N-CSR 1 fi_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: 811-00032

 

American Funds Fundamental Investors

(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: (949) 975-5000

 

Date of fiscal year end: December 31

 

Date of reporting period: December 31, 2022

 

Hong T. Le

American Funds Fundamental Investors

6455 Irvine Center Drive

Irvine, California 92618

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

 
 

  

ITEM 1 – Reports to Stockholders

 

 

Fundamental Investors®

 

Annual report
for the year ended
December 31, 2022

 

 

 

Flexibility can help
uncover value in any
market environment

 

 

Fundamental Investors seeks long-term growth of capital and income.

 

This fund is one of more than 40 offered by Capital Group, home of American Funds, one of the nation’s largest mutual fund families. For over 90 years, Capital Group 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 F-2 shares. Class A share results are shown at net asset value unless otherwise indicated. If a sales charge (maximum 5.75%) had been deducted from Class A shares, 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. 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 capitalgroup.com.

 

Refer to page 4 for Class F-2 and Class A share results with relevant sales charges deducted and fund expenses. For other share class results, visit capitalgroup.com and americanfundsretirement.com.

 

Investment results assume all distributions are reinvested and reflect applicable fees and expenses. When applicable, results reflect fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, without which they would have been lower. Visit capitalgroup.com for more information.

 

The fund’s 30-day yield as of December 31, 2022, was 1.01% for Class F-2 shares and 0.74% for Class A shares, calculated in accordance with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) formula. The fund’s 12-month distribution rate as of that date was 1.77% for Class F-2 shares and 1.46% for Class A shares. Both Class A share values reflect the 5.75% maximum sales charge. The SEC yield reflects the rate at which the fund is earning income on its current portfolio of securities while the distribution rate reflects the fund’s past dividends paid to shareholders. Accordingly, the fund’s SEC yield and distribution rate may differ.

 

Investing outside the United States may be subject to risks, such as currency fluctuations, periods of illiquidity and price volatility. These risks may be heightened in connection with investments in developing countries. 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
   
4 The value of a long-term perspective
   
6 Investment portfolio
   
13 Financial statements
   
37 Board of trustees and other officers

 

Fellow investors:

 

For the 12 months ended December 31, 2022, Fundamental Investors declined -16.49%. This return includes reinvested dividends and capital gain distributions totaling $3.14 a share. Distributions include regular quarterly dividends of approximately 82 cents a share, a 28 cents a share special dividend and long-term capital gain payments of $2.04 a share.

 

The fund’s results outpaced its primary benchmark, the unmanaged S&P 500 Index, a market capitalization-weighted index based on the results of approximately 500 widely held common stocks, which slid –18.11%.

 

Fundamental Investors has outpaced the S&P 500 over its lifetime, but it has lagged its benchmark over five- and 10-year periods. Although the annual advantages may seem small, when compounded over longer time frames, they can translate into added wealth for long-term investors.

 

Few places left unscathed by financial market volatility

At the beginning of 2022, few could have predicted the magnitude of the wave of volatility that swept financial markets. Increased interest rates, the transition from quantitative easing to quantitative tightening, The Russia-Ukraine war and Chinese lockdowns were economic headwinds over the course of 2022. While there was some uncertainty in equity and fixed income markets, the extent to which pervasive supply chain and labor shortages would impact businesses was unknown.

 

After reaching a record high in early January, the U.S. equity market, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, began declining and ended the first half of the year down -20.0%. By late February, the equity market’s slide had been relatively modest, but geopolitics injected even more uncertainty into a fragile environment. Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine, sparking the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II. The conflict and subsequent sanctions enacted by the rest of Europe and many other countries throughout the world further heightened tensions.

 

Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed) moved to combat quickly escalating price inflation and raised its benchmark interest rate in March. By year end, the Fed was deep into the most aggressive financial tightening since the early 1980s and continued to signal further rate hikes as stubbornly high inflation and labor market tightness persisted.

