based on market inputs that include the index and term of index, reset frequency, payer/receiver, currency and pay frequency.

Securities and other assets for which representative market quotations are not readily available or are considered unreliable by the fund’s investment adviser are fair valued as determined in good faith under fair valuation guidelines adopted by authority of the fund’s board of trustees as further described. The investment adviser follows fair valuation guidelines, consistent with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules and guidance, to consider relevant principles and factors when making fair value determinations. The investment adviser considers relevant indications of value that are reasonably and timely available to it in determining the fair value to be assigned to a particular security, such as the type and cost of the security; contractual or legal restrictions on resale of the security; relevant financial or business developments of the issuer; actively traded similar or related securities; conversion or exchange rights on the security; related corporate actions; significant events occurring after the close of trading in the security; and changes in overall market conditions. In addition, the closing prices of equity securities that trade in markets outside U.S. time zones may be adjusted to reflect significant events that occur after the close of local trading but before the net asset value of each share class of the fund is determined. Fair valuations and

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

valuations of investments that are not actively trading involve judgment and may differ materially from valuations that would have been used had greater market activity occurred.

Processes and structure — The fund’s board of trustees has delegated authority to the fund’s investment adviser to make fair value determinations, subject to board oversight. The investment adviser has established a Joint Fair Valuation Committee (the “Fair Valuation Committee”) to administer, implement and oversee the fair valuation process, and to make fair value decisions. The Fair Valuation Committee regularly reviews its own fair value decisions, as well as decisions made under its standing instructions to the investment adviser’s valuation teams. The Fair Valuation Committee reviews changes in fair value measurements from period to period and may, as deemed appropriate, update the fair valuation guidelines to better reflect the results of back testing and address new or evolving issues. The Fair Valuation Committee reports any changes to the fair valuation guidelines to the board of trustees with supplemental information to support the changes. The fund’s board and audit committee also regularly review reports that describe fair value determinations and methods.

The fund’s investment adviser has also established a Fixed-Income Pricing Review Group to administer and oversee the fixed-income valuation process, including the use of fixed-income pricing vendors. This group regularly reviews pricing vendor information and market data. Pricing decisions, processes and controls over security valuation are also subject to additional internal reviews, including an annual control self-evaluation program facilitated by the investment adviser’s compliance group.

Classifications — The fund’s investment adviser classifies the fund’s assets and liabilities into three levels based on the inputs used to value the assets or liabilities. Level 1 values are based on quoted prices in active markets for identical securities. Level 2 values are based on significant observable market inputs, such as quoted prices for similar securities and quoted prices in inactive markets. Certain securities trading outside the U.S. may transfer between Level 1 and Level 2 due to valuation adjustments resulting from significant market movements following the close of local trading. Level 3 values are based on significant unobservable inputs that reflect the investment adviser’s determination of assumptions that market participants might reasonably use in valuing the securities. The valuation levels are not necessarily an indication of the risk or liquidity associated with the underlying investment. For example, U.S. government securities are reflected as Level 2 because the inputs used to determine fair value may not always be quoted prices in an active market. The following tables present the fund’s valuation levels as of November 30, 2017 (dollars in thousands):

	Investment securities
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Assets:
Bonds, notes & other debt instruments:
U.S. Treasury bonds & notes	$	—	$	3,383,700	$	—	$	3,383,700
Corporate bonds & notes		—		112,800		—		112,800
Bonds & notes of governments & government agencies outside the U.S.		—		106,509		—		106,509
Municipals		—		11,999		—		11,999
Asset-backed obligations		—		6,459		—		6,459
Short-term securities		—		104,145		—		104,145
Total	$	—	$	3,725,612	$	—	$	3,725,612

	Other investments*
	Level 1			Level 2			Level 3		Total
Assets:
Unrealized appreciation on futures contracts	$	5,480		$	—		$	—	$	5,480
Unrealized appreciation on open forward currency contracts		—			1,453			—		1,453
Unrealized appreciation on interest rate swaps		—			28,817			—		28,817
Liabilities:
Unrealized depreciation on futures contracts		(3,825	)		—			—		(3,825	)
Unrealized depreciation on open forward currency contracts		—			(4,213	)		—		(4,213	)
Unrealized depreciation on interest rate swaps		—			(31,398	)		—		(31,398	)
Unrealized depreciation on credit default swaps		—			(3,158	)		—		(3,158	)
Total	$	1,655		$	(8,499	)	$	—	$	(6,844	)

*	Futures contracts, forward currency contracts, interest rate swaps and credit default swaps are not included in the investment portfolio.

14	American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

4. Risk factors

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

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the securities held by the fund may decline — sometimes rapidly or unpredictably — due to various factors, including events or conditions affecting the general economy or particular industries; overall market changes; local, regional or global political, social or economic instability; governmental or governmental agency responses to economic conditions; and currency exchange rate, interest rate and commodity price fluctuations.

Issuer risks — The prices of, and the income generated by, securities held by the fund may decline in response to various factors directly related to the issuers of such securities, including reduced demand for an issuer’s goods or services, poor management performance and strategic initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions or dispositions and the market response to any such initiatives.

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.

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 greater sensitivity to changes in interest rates 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 inflation linked bonds — The values of inflation linked bonds generally fluctuate in response to changes in real interest rates —i.e., rates of interest after factoring in inflation. A rise in real interest rates may cause the prices of inflation linked securities to fall, while a decline in real interest rates may cause the prices to increase. Inflation linked bonds may experience greater losses than other debt securities with similar durations when real interest rates rise faster than nominal interest rates. There can be no assurance that the value of an inflation linked security will be directly correlated to changes in interest rates; for example, if interest rates rise for reasons other than inflation, the increase may not be reflected in the security’s inflation measure.

Investing in inflation linked bonds may also reduce the fund’s distributable income during periods of extreme deflation. If prices for goods and services decline throughout the economy, the principal and income on inflation linked securities may decline and result in losses to the fund.

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.

Liquidity risk — Certain fund holdings may be deemed to be less liquid or illiquid because they cannot be readily sold without significantly impacting the value of the holdings. Liquidity risk may result from the lack of an active market for a holding, legal or contractual restrictions on resale, or the reduced number and capacity of market participants to make a market in such holding. Market prices for less liquid or illiquid holdings may be volatile, and reduced liquidity may have an adverse impact on the market price of such holdings. Additionally, the sale of less liquid or illiquid holdings may involve substantial delays (including delays in settlement) and additional costs and the fund may be unable to sell such holdings when necessary to meet its liquidity needs.

Investing in derivatives — The use of derivatives involves a variety of risks, which may be different from, or greater than, the risks associated with investing in traditional cash securities, such as stocks and bonds. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with, and may be more sensitive to market events than, the underlying asset, rate or index, and a derivative instrument may expose the fund to losses in excess of its initial investment. Derivatives may be difficult for the fund to buy or sell at an opportune time or price and may be difficult to terminate or otherwise offset. The fund’s use of derivatives may result in losses to the fund, and investing in

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

derivatives may reduce the fund’s returns and increase the fund’s price volatility. The fund’s counterparty to a derivative transaction (including, if applicable, the fund’s clearing broker, the derivatives exchange or the clearinghouse) may be unable or unwilling to honor its financial obligations in respect of the transaction.

Investing outside the U.S. — Securities of issuers domiciled outside the U.S., or with significant operations or revenues outside the U.S., may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments (including social instability, regional conflicts, terrorism and war) in the countries or regions in which the issuers operate or generate revenue. These securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Issuers of these securities may be more susceptible to actions of foreign governments, such as the imposition of price controls or punitive taxes, that could adversely impact the value of these securities. Securities markets in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the U.S. Investments outside the U.S. may also be subject to different accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and reporting standards and practices, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the U.S. In addition, the value of investments outside the U.S. may be reduced by foreign taxes, including foreign withholding taxes on interest and dividends. Further, there may be increased risks of delayed settlement of securities purchased or sold by the fund. The risks of investing outside the U.S. may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.