 

Results at a glance

 

For periods ended December 31, 2022, with all distributions reinvested

 

    Cumulative total returns   Average annual total returns
    1 year   5 years   10 years   Lifetime1 
                 
Fundamental Investors (Class F-2 shares)2      –16.49 %     7.16 %     11.37 %     12.18 %
Fundamental Investors (Class A shares)     –16.67       6.93       11.14       11.97  
S&P 500 Index3      –18.11       9.42       12.56       11.50  

 

Past results are not predictive of results in future periods.

 

1  Lifetime returns are from August 1, 1978, the date Capital Research and Management Company began managing the fund.
2  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 the results of the original share class of the fund without a sales charge, adjusted for typical estimated expenses. Visit capitalgroup.com for more information on specific expense adjustments and the actual dates of first sale.
3  Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices. The market index is unmanaged and, therefore, has no expenses. Investors cannot invest directly in an index. S&P 500 Index is a market capitalization-weighted index based on the results of approximately 500 widely held common stocks. This index is unmanaged, and its results include reinvested dividends and/or distributions but do not reflect the effect of sales charges, commissions, account fees, expenses or U.S. federal income taxes.
   
Fundamental Investors 1
 

Overall, financial markets struggled throughout the year as concerns lingered over the impact of high inflation and higher interest rates, as well as deteriorating fundamentals in some pockets of the market, especially in some of the largest technology-oriented public companies. This resulted in the S&P 500 Index producing the poorest return since 2008, while the total return of the U.S. bond market, as measured by the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Index, was the worst in over 40 years.

 

Political uncertainty also weighed on sentiment; tight midterm U.S. congressional and Senate races clouded the public policy outlook. However, in August, the CHIPS and Science Act was signed into law to help promote more domestic manufacturing of semiconductors (microchips) and components which had been a key part of global supply chain shortages in recent years.

 

After over a decade of strong returns, growth-oriented companies saw their fortunes change drastically in 2022. The Russell 1000 Growth Index returned –29.14%, reflecting a risk-off attitude among investors. Meanwhile, the Russell 1000 Value Index returned –7.54%, signaling investors may have preferred companies with strong earnings, cash flow, solid balance sheets and the ability to return value to shareholders through dividends.

 

Inside the portfolio

The fund’s portfolio is carefully constructed using bottom-up, fundamental investment research that allows the fund to maintain high-conviction, diversified investments across a variety of industries. In 2022, investment selections among consumer discretionary and consumer staples companies were the largest contributors to relative returns.

 

In the consumer staples sector, investments in tobacco companies such as Philip Morris (+6.54%), Altria (-3.55%) and U.K.-based British American Tobacco (+7.22%) proved helpful. These companies’ stable cash flows and ability to pay and grow their healthy dividends in more difficult economic and market environments were attractive. It is important to note, however, that managers remain selective in this area of the market and significantly reduced positions in Altria throughout the year.

 

In the consumer discretionary sector, selective investments in several mega-cap companies were a tailwind for results. The fund held only a small position in Amazon (–49.62%) and did not hold shares of Tesla (–65.03%).

 

In a period of significant downturns and volatility, the fund’s cash allocation was another top relative contributor during 2022.

 

Among the fund’s largest detractors were investment selection in the financials, communication services and energy sectors. In the financials sector, higher interest rates hurt the fund’s investments in alternative asset managers KKR (–37.69%) and Blackstone (–42.66%). While the fund generated strong returns from its energy holdings, the fund’s overall weighting in energy was more modest than the index, leading to a slight drag on relative results.

 

Overall, the portfolio is well balanced as managers see opportunities across a broad range of sectors.

 

Managers’ company-by-company, selective approach was exemplified by the fund’s investments in the health care sector. The fund’s managers continue to identify attractive opportunities with a handful of companies, including several biopharmaceutical companies that are converting science into treatment. More than half of the fund’s investment in the health care sector is in just six companies which are among the fund’s largest 20 holdings.

 

Top-10 holding Eli Lilly (+32.45%) has leveraged its strong diabetes care pipeline to develop medicines to treat obesity, which affects more than 1 billion people worldwide. Similarly, AstraZeneca (+15.58%), another top-10 holding, continues to accelerate therapy development channels including vaccines developed using mRNA technologies, most notably its COVID-19 vaccine.