Management — The investment adviser to the fund actively manages the fund’s investments. Consequently, the fund is subject to the risk that the methods and analyses 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. Certain investment techniques

Index-linked bonds — The fund has invested in index-linked bonds, which are fixed-income securities whose principal value is periodically adjusted to a government price index. Over the life of an index-linked bond, interest is paid on the adjusted principal value. Increases or decreases in the principal value of index-linked bonds are recorded as interest income in the fund’s statement of operations.

Futures contracts — The fund has entered into futures contracts, which provide for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific financial instrument for a specified price, date, time and place designated at the time the contract is made. Futures contracts are used to strategically manage portfolio volatility and downside equity risk.

Upon entering into futures contracts, and to maintain the fund’s open positions in futures contracts, the fund is required to deposit with a futures broker, or FCM, in a segregated account in the name of the FCM an amount of cash, U.S. government securities, suitable money market instruments, or other liquid securities, known as initial margin. The margin required for a particular futures contract is set by the exchange on which the contract is traded to serve as collateral, and may be significantly modified from time to time by the exchange during the term of the contract. When initial margin is deposited with brokers, a receivable is recorded in the fund’s statement of assets and liabilities.

On a daily basis, the fund pays or receives variation margin based on the increase or decrease in the value of the futures contracts and records variation margin on futures contracts in the statement of assets and liabilities. In addition, the fund segregates liquid assets equivalent to the fund’s outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any. Futures contracts may involve a risk of loss in excess of the variation margin shown on the fund’s statement of assets and liabilities. The fund records realized gains or losses at the time the futures contract is closed or expires. Net realized gains or losses and net unrealized appreciation or depreciation from futures contracts are recorded in the fund’s statement of operations. The average month-end notional amount of futures contracts while held was $1,836,190,000.

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’s investment adviser uses forward currency contracts to manage the fund’s 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’s investment adviser values forward currency contracts and records unrealized appreciation or depreciation for open forward currency contracts in the fund’s statement of assets and liabilities. Realized gains or losses are recorded 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 fund’s statement of assets and liabilities. Net realized gains or losses from closed forward

16	American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

currency contracts and net unrealized appreciation or depreciation from open forward currency contracts are recorded in the fund’s statement of operations. The average month-end notional amount of open forward currency contracts while held was $238,392,000.

Interest rate swaps — The fund has entered into interest rate swap contracts, which are agreements to exchange one stream of future interest payments for another based on a specified notional amount. Typically, interest rate swaps exchange a fixed interest rate for a payment that floats relative to a benchmark or vice versa. The fund’s investment adviser uses interest rate swaps to seek to manage the interest rate sensitivity of the fund by increasing or decreasing the duration of the fund or a portion of the fund’s portfolio. Risks may arise as a result of the fund’s investment adviser incorrectly anticipating changes in interest rates, increased volatility, reduced liquidity and the potential inability of counterparties to meet the terms of their agreements.

Upon entering into an interest rate swap contract, the fund is required to deposit cash, U.S. government securities or other liquid securities, which is known as “initial margin.” Generally, the initial margin required for a particular interest rate swap is set and held as collateral by the clearinghouse on which the contract is cleared. The amount of initial margin required may be significantly modified from time to time by the clearinghouse during the term of the contract.

On a daily basis, the fund’s investment adviser records daily interest accruals related to the exchange of future payments as a receivable and payable in the fund’s statement of assets and liabilities. The fund also pays or receives a “variation margin” based on the increase or decrease in the value of the interest rate swaps, including accrued interest, and records variation margin on interest rate swaps in the statement of assets and liabilities. The fund records realized gains and losses on both the net accrued interest and any gain or loss recognized at the time the interest rate swap is closed or expires. Net realized gains or losses, as well as any net unrealized appreciation or depreciation, from interest rate swaps are recorded in the fund’s statement of operations. The average month-end notional amount of interest rate swaps while held was $24,631,814,000.

Credit default swap indices — The fund has entered into centrally cleared credit default swap agreements on credit indices (“CDSI”) that involve one party (the protection buyer) making a stream of payments to another party (the protection seller) in exchange for the right to receive a specified return upon the occurrence of a credit event, such as a default or restructuring, with respect to any of the underlying issuers (reference obligations) in the referenced index. The fund’s investment adviser uses credit default swaps to assume exposure to a diversified portfolio of credits or to hedge against existing credit risks.

CDSI are portfolios of credit instruments or exposures designed to be representative of some part of the credit market, such as the high-yield or investment-grade credit market. CDSI are generally traded using standardized terms, including a fixed spread and standard maturity dates, and reference all the names in the index. If there is a credit event, it is settled based on that name’s weight in the index. The composition of the underlying issuers or obligations within a particular index may change periodically, usually every six months. A specified credit event may affect all or individual underlying reference obligations included in the index, and will be settled based upon the relative weighting of the affected obligation(s) within the index. The value of each CDSI can be used as a measure of the current payment/performance risk of the CDSI and represents the likelihood of an expected liability or profit should the notional amount of the CDSI be closed or sold as of the period end. An increasing value, as compared to the notional amount of the CDSI, represents a deterioration of the referenced indices’ credit soundness and a greater likelihood of risk of default or other credit event occurring as defined under the terms of the agreement. When the fund provides sell protection, its maximum exposure is the notional amount of the credit default swap agreement.

Upon entering into a centrally cleared CDSI contract, the fund is required to deposit with a derivatives clearing member (“DCM”) in a segregated account in the name of the DCM an amount of cash, U.S. government securities or other liquid securities, which is known as “initial margin.” Generally, the initial margin required for a particular credit default swap is set and held as collateral by the clearinghouse on which the contract is cleared. The amount of initial margin required may be significantly modified from time to time by the clearinghouse during the term of the contract. Securities deposited as initial margin are designated on the investment portfolio.

On a daily basis, interest accruals related to the exchange of future payments are recorded as a receivable and payable in the fund’s statement of assets and liabilities. The fund also pays or receives a “variation margin” based on the increase or decrease in the value of the CDSI, and records variation margin in the statement of assets and liabilities. The fund records realized gains and losses on both the net accrued interest and any gain or loss recognized at the time the swap is closed or expires. Net realized gains or losses, as well as any net unrealized appreciation or depreciation, from credit default swaps are recorded in the fund’s statement of operations. The average month-end notional amount of credit default swaps while held was $324,167,000.

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

The following tables present the financial statement impacts resulting from the fund’s use of futures contracts, forward currency contracts, interest rate swaps and credit default swaps as of, or for the year ended, November 30, 2017 (dollars in thousands):

		Assets				Liabilities
Contracts	Risk type	Location on statement of assets and liabilities	Value			Location on statement of assets and liabilities	Value
Futures contracts	Interest	Net unrealized appreciation*	$	5,480		Net unrealized depreciation*	$	3,825

Forward currency	Currency	Unrealized appreciation on open forward currency contracts		1,453		Unrealized depreciation on open forward currency contracts		4,213

Forward currency	Currency	Receivables for closed forward currency contracts		154		Payables for closed forward currency contracts		1,122

Swap contracts	Interest	Net unrealized appreciation*		28,817		Net unrealized depreciation*		31,398

Swap contracts	Credit	Net unrealized appreciation*		—		Net unrealized depreciation*		3,158
			$	35,904			$	43,716

		Net realized (loss) gain				Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)
Contracts	Risk type	Location on statement of operations	Value			Location on statement of operations	Value
Futures contracts	Interest	Net realized loss on futures contracts	$	(15,794	)	Net unrealized appreciation on futures contracts	$	3,154

Forward currency	Currency	Net realized gain on forward currency contracts		2,559		Net unrealized depreciation on forward currency contracts		(10,335	)

Swap contracts	Interest	Net realized gain on swap contracts		28,876		Net unrealized depreciation on swap contracts		(19,621	)

Swap contracts	Credit	Net realized loss on swap contracts		(3,104	)	Net unrealized depreciation on swap contracts		(2,627	)
			$	12,537			$	(29,429	)

*	Includes cumulative appreciation/depreciation on futures contracts, interest rate swaps and credit default swaps as reported in the applicable tables following the fund’s investment portfolio. Only current day’s variation margin is reported within the statement of assets and liabilities.

Collateral — The fund participates in a collateral program due to its use of futures contracts, forward currency contracts, interest rate swaps and credit default swaps. For forward currency contracts, the program calls for the fund to either receive or pledge highly liquid assets, such as cash or U.S. Treasury bills, as collateral based on the net gain or loss on unsettled forward currency contracts by counterparty. For futures contracts, interest rate swaps and credit default swaps, the program calls for the fund to pledge highly liquid assets, such as cash or U.S. Treasury bills, as collateral for initial and variation margin by contract. The purpose of the collateral is to cover potential losses that could occur in the event that either party cannot meet its contractual obligations.

Rights of offset — The fund has entered into enforceable master netting agreements with certain counterparties for forward currency contracts, where on any date amounts payable by each party to the other (in the same currency with respect to the same transaction) may be closed or offset by each party’s payment obligation. If an early termination date occurs under these agreements following an event of default or termination event, all obligations of each party to its counterparty are settled net through a single payment in a single currency (“close-out netting”). For financial reporting purposes, the fund does not offset financial assets and financial liabilities that are subject to these master netting arrangements in the statement of assets and liabilities.

18	American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

The following table presents the fund’s forward currency contracts by counterparty that are subject to master netting agreements but that are not offset in the fund’s statement of assets and liabilities. The net amount column shows the impact of offsetting on the fund’s statement of assets and liabilities as of November 30, 2017, if close-out netting was exercised (dollars in thousands):

	Gross amounts recognized in the			Gross amounts not offset in the statement of assets and liabilities and subject to a master netting agreement
Counterparty	statement of assets and liabilities			Available to offset			Non-cash collateral*			Cash collateral			Net amount
Assets:
Bank of America, N.A.		$	427	$	(427	)	$	—		$	—		$	—
Barclays Bank PLC			64		—			—			(64	)		—
Citibank			429		(152	)		—			(240	)		37
Goldman Sachs			109		(109	)		—			—			—
JPMorgan Chase			578		(578	)		—			—			—
Total		$	1,607	$	(1,266	)	$	—		$	(304	)	$	37
Liabilities:
Bank of America, N.A.		$	792	$	(427	)	$	—		$	—		$	365
Citibank			152		(152	)		—			—			—
Goldman Sachs			1,960		(109	)		(869	)		—			982
HSBC Bank			563		—			—			—			563
JPMorgan Chase			1,729		(578	)		(720	)		—			431
UBS AG			139		—			—			—			139
Total		$	5,335	$	(1,266	)	$	(1,589	)	$	—		$	2,480

*	Non-cash collateral is shown on a settlement basis.

6. Taxation and distributions

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

As of and during the period ended November 30, 2017, the fund did not have a liability for any unrecognized tax benefits. The fund recognizes interest and penalties, if any, related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense in the statement of operations. During the period, the fund did not incur any significant interest or penalties.

The fund’s tax returns are not subject to examination by federal, state and, if applicable, non-U.S. tax authorities after the expiration of each jurisdiction’s statute of limitations, which is generally three years after the date of filing but can be extended in certain jurisdictions.

Non-U.S. taxation — Interest income is recorded net of non-U.S. taxes paid. The fund may file withholding tax reclaims in certain jurisdictions to recover a portion of amounts previously withheld. These reclaims are recorded when the amount is known and there are no significant uncertainties on collectability. Gains realized by the fund on the sale of securities in certain countries, if any, may be subject to non-U.S. taxes. If applicable, the fund records an estimated deferred tax liability based on unrealized gains to provide for potential non-U.S. taxes payable upon the sale of these securities.

Distributions — Distributions paid to shareholders are based on net investment income and net realized gains determined on a tax basis, which may differ from net investment income and net realized gains for financial reporting purposes. These differences are due primarily to different treatment for items such as currency gains and losses; short-term capital gains and losses; capital losses related to sales of certain securities within 30 days of purchase; cost of investments sold and income on certain investments. The fiscal year in which amounts are distributed may differ from the year in which the net investment income and net realized gains are recorded by the fund for financial reporting purposes. The fund may also designate a portion of the amount paid to redeeming shareholders as a distribution for tax purposes.

During the year ended November 30, 2017, the fund reclassified $1,214,000 from undistributed net investment income to undistributed net realized gain, $20,000 from undistributed net investment income to capital paid in on shares of beneficial interest and $1,219,000 from undistributed net realized gain to capital paid in on shares of beneficial interest to align financial reporting with tax reporting.

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

As of November 30, 2017, the tax basis components of distributable earnings, unrealized appreciation (depreciation) and cost of investments were as follows (dollars in thousands):

Undistributed ordinary income	$	63,644
Post-October capital loss deferral*		4,995
Gross unrealized appreciation on investments		63,705
Gross unrealized depreciation on investments		(69,249	)
Net unrealized depreciation on investments		(5,544	)
Cost of investments		3,732,027

*	This deferral is considered incurred in the subsequent year.

Distributions paid were characterized for tax purposes as follows (dollars in thousands):

	Year ended November 30, 2017								Year ended November 30, 2016
Share class	Ordinary income			Long-term capital gains		Total dividends paid			Ordinary income			Long-term capital gains			Total dividends and distributions paid
Class A	$	2,813		$	—	$	2,813		$	989		$	103		$	1,092
Class B¹		—			—		—			1			—	²		1
Class C		51			—		51			25			4			29
Class T³		—			—		—
Class F-1		232			—		232			22			2			24
Class F-2		2,414			—		2,414			229			22			251
Class F-3⁴		—			—		—
Class 529-A		84			—		84			29			3			32
Class 529-B¹		—			—		—			—	²		—	²		—	²
Class 529-C		11			—		11			3			1			4
Class 529-E		3			—		3			1			—	²		1
Class 529-T³		—			—		—
Class 529-F-1		9			—		9			3			—	²		3
Class R-1		—	²		—		—	²		1			—	²		1
Class R-2		7			—		7			2			—	²		2
Class R-2E		6			—		6			—	²		—	²		—	²
Class R-3		21			—		21			5			1			6
Class R-4		17			—		17			2			—	²		2
Class R-5E		—	²		—		—	²		—	²		—	²		—	²
Class R-5		4			—		4			3			—	²		3
Class R-6		17,088			—		17,088			13,955			1,257			15,212
Total	$	22,760		$	—	$	22,760		$	15,270		$	1,393		$	16,663

¹	Class B and 529-B shares were fully liquidated on May 5, 2017.
²	Amount less than one thousand.
³	Class T and 529-T shares began investment operations on April 7, 2017.
⁴	Class F-3 shares began investment operations on January 27, 2017.

7. Fees and transactions with related parties

CRMC, the fund’s investment adviser, is the parent company of American Funds Distributors,^® Inc. (“AFD”), the principal underwriter of the fund’s shares, and American Funds Service Company^® (“AFS”), the fund’s transfer agent. CRMC, AFD and AFS are considered related parties to the fund.