 

Fundamental Investors has the flexibility to invest up to 35% of assets outside of the U.S., and managers employed this flexibility to invest in attractive opportunities presented by non-U.S. companies. British American Tobacco (+7.22%), AstraZeneca (+15.58%) and Canadian Natural Resources (+31.42%) are among the fund’s top-20 holdings. At the end of the year, approximately 17.5% of the portfolio was invested outside of the U.S., approximately 2.0% above the average during the past 10 years.

 

Pursuing growth and income with a diversified portfolio

We believe 2022’s dramatic shift in market dynamics highlighted the value of a long-term, fundamentals-driven approach and the need for selectivity. As financial conditions tighten, geopolitical tensions rise and businesses and

 

Past results are not predictive of results in future periods.

 

2 Fundamental Investors
 

consumers feel the sting of higher inflation, we believe there will be a renewed focus by the market on the merits of individual companies for investment opportunities.

 

Over the past year, several themes emerged that managers are diligently watching, as they may shape financial markets in the future.

 

Inflation seemingly peaked in mid-2022 but remains well above the past decade’s average rate. Companies that possess the pricing power to pass along higher costs to consumers while maintaining demand for their products should be well positioned. Top-20 holding Dollar Tree may hold an advantageous position in the market to employ pricing power. Also, a new management team has renewed enthusiasm surrounding the company’s prospects. Dollar Tree accounted for the largest net position increase in the fund for 2022.

 

Higher interest rates brought an end to what could loosely be described as a “free money” era that began following the Great Recession, where some companies deftly employed financial engineering and took advantage of ultra-low interest rates to finance activities that returned value to shareholders and/or to grow their business. The Fed’s financial tightening continues to withdraw liquidity from the market and puts a premium on strong balance sheets and traditional earnings growth.

 

The global supply chain issues that began because of the COVID-19 pandemic began to ease in 2022, but the focus on globalization is now counterbalanced by an offsetting focus on “onshoring” at many companies.

 

Companies that relied upon lower cost labor in emerging market countries to produce goods saw rising inflation, higher energy costs and lingering COVID-19 outbreaks eat away at margins and, in some cases, cause the once advantageous cost structure to diminish substantially.

 

Considering this, onshoring or bringing manufacturing and supply chains closer to or within the borders of countries with significant consumer demand is a trend that portfolio managers are carefully watching.

 

This onshoring trend has been supported by some governments. In the U.S., the global chip shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a large spending bill to encourage more domestic microchip production. The semiconductor industry has been a consistent area of emphasis in the portfolio in recent years and was the largest industry group invested in the fund at the end of 2022 at 8.7%. This industry group accounts for over 40% of the fund’s investment in the broader information technology sector, a level similar to prior years.

 

As the period ahead remains uncertain, we believe our company-by-company, research-driven, flexible approach will help identify attractive long-term investment opportunities across sectors to maintain a well-diversified portfolio that can navigate a variety of market environments.

 

New changes in the fund

We would like to celebrate the retirement of portfolio manager Dina Perry at the end of 2022, whose investment career spanned more than four decades. We thank Dina for her significant contributions during her nearly 30 years as an investment analyst and portfolio manager on Fundamental Investors.

 

We would also like to welcome two new portfolio managers to the fund. Diana Wagner, with 26 years of industry experience and 22 years at Capital Group, and Dimitrije Mitrinovic, with 20 years of industry experience and 15 years at Capital Group, became portfolio managers for Fundamental Investors in 2022. We look forward to their contributions.

 

We thank you for your continued support and investment in Fundamental Investors.

 

Sincerely,

Mark L. Casey
Co-President

 

Brady L. Enright
Co-President

 

February 9, 2023

 

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

 

Past results are not predictive of results in future periods.

 

Fundamental Investors 3
 

The value of a long-term perspective

 

 

Fund results shown are for Class F-2 shares and Class A shares. Class A share results reflect deduction of the maximum sales charge of 5.75% on the $10,000 investment¹; thus, the net amount invested was $9,425.2 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. 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 capitalgroup.com.

 

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 the results of the original share class of the fund without a sales charge, adjusted for typical estimated expenses. Visit capitalgroup.com for more information on specific expense adjustments and the actual dates of first sale.