Investment advisory services — The fund has an investment advisory and service agreement with CRMC that provides for monthly fees accrued daily. These fees are based on a series of decreasing annual rates beginning with 0.360% on the first $500 million of daily net assets and decreasing to 0.260% on such assets in excess of $2.5 billion. For the year ended November 30, 2017, the investment advisory services fee was $8,922,000, which was equivalent to an annualized rate of 0.302% of average daily net assets.

20	American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

Class-specific fees and expenses — Expenses that are specific to individual share classes are accrued directly to the respective share class. The principal class-specific fees and expenses are further described below:

Distribution services — The fund has plans of distribution for all share classes, except Class F-2, F-3, R-5E, R-5 and R-6 shares. Under the plans, the board of trustees approves certain categories of expenses that are used to finance activities primarily intended to sell fund shares and service existing accounts. The plans provide for payments, based on an annualized percentage of average daily net assets, ranging from 0.30% to 1.00% as noted in this section. In some cases, the board of trustees has limited the amounts that may be paid to less than the maximum allowed by the plans. Effective June 1, 2017, 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. Prior to June 1, 2017, the limit was 0.15% for Class A and Class 529-A shares and 0.25% for all other share classes. The remaining amounts available to be paid under each plan are paid to dealers to compensate them for their sales activities.

Share class	Currently approved limits			Plan limits
Class A		0.30	%		0.30	%
Class 529-A		0.50	*		0.50
Classes C, 529-C and R-1		1.00			1.00
Class R-2		0.75			1.00
Class R-2E		0.60			0.85
Classes 529-E and R-3		0.50			0.75
Classes T, F-1, 529-T, 529-F-1 and R-4		0.25			0.50

*	Effective June 1, 2017, the fund’s board approved to increase the Class 529-A expense limit to 0.50%.

For Class A and 529-A shares, distribution-related expenses include the reimbursement of dealer and wholesaler commissions paid by AFD for certain shares sold without a sales charge. These share classes reimburse AFD for amounts billed within the prior 15 months but only to the extent that the overall annual expense limits are not exceeded. As of November 30, 2017, there were no unreimbursed expenses subject to reimbursement for Class A or 529-A shares.

Transfer agent services — The fund has a shareholder services agreement with AFS under which the fund compensates AFS for providing transfer agent services to each of the fund’s share classes. These services include recordkeeping, shareholder communications and transaction processing. In addition, the fund reimburses AFS for amounts paid to third parties for performing transfer agent services on behalf of fund shareholders.

Administrative services — The fund has an administrative services agreement with CRMC under which the fund compensates CRMC for providing administrative services to Class A, C, T, F, 529 and R shares. These services include, but are not limited to, coordinating, monitoring, assisting and overseeing third parties that provide services to fund shareholders. Under the agreement, Class A shares pay an annual fee of 0.01% and Class C, T, F, 529 and R shares pay an annual fee of 0.05% of their respective average daily net assets.

529 plan services — Each 529 share class is subject to service fees to compensate the Virginia College Savings Plan (“Virginia529”) for its oversight and administration of the 529 college savings plan. The quarterly fee is based on a series of decreasing annual rates beginning with 0.10% on the first $20 billion of the net assets invested in the Class 529 shares of the American Funds and decreasing to 0.03% on such assets in excess of $100 billion. The fee for any given calendar quarter is accrued and calculated on the basis of the average net assets of Class 529 shares of the American Funds for the last month of the prior calendar quarter. The fee is included in other expenses in the fund’s statement of operations. Virginia529 is not considered a related party to the fund.

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

For the year ended November 30, 2017, class-specific expenses under the agreements were as follows (dollars in thousands):

Share class	Distribution services			Transfer agent services			Administrative services			529 plan services
Class A		$1,330			$424			$44			Not applicable
Class B¹		—	²		—	²		Not applicable			Not applicable
Class C		140			14			7			Not applicable
Class T³		—			—	²		—	²		Not applicable
Class F-1		98			46			20			Not applicable
Class F-2		Not applicable			295			133			Not applicable
Class F-3⁴		Not applicable			7			27			Not applicable
Class 529-A		24			11			7			$9
Class 529-B¹		—	²		—	²		—	²		—	²
Class 529-C		28			3			1			2
Class 529-E		2			—	²		—	²		—	²
Class 529-T³		—			—	²		—	²		—	²
Class 529-F-1		—			1			1			1
Class R-1		1			—	²		—	²		Not applicable
Class R-2		15			6			1			Not applicable
Class R-2E		4			2			—	²		Not applicable
Class R-3		17			4			2			Not applicable
Class R-4		7			3			1			Not applicable
Class R-5E		Not applicable			1			1			Not applicable
Class R-5		Not applicable			1			—	²		Not applicable
Class R-6		Not applicable			2			1,055			Not applicable
Total class-specific expenses		$1,666			$820			$1,300			$12

¹	Class B and 529-B shares were fully liquidated on May 5, 2017.
²	Amount less than one thousand.
³	Class T and 529-T shares began investment operations on April 7, 2017.
⁴	Class F-3 shares began investment operations on January 27, 2017.

Trustees’ deferred compensation — Trustees who are unaffiliated with CRMC may elect to defer the cash payment of part or all of their compensation. These deferred amounts, which remain as liabilities of the fund, are treated as if invested in shares of the fund or other American Funds. These amounts represent general, unsecured liabilities of the fund and vary according to the total returns of the selected funds. Trustees’ compensation of $13,000 in the fund’s statement of operations reflects $13,000 in current fees (either paid in cash or deferred) and a net increase of less than $1,000 in the value of the deferred amounts.

Affiliated officers and trustees — Officers and certain trustees of the fund are or may be considered to be affiliated with CRMC, AFD and AFS. No affiliated officers or trustees received any compensation directly from the fund.

Security transactions with related funds — The fund may purchase from, or sell securities to, other funds managed by CRMC (or funds managed by certain affiliates of CRMC) under procedures adopted by the fund’s board of trustees. The funds involved in such transactions are considered related by virtue of having a common investment adviser (or affiliated investment advisers), common trustees and/or common officers. When such transactions occur, each transaction is executed at the current market price of the security and no brokerage commissions or fees are paid in accordance with Rule 17a-7 of the 1940 Act.

Interfund lending — Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the SEC, the fund, along with other CRMC-managed funds (or funds managed by certain affiliates of CRMC), may participate in an interfund lending program. The program provides an alternate credit facility that permits the funds to lend or borrow cash for temporary purposes directly to or from one another, subject to the conditions of the exemptive order. The fund did not lend or borrow cash through the interfund lending program at any time during the year ended November 30, 2017.

22	American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

8. Capital share transactions

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

						Reinvestments of												Net increase
	Sales¹					dividends and distributions						Repurchases¹						(decrease)
Share class	Amount		Shares			Amount			Shares			Amount			Shares			Amount			Shares

Year ended November 30, 2017

Class A	$	384,562		39,675		$	2,749			289		$	(126,211	)		(12,992	)	$	261,100			26,972
Class B²		18		2			—			—			(78	)		(8	)		(60	)		(6	)
Class C		10,430		1,086			51			5			(6,187	)		(643	)		4,294			448
Class T³		10		1			—			—			—			—			10			1
Class F-1		44,555		4,595			232			24			(24,736	)		(2,556	)		20,051			2,063
Class F-2		261,258		26,806			2,300			241			(133,871	)		(13,730	)		129,687			13,317
Class F-3⁴		109,880		11,269			—			—			(11,397	)		(1,166	)		98,483			10,103
Class 529-A		10,518		1,085			84			9			(2,632	)		(271	)		7,970			823
Class 529-B²		2		—	⁵		—			—			(22	)		(2	)		(20	)		(2	)
Class 529-C		2,003		209			11			1			(902	)		(94	)		1,112			116
Class 529-E		410		43			2			—	⁵		(50	)		(5	)		362			38
Class 529-T³		10		1			—			—			—			—			10			1
Class 529-F-1		1,850		190			9			1			(345	)		(35	)		1,514			156
Class R-1		62		7			—	⁵		—	⁵		(8	)		(1	)		54			6
Class R-2		1,678		175			7			1			(468	)		(49	)		1,217			127
Class R-2E		237		24			6			1			(52	)		(6	)		191			19
Class R-3		2,612		271			21			2			(1,402	)		(146	)		1,231			127
Class R-4		2,029		209			17			2			(549	)		(56	)		1,497			155
Class R-5E		2,053		211			—			—			(720	)		(73	)		1,333			138
Class R-5		1,518		156			4			—	⁵		(523	)		(54	)		999			102
Class R-6		1,115,702		114,440			17,088			1,791			(20,181	)		(2,068	)		1,112,609			114,163
Total net increase (decrease)	$	1,951,397		200,455		$	22,581			2,367		$	(330,334	)		(33,955	)	$	1,643,644			168,867

Year ended November 30, 2016

Class A	$	211,074		21,760		$	1,056			114		$	(35,833	)		(3,740	)	$	176,297			18,134
Class B		31		3			1			—	⁵		(145	)		(15	)		(113	)		(12	)
Class C		9,229		960			29			3			(2,423	)		(252	)		6,835			711
Class F-1		39,803		4,088			25			3			(13,138	)		(1,347	)		26,690			2,744
Class F-2		199,065		20,400			227			25			(10,606	)		(1,092	)		188,686			19,333
Class 529-A		6,400		659			32			4			(1,079	)		(112	)		5,353			551
Class 529-B		7		1			—	⁵		—	⁵		(22	)		(3	)		(15	)		(2	)
Class 529-C		1,597		165			4			—	⁵		(180	)		(19	)		1,421			146
Class 529-E		225		23			1			—	⁵		(111	)		(12	)		115			11
Class 529-F-1		749		78			3			—	⁵		(171	)		(18	)		581			60
Class R-1		188		20			1			—	⁵		(145	)		(15	)		44			5
Class R-2		1,051		110			2			—	⁵		(76	)		(8	)		977			102
Class R-2E		2,611		268			—			—			(1,982	)		(205	)		629			63
Class R-3		2,148		220			5			1			(69	)		(7	)		2,084			214
Class R-4		1,662		171			2			—	⁵		(157	)		(16	)		1,507			155
Class R-5E		—		—			—			—			—			—			—			—
Class R-5		202		21			3			—	⁵		(18	)		(2	)		187			19
Class R-6		498,431		51,555			15,211			1,643			(69,919	)		(7,511	)		443,723			45,687
Total net increase (decrease)	$	974,473		100,502		$	16,602			1,793		$	(136,074	)		(14,374	)	$	855,001			87,921

¹	Includes exchanges between share classes of the fund.
²	Class B and 529-B shares were fully liquidated on May 5, 2017.
³	Class T and 529-T shares began investment operations on April 7, 2017.
⁴	Class F-3 shares began investment operations on January 27, 2017.
⁵	Amount less than one thousand.

9. Investment transactions

The fund made purchases and sales of investment securities, excluding short-term securities and U.S. government obligations, if any, of $497,088,000 and $481,830,000, respectively, during the year ended November 30, 2017.

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

10. Ownership concentration

At November 30, 2017, three shareholders held more than 10% of the fund’s outstanding shares. The three shareholders were American Funds 2020 Target Date Retirement Fund, American Funds 2025 Target Date Retirement Fund and American Funds 2030 Target Date Retirement Fund, with aggregate ownership of the fund’s outstanding shares of 19%, 17% and 13%, respectively. CRMC is the investment adviser to the three target date funds.

24	American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

Financial highlights

			Income (loss) from investment operations¹									Dividends and distributions
Period ended	Net asset value, beginning of period		Net investment income (loss)			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^2,3			Net assets, end of period (in millions)			Ratio of expenses to average net assets before waivers/ reimburse- ments			Ratio of expenses to average net assets after waivers/ reimburse- ments³			Ratio of net income (loss) to average net assets³
Class A:
11/30/2017	$	9.70	$	.19		$	(.03	)	$	.16		$	(.09	)	$	—		$	(.09	)	$	9.77		1.64	%	$	533			.73	%		.73	%		1.96	%
11/30/2016		9.45		.13			.24			.37			(.04	)		(.08	)		(.12	)		9.70		3.94			267			.75			.74			1.31
11/30/2015		9.70		.09			(.21	)		(.12	)		(.08	)		(.05	)		(.13	)		9.45		(1.25	)		89			.80			.79			.99
11/30/2014		9.30		.13			.27			.40			—	⁴		—			—	⁴		9.70		4.32	⁵		3			.42	⁵		.42	⁵		1.39	⁵
11/30/2013^6,7		10.00		(.03	)		(.67	)		(.70	)		—			—			—			9.30		(7.00	)^5,8		3			.61	^5,9		.43	^5,9		(.36	)^5,9
Class C:
11/30/2017		9.60		.11			(.02	)		.09			(.05	)		—			(.05	)		9.64		.90			15			1.48			1.48			1.19
11/30/2016		9.39		.06			.24			.30			(.01	)		(.08	)		(.09	)		9.60		3.15			10			1.49			1.48			.60
11/30/2015^6,10		9.67		.03			(.31	)		(.28	)		—			—			—			9.39		(2.90	)⁸		3			1.55	⁹		1.54	⁹		.34	⁹
Class T:
11/30/2017^6,11		9.70		.15			(.07	)		.08			—			—			—			9.78		.82	^5,8		—	¹²		.46	^5,9		.46	^5,9		2.29	^5,9
Class F-1:
11/30/2017		9.70		.19			(.04	)		.15			(.09	)		—			(.09	)		9.76		1.57			49			.75			.75			1.95
11/30/2016		9.45		.18			.19			.37			(.04	)		(.08	)		(.12	)		9.70		3.93			29			.70			.70			1.82
11/30/2015^6,10		9.67		.02			(.24	)		(.22	)		—			—			—			9.45		(2.27	)⁸		2			.81	⁹		.81	⁹		.29	⁹
Class F-2:
11/30/2017		9.73		.22			(.04	)		.18			(.10	)		—			(.10	)		9.81		1.88			339			.49			.49			2.21
11/30/2016		9.47		.18			.21			.39			(.05	)		(.08	)		(.13	)		9.73		4.16			207			.46			.46			1.86
11/30/2015^6,10		9.67		.18			(.38	)		(.20	)		—			—			—			9.47		(2.07	)⁸		18			.55	⁹		.55	⁹		2.18	⁹
Class F-3:
11/30/2017^6,13		9.66		.20			(.06	)		.14			—			—			—			9.80		1.45	⁸		99			.38	⁹		.38	⁹		2.45	⁹
Class 529-A:
11/30/2017		9.71		.19			(.04	)		.15			(.09	)		—			(.09	)		9.77		1.58			16			.72			.72			1.97
11/30/2016		9.45		.14			.25			.39			(.05	)		(.08	)		(.13	)		9.71		4.10			8			.65			.64			1.44
11/30/2015^6,10		9.67		.08			(.30	)		(.22	)		—			—			—			9.45		(2.27	)⁸		3			.74	⁹		.73	⁹		.97	⁹

See end of table for footnotes.