 

The results shown are before taxes on fund distributions and sale of fund shares.

 

1 As outlined in the prospectus, the sales charge is reduced for accounts (and aggregated investments) of $25,000 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 maximum initial sales charge was 8.50% prior to July 1, 1988.
3 Includes reinvested dividends and reinvested capital gain distributions.
4 Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. S&P 500 Index is unmanaged and, therefore, has no expenses. Investors cannot invest directly in an index.
5 For the period August 1, 1978 (when Capital Research and Management Company became investment adviser), through December 31, 1978.
   

 

 

4 Fundamental Investors
 

How a hypothetical $10,000 investment has grown

The chart illustrates how a hypothetical $10,000 investment in Fundamental Investors Class F-2 and Class A shares grew between August 1, 1978 — when Capital Research and Management Company became the fund’s investment adviser — and December 31, 2022. The chart also shows how the unmanaged S&P 500 Index fared over this same period.

 

 

Fundamental Investors 5
 

Investment portfolio December 31, 2022

 

Sector diversification Percent of net assets

 

 

Country diversification by domicile   Percent of
net assets
United States     78.25 %
Canada     4.46  
United Kingdom     4.18  
Eurozone*     3.05  
South Korea     .94  
Denmark     .80  
Switzerland     .77  
Brazil     .66  
Sweden     .54  
Other countries     2.15  
Short-term securities & other assets less liabilities     4.20  
* Countries using the euro as a common currency; those represented in the fund’s portfolio are Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain.

 

Common stocks 95.74%   Shares     Value
(000)
 
Information technology 19.42%                
Microsoft Corp.     18,693,983     $ 4,483,191  
Broadcom, Inc.     8,013,911       4,480,818  
Applied Materials, Inc.     12,043,532       1,172,799  
Apple, Inc.     6,868,666       892,446  
TE Connectivity, Ltd.     6,438,767       739,170  
Mastercard, Inc., Class A     2,009,294       698,692  
Motorola Solutions, Inc.     2,639,662       680,267  
Micron Technology, Inc.     11,746,321       587,081  
ASML Holding NV     925,540       500,998  
ASML Holding NV (New York registered) (ADR)     34,283       18,732  
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.     23,210,000       338,278  
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. (ADR)     2,250,991       167,676  
Arista Networks, Inc.1     3,772,849       457,835  
Wolfspeed, Inc.1,2     6,267,309       432,695  
SK hynix, Inc.     6,848,000       412,194  
Visa, Inc., Class A     1,927,411       400,439  
Fiserv, Inc.1     3,561,000       359,910  
KLA Corp.     881,544       332,369  
STMicroelectronics NV     7,375,752       262,208  
Texas Instruments, Inc.     1,580,000       261,048  
Ceridian HCM Holding, Inc.1     3,633,899       233,115  
SAP SE     1,933,818       199,569  
Paychex, Inc.     1,615,675       186,707  
Cisco Systems, Inc.     3,650,000       173,886  
ServiceNow, Inc.1     402,053       156,105  
Shopify, Inc., Class A, subordinate voting shares1     4,071,090       141,308  
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.     2,075,806       140,843  
VeriSign, Inc.1     675,258       138,725  
HubSpot, Inc.1     466,000       134,735  
Intel Corp.     4,760,000       125,807  
Edenred SA     2,190,964       119,220  
Block, Inc., Class A1     1,855,000       116,568  
Concentrix Corp.     746,975       99,467  
Amadeus IT Group SA, Class A, non-registered shares1     1,806,421       93,157  
MongoDB, Inc., Class A1     461,300       90,802  
NetApp, Inc.     1,494,303       89,748  
EPAM Systems, Inc.1     272,134       89,189  
MicroStrategy, Inc., Class A1     510,069       72,210  
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.1     851,000       55,119  
Keyence Corp.     138,800       54,341  
Adobe, Inc.1     161,399       54,316  
CDW Corp.     275,000       49,110  
RingCentral, Inc., Class A1     1,014,475       35,912  

 

6 Fundamental Investors
   

Common stocks (continued)   Shares     Value
(000)
 