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

Financial highlights (continued)

			Income (loss) from investment operations¹									Dividends and distributions
Period ended	Net asset value, beginning of period		Net investment income (loss)			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^2,3			Net assets, end of period (in millions)			Ratio of expenses to average net assets before waivers/ reimburse- ments			Ratio of expenses to average net assets after waivers/ reimburse- ments³			Ratio of net income (loss) to average net assets³
Class 529-C:
11/30/2017	$	9.60	$	.11		$	(.04	)	$	.07		$	(.05	)	$	—		$	(.05	)	$	9.62		.79	%	$	3			1.54	%		1.54	%		1.13	%
11/30/2016		9.39		.05			.24			.29			—			(.08	)		(.08	)		9.60		3.09			2			1.53			1.53			.48
11/30/2015^6,10		9.67		.03			(.31	)		(.28	)		—			—			—			9.39		(2.90	)⁸		1			1.62	⁹		1.60	⁹		.35	⁹
Class 529-E:
11/30/2017		9.68		.17			(.04	)		.13			(.08	)		—			(.08	)		9.73		1.35			1			.99			.99			1.73
11/30/2016		9.43		.07			.28			.35			(.02	)		(.08	)		(.10	)		9.68		3.75			—	¹²		.97			.97			.77
11/30/2015^6,10		9.67		.09			(.33	)		(.24	)		—			—			—			9.43		(2.48	)⁸		—	¹²		1.04	⁹		1.03	⁹		1.10	⁹
Class 529-T:
11/30/2017^6,11		9.70		.14			(.06	)		.08			—			—			—			9.78		.82	^5,8		—	¹²		.50	^5,9		.50	^5,9		2.25	^5,9
Class 529-F-1:
11/30/2017		9.73		.21			(.05	)		.16			(.09	)		—			(.09	)		9.80		1.72			2			.53			.53			2.20
11/30/2016		9.47		.14			.24			.38			(.04	)		(.08	)		(.12	)		9.73		4.09			1			.55			.55			1.46
11/30/2015^6,10		9.67		.10			(.30	)		(.20	)		—			—			—			9.47		(2.07	)⁸		—	¹²		.64	⁹		.63	⁹		1.27	⁹
Class R-1:
11/30/2017		9.63		.10			(.02	)		.08			(.01	)		—			(.01	)		9.70		.83	⁵		—	¹²		1.55	⁵		1.54	⁵		1.07	⁵
11/30/2016		9.42		.04			.25			.29			—			(.08	)		(.08	)		9.63		3.08	⁵		—	¹²		1.50	⁵		1.49	⁵		.39	⁵
11/30/2015^6,10		9.67		.07			(.32	)		(.25	)		—			—			—			9.42		(2.58	)^5,8		—	¹²		1.41	^5,9		1.41	^5,9		.86	^5,9
Class R-2:
11/30/2017		9.59		.12			(.03	)		.09			(.06	)		—			(.06	)		9.62		.90			2			1.41			1.41			1.28
11/30/2016		9.41		.06			.23			.29			(.03	)		(.08	)		(.11	)		9.59		3.12			1			1.49			1.49			.62
11/30/2015^6,10		9.67		(.04	)		(.22	)		(.26	)		—			—			—			9.41		(2.69	)^5,8		—	¹²		1.59	^5,9		1.58	^5,9		(.51	)^5,9
Class R-2E:
11/30/2017		9.71		.14			(.03	)		.11			(.09	)		—			(.09	)		9.73		1.16			1			1.21			1.21			1.40
11/30/2016		9.46		.17			.19			.36			(.03	)		(.08	)		(.11	)		9.71		3.88			1			.95			.94			1.79
11/30/2015^6,10		9.67		.04			(.25	)		(.21	)		—			—			—			9.46		(2.17	)^5,8		—	¹²		.74	^5,9		.72	^5,9		.51	^5,9

26	American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

			Income (loss) from investment operations¹									Dividends and distributions
Period ended	Net asset value, beginning of period		Net investment income (loss)			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^2,3			Net assets, end of period (in millions)			Ratio of expenses to average net assets before waivers/ reimburse- ments			Ratio of expenses to average net assets after waivers/ reimburse- ments³			Ratio of net income (loss) to average net assets³
Class R-3:
11/30/2017	$	9.65	$	.16		$	(.03	)	$	.13		$	(.08	)	$	—		$	(.08	)	$	9.70		1.40	%	$	4			.99	%		.99	%		1.68	%
11/30/2016		9.43		.09			.25			.34			(.04	)		(.08	)		(.12	)		9.65		3.59			2			1.01			1.01			.92
11/30/2015^6,10		9.67		.02			(.26	)		(.24	)		—			—			—			9.43		(2.48	)⁸		1			1.17	⁹		1.16	⁹		.20	⁹
Class R-4:
11/30/2017		9.70		.19			(.03	)		.16			(.09	)		—			(.09	)		9.77		1.64			3			.72			.72			1.98
11/30/2016		9.45		.13			.24			.37			(.04	)		(.08	)		(.12	)		9.70		3.99			2			.69			.69			1.37
11/30/2015^6,10		9.67		.04			(.26	)		(.22	)		—			—			—			9.45		(2.27	)⁸		—	¹²		.79	⁹		.79	⁹		.46	⁹
Class R-5E:
11/30/2017		9.70		.20			(.03	)		.17			(.08	)		—			(.08	)		9.79		1.78			1			.50			.50			2.08
11/30/2016		9.45		.12			.27			.39			(.06	)		(.08	)		(.14	)		9.70		4.16			—	¹²		.60			.60			1.21
11/30/2015^6,14		9.43		—	⁴		.02			.02			—			—			—			9.45		.21	⁸		—	¹²		.02	⁸		.02	⁸		(.03	)⁸
Class R-5:
11/30/2017		9.73		.24			(.05	)		.19			(.10	)		—			(.10	)		9.82		1.95			2			.44			.44			2.43
11/30/2016		9.47		.14			.26			.40			(.06	)		(.08	)		(.14	)		9.73		4.21			—	¹²		.46			.46			1.45
11/30/2015^6,10		9.67		.10			(.30	)		(.20	)		—			—			—			9.47		(2.07	)⁸		—	¹²		.52	⁹		.52	⁹		1.22	⁹
Class R-6:
11/30/2017		9.74		.22			(.04	)		.18			(.10	)		—			(.10	)		9.82		1.89			2,682			.38			.38			2.29
11/30/2016		9.47		.15			.26			.41			(.06	)		(.08	)		(.14	)		9.74		4.33			1,547			.39			.39			1.53
11/30/2015		9.69		.03			(.12	)		(.09	)		(.08	)		(.05	)		(.13	)		9.47		(.95	)		1,072			.48			.46			.36
11/30/2014		9.29		.13			.27			.40			—	⁴		—			—	⁴		9.69		4.33			521			.46			.46			1.34
11/30/2013^6,15		9.33		—	⁴		(.04	)		(.04	)		—			—			—			9.29		(.43	)⁸		204			.03	⁸		.03	⁸		—	^8,16

	Year ended				For the period
	2017	2016	2015	2014	12/14/2012 to 11/30/2013
Portfolio turnover rate for all share classes	123%	295%	801%	923%	543%

¹	Based on average shares outstanding.
²	Total returns exclude any applicable sales charges, including contingent deferred sales charges.
³	This column reflects the impact, if any, of certain waivers/reimbursements from CRMC. During the periods shown, CRMC reduced fees for investment advisory services and/or reimbursed a portion of transfer agent services fees for some share classes.
⁴	Amount less than $.01.
⁵	All or a significant portion of assets in this class consisted of seed capital invested by CRMC and/or its affiliates. Fees for distribution services are not charged or accrued on these seed capital assets. If such fees were paid by the fund on seed capital assets, fund expenses would have been higher and net income and total return would have been lower.
⁶	Based on operations for the period shown and, accordingly, is not representative of a full year.
⁷	For the period December 14, 2012, commencement of operations, through November 30, 2013.
⁸	Not annualized.
⁹	Annualized.
¹⁰	This share class began investment operations on January 23, 2015.
¹¹	Class T and 529-T shares began investment operations on April 7, 2017.
¹²	Amount less than $1 million.
¹³	Class F-3 shares began investment operations on January 27, 2017.
¹⁴	Class R-5E shares began investment operations on November 20, 2015.
¹⁵	Class R-6 shares were offered beginning November 1, 2013.
¹⁶	Amount less than .01%.