Information technology (continued)                
SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc.     503,000     $ 26,186  
NVIDIA Corp.     175,000       25,575  
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.     488,800       21,555  
              20,402,121  
                 
Health care 15.09%                
UnitedHealth Group, Inc.     4,334,404       2,298,014  
Centene Corp.1     22,096,476       1,812,132  
Eli Lilly and Company     3,984,160       1,457,565  
Pfizer, Inc.     23,765,914       1,217,765  
AstraZeneca PLC     8,412,503       1,141,706  
AstraZeneca PLC (ADR)     1,054,930       71,524  
Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.     1,967,885       1,083,695  
Novo Nordisk A/S, Class B     5,921,465       801,766  
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.1     989,711       714,067  
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.1     2,526,823       600,500  
Abbott Laboratories     4,860,208       533,602  
Cigna Corp.     1,318,900       437,004  
Molina Healthcare, Inc.1     1,301,245       429,697  
Seagen, Inc.1     2,887,657       371,093  
Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.1     873,133       252,143  
Elevance Health, Inc.     478,003       245,201  
ResMed, Inc.     1,063,977       221,446  
Edwards Lifesciences Corp.1     2,795,128       208,545  
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. (ADR)1     22,731,576       207,312  
AbbVie, Inc.     1,254,100       202,675  
Horizon Therapeutics PLC1     1,562,639       177,828  
Danaher Corp.     645,406       171,304  
Agilon Health, Inc.1     10,363,000       167,259  
Merck & Co., Inc.     1,480,000       164,206  
Humana, Inc.     233,500       119,596  
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company     1,428,179       102,758  
Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.     798,555       101,816  
Rede D’Or Sao Luiz SA     16,663,000       93,355  
NovoCure, Ltd.1     1,127,961       82,736  
Gilead Sciences, Inc.     877,849       75,363  
BeiGene, Ltd. (ADR)1     292,068       64,238  
Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, non-registered shares     496,000       62,602  
Mettler-Toledo International, Inc.1     37,455       54,139  
Zoetis, Inc., Class A     337,654       49,483  
CVS Health Corp.     284,906       26,550  
Karuna Therapeutics, Inc.1     124,200       24,405  
Guardant Health, Inc.1     282,958       7,697  
              15,852,787  
                 
Consumer discretionary 11.47%                
Dollar Tree Stores, Inc.1     8,272,735       1,170,096  
Amazon.com, Inc.1     12,927,441       1,085,905  
Home Depot, Inc.     2,886,580       911,755  
Restaurant Brands International, Inc.     12,570,250       812,918  
Booking Holdings, Inc.1     345,900       697,085  
Dollar General Corp.     2,587,539       637,182  
D.R. Horton, Inc.     6,642,000       592,068  
Coupang, Inc., Class A1     37,273,395       548,292  
Target Corp.     3,247,000       483,933  
YUM! Brands, Inc.     3,400,331       435,514  
TJX Companies, Inc.     4,672,425       371,925  
Evolution AB     3,625,000       354,031  
Industria de Diseño Textil, SA     10,567,625       281,396  
NIKE, Inc., Class B     2,218,966       259,641  
McDonald’s Corp.     950,000       250,354  
Toll Brothers, Inc.     4,704,717       234,859  
Galaxy Entertainment Group, Ltd.     34,454,000       228,137  
Flutter Entertainment PLC1     1,442,013       197,591  
Starbucks Corp.     1,940,000       192,448  
Adient PLC1,2     4,867,532       168,855  
Marriott International, Inc., Class A     1,125,000       167,501  
LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton SE     219,599       159,527  

 

Fundamental Investors 7
   

Common stocks (continued)   Shares     Value
(000)
 
Consumer discretionary (continued)                
Kering SA     302,049     $ 154,583  
B&M European Value Retail SA     29,746,458       148,214  
Darden Restaurants, Inc.     1,049,085       145,120  
MercadoLibre, Inc.1     161,292       136,492  
Burlington Stores, Inc.1     661,669       134,160  
Entain PLC     8,130,000       130,354  
Lennar Corp., Class A     1,394,600       126,211  
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.1     89,000       123,487  
Trainline PLC1,2     30,333,496       100,746  
Caesars