See Notes to Financial Statements

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Board of Trustees and Shareholders of American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

In our opinion, the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities, including the investment portfolio, and the related statements of operations and of changes in net assets and the financial highlights present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund (the “Fund”) as of November 30, 2017, 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. These financial statements and financial highlights (hereafter referred to as “financial statements”) are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits of these financial statements 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 are free of material misstatement. An audit 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, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits, which included confirmation of securities as of November 30, 2017 by correspondence with the custodian and brokers, provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Los Angeles, California
January 12, 2018

28	American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

Expense example

unaudited

As a fund shareholder, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, such as initial sales charges on purchase payments and contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions (loads), and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees, distribution and service (12b-1) fees, and other expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the fund so you can compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds. The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire six-month period (June 1, 2017, through November 30, 2017).

Actual expenses:

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

Hypothetical example for comparison purposes:

The second line of each share class in the table on the following page provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the actual expense ratio for the share class and an assumed rate of return of 5.00% per year before expenses, which is not the actual return of the share class. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5.00% hypothetical example with the 5.00% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Notes:

Retirement plan participants may be subject to certain fees charged by the plan sponsor, and Class F-1, F-2, F-3 and 529-F-1 shareholders may be subject to fees charged by financial intermediaries, typically ranging from 0.75% to 1.50% of assets annually depending on services offered. You can estimate the impact of these fees by adding the amount of the fees to the total estimated expenses you paid on your account during the period as calculated above. In addition, your ending account value would be lower by the amount of these fees.

Note that the expenses shown in the table on the following page are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads). Therefore, the second line of each share class in the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

	Beginning account value 6/1/2017		Ending account value 11/30/2017		Expenses paid during period*		Annualized expense ratio
Class A – actual return	$	1,000.00	$	1,000.00	$	3.61		.72	%
Class A – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,021.46		3.65		.72
Class C – actual return		1,000.00		995.87		7.30		1.46
Class C – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,017.75		7.38		1.46
Class T – actual return		1,000.00		1,001.02		2.31		.46
Class T – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,022.76		2.33		.46
Class F-1 – actual return		1,000.00		998.98		3.71		.74
Class F-1 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,021.36		3.75		.74
Class F-2 – actual return		1,000.00		1,001.02		2.36		.47
Class F-2 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,022.71		2.38		.47
Class F-3 – actual return		1,000.00		1,002.04		1.91		.38
Class F-3 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,023.16		1.93		.38
Class 529-A – actual return		1,000.00		998.97		3.71		.74
Class 529-A – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,021.36		3.75		.74
Class 529-C – actual return		1,000.00		995.86		7.61		1.52
Class 529-C – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,017.45		7.69		1.52
Class 529-E – actual return		1,000.00		998.97		4.86		.97
Class 529-E – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,020.21		4.91		.97
Class 529-T – actual return		1,000.00		1,001.02		2.51		.50
Class 529-T – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,022.56		2.54		.50
Class 529-F-1 – actual return		1,000.00		1,001.02		2.56		.51
Class 529-F-1 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,022.51		2.59		.51
Class R-1 – actual return		1,000.00		995.89		7.61		1.52
Class R-1 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,017.45		7.69		1.52
Class R-2 – actual return		1,000.00		995.86		7.05		1.41
Class R-2 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,018.00		7.13		1.41
Class R-2E – actual return		1,000.00		997.95		5.86		1.17
Class R-2E – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,019.20		5.92		1.17
Class R-3 – actual return		1,000.00		998.97		4.96		.99
Class R-3 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,020.10		5.01		.99
Class R-4 – actual return		1,000.00		1,000.00		3.56		.71
Class R-4 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,021.51		3.60		.71
Class R-5E – actual return		1,000.00		1,001.02		2.56		.51
Class R-5E – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,022.51		2.59		.51
Class R-5 – actual return		1,000.00		1,001.02		2.11		.42
Class R-5 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,022.96		2.13		.42
Class R-6 – actual return		1,000.00		1,001.02		1.81		.36
Class R-6 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,023.26		1.83		.36

*	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).

30	American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

Tax information

unaudited

We are required to advise you of the federal tax status of certain distributions received by shareholders during the fiscal year. The fund hereby designates the following amounts for the fund’s fiscal year ended November 30, 2017:

U.S. government income that may be exempt from state taxation

$51,218,000

Individual shareholders should refer to their Form 1099 or other tax information, which will be mailed in January 2018, to determine the calendar year amounts to be included on their 2017 tax returns. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors.

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

This page intentionally left blank.

32	American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

This page intentionally left blank.

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

Board of trustees and other officers

Independent trustees¹

Name and year of birth	Year first elected a trustee of the fund²	Principal occupation(s) during past five years	Number of portfolios in fund complex overseen by trustee	Other directorships³ held by trustee
William H. Baribault, 1945	2012	CEO and President, Richard Nixon Foundation; Chairman of the Board and CEO, Oakwood Enterprises (private investment and consulting)	80	General Finance Corporation
James G. Ellis, 1947	2012	Dean and Professor of Marketing, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California	80	Mercury General Corporation
Nariman Farvadin, 1956	2018	President, Stevens Institute of Technology	77	None
Leonard R. Fuller, 1946	2012	Private investor; former President and CEO, Fuller Consulting (financial management consulting)	80	None
Mary Davis Holt, 1950	2015–2016 2017	Principal, Mary Davis Holt Enterprises, LLC (leadership development consulting); former Partner, Flynn Heath Holt Leadership, LLC (leadership consulting); former COO, Time Life Inc. (1993–2003)	77	None
R. Clark Hooper, 1946 Chairman of the Board (Independent and Non-Executive)	2012	Private investor	80	None
Merit E. Janow, 1958	2012	Dean and Professor, Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs	79	Mastercard Incorporated; Trimble Inc.
Laurel B. Mitchell, PhD, 1955	2012	Distinguished Professor of Accounting, University of Redlands; former Director, Accounting Program, University of Redlands	76	None
Frank M. Sanchez, 1943	2012	Principal, The Sanchez Family Corporation dba McDonald’s Restaurants (McDonald’s licensee)	76	None
Margaret Spellings, 1957	2012	President, The University of North Carolina; former President, George W. Bush Foundation; former President and CEO, Margaret Spellings & Company (public policy and strategic consulting); former President, U.S. Chamber Foundation and Senior Advisor to the President and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce	81	None
Alexandra Trower, 1964	2018	Executive Vice President, Global Communications and Corporate Officer, The Estée Lauder Companies	67	None

We are deeply saddened by the loss of Dr. Steadman Upham, who passed away on July 30, 2017. Dr. Upham served as an independent trustee on the boards of several American Funds since 2001. His wise counsel and friendship will be missed.

34	American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

Interested trustees^4,5

Name, year of birth and position with fund	Year first elected a trustee or officer of the fund²	Principal occupation(s) during past five years and positions held with affiliated entities or the principal underwriter of the fund	Number of portfolios in fund complex overseen by trustee	Other directorships³ held by trustee
John H. Smet, 1956 Vice Chairman of the Board	2012	Partner — Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research and Management Company; Director, Capital Research and Management Company	22	None
Michael C. Gitlin, 1970	2015	Partner — Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research and Management Company; Director, The Capital Group Companies, Inc.;⁶served as Head of Fixed Income at a large investment management firm prior to joining Capital Research and Management Company in 2015	18	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) 421-4225 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 officers⁵

Name, year of birth and position with fund	Year first elected an officer of the fund²	Principal occupation(s) during past five years and positions held with affiliated entities or the principal underwriter of the fund
David A. Hoag, 1965 President	2012	Partner — Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research and Management Company; Partner — Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Bank and Trust Company;⁶ Director, The Capital Group Companies, Inc.⁶
Kristine M. Nishiyama, 1970 Senior Vice President	2012	Senior Vice President and Senior Counsel — Fund Business Management Group, Capital Research and Management Company; Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Capital Bank and Trust Company⁶
Ritchie Tuazon, 1978 Vice President	2015	Vice President — Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research and Management Company
Steven I. Koszalka, 1964 Secretary	2012	Vice President — Fund Business Management Group, Capital Research and Management Company
Brian C. Janssen, 1972 Treasurer	2012	Vice President — Investment Operations, Capital Research and Management Company
Jane Y. Chung, 1974 Assistant Secretary	2014	Associate — Fund Business Management Group, Capital Research and Management Company
Dori Laskin, 1951 Assistant Treasurer	2012	Vice President — Investment Operations, Capital Research and Management Company
Gregory F. Niland, 1971 Assistant Treasurer	2015	Vice President — Investment Operations, Capital Research and Management Company

¹	The 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.
²	Trustees and officers of the fund serve until their resignation, removal or retirement.
³	This includes all directorships/trusteeships (other than those in the American Funds or other funds managed by Capital Research and Management Company or its affiliates) that are held by each trustee as a trustee or director of a public company or a registered investment company.
⁴	The term interested trustee refers to a trustee who is an “interested person” 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).
⁵	All of the trustees and/or officers listed are officers and/or directors/trustees of one or more of the other funds for which Capital Research and Management Company serves as investment adviser.
⁶	Company affiliated with Capital Research and Management Company.

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

Offices of the fund and of the investment adviser

Capital Research and Management Company

333 South Hope Street

Los Angeles, CA 90071-1406

6455 Irvine Center Drive

Irvine, CA 92618-4518

Transfer agent for shareholder accounts

American Funds Service Company

(Write to the address near you.)

P.O. Box 6007

Indianapolis, IN 46206-6007

P.O. Box 2280

Norfolk, VA 23501-2280

Custodian of assets

Bank of New York Mellon

One Wall Street

New York, NY 10286

Counsel

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

300 South Grand Avenue, 22nd Floor

Los Angeles, CA 90071-3132

Independent registered public accounting firm

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

601 South Figueroa Street

Los Angeles, CA 90017-3874

Principal underwriter

American Funds Distributors, Inc.

333 South Hope Street

Los Angeles, CA 90071-1406

36	American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund

Investors should carefully consider investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other important information is contained in the fund prospectus and summary prospectus, which can be obtained from your financial professional and should be read carefully before investing. You may also call American Funds Service Company (AFS) at (800) 421-4225 or visit the American Funds website at americanfunds.com. Fund shares offered through American Funds Distributors, Inc.

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

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund files a complete list of its portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-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 by calling AFS.

This report is for the information of shareholders of American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund, but it also may be used as sales literature when preceded or accompanied by the current prospectus or summary prospectus, which gives details about charges, expenses, investment objectives and operating policies of the fund. If used as sales material after March 31, 2018, this report must be accompanied by an American Funds statistical update for the most recently completed calendar quarter.

Bloomberg^® is a trademark of Bloomberg Finance L.P. (collectively with its affiliates, “Bloomberg”). Barclays^® is a trademark of Barclays Bank Plc (collectively with its affiliates, “Barclays”), used under license. Neither Bloomberg nor Barclays approves or endorses this material, guarantees the accuracy or completeness of any information herein and, to the maximum extent allowed by law, neither shall have any liability or responsibility for injury or damages arising in connection therewith.

American Funds from Capital Group

The Capital Advantage^SM

Since 1931, American Funds, part of Capital Group, has helped investors pursue long-term investment success. Our consistent approach — in combination with The Capital System^SM— has resulted in a superior long-term track record.

	Aligned with investor success
	We base our decisions on a long-term perspective, which we believe aligns our goals with the interests of our clients. Our portfolio managers average 27 years of investment experience, including 21 years at our company, reflecting a career commitment to our long-term approach.¹

	The Capital System
	The Capital System combines individual accountability with teamwork. Funds using The Capital System are divided into portions that are managed independently by investment professionals with diverse backgrounds, ages and investment approaches. An extensive global research effort is the backbone of our system.

	American Funds’ superior long-term track record
	Equity funds have beaten their Lipper peer indexes in 93% of 10-year periods and 98% of 20-year periods. Fixed income funds have beaten their Lipper indexes in 80% of 10-year periods and 80% of 20-year periods.²Fund management fees have been among the lowest in the industry.³

	¹	Portfolio manager experience as of December 31, 2016.
	²	Based on Class F-2 share results for rolling periods through December 31, 2016. Periods covered are the shorter of the fund’s lifetime or since the comparable Lipper index inception date (except Capital Income Builder and SMALLCAP World Fund, for which the Lipper average was used). Expenses differ for each share class, so results will vary. Class F-2 shares were first offered on August 1, 2008. Class F-2 share results prior to the date of first sale are hypothetical based on Class A share results without a sales charge, adjusted for typical estimated expenses. Results for certain funds with an inception date after August 1, 2008, also include hypothetical returns because those funds’ Class F-2 shares sold after the funds’ date of first offering. Please see americanfunds.com for more information on specific expense adjustments and the actual dates of first sale.
	³	On average, our management fees were in the lowest quintile 73% of the time, based on the 20-year period ended December 31, 2016, versus comparable Lipper categories, excluding funds of funds.

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 800/421-9225 or to the Secretary of the Registrant, 6455 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine, California 92618.

ITEM 3 – Audit Committee Financial Expert

The Registrant’s board has determined that Laurel B. Mitchell, 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:
	2016	$53,000
	2017	$62,000

b) Audit-Related Fees:
	2016	None
	2017	None

c) Tax Fees:
	2016	$5,000
	2017	$6,000
	The tax fees consist of professional services relating to the preparation of the Registrant’s tax returns.

d) All Other Fees:
	2016	None
	2017	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:
	2016	$17,000
	2017	None
	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 issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

c) Tax Fees:
	2016	$9,000
	2017	None
	The tax fees consist of consulting services relating to the Registrant’s investments.


d) All Other Fees:
	2016	$2,000
	2017	None
	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 $35,000 for fiscal year 2016 and $56,000 for fiscal year 2017. 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

Not applicable, insofar as the schedule is included as part of the report to shareholders filed under Item 1 of this Form.

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 FUNDS INFLATION LINKED BOND FUND

	By /s/ David A. Hoag
	David A. Hoag, President and Principal Executive Officer

	Date: January 31, 2017

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 A. Hoag

David A. Hoag, President and

Principal Executive Officer

Date: January 31, 2017

By /s/ Brian C. Janssen

Brian C. Janssen, Treasurer and

Principal Financial Officer

Date: January 31, 2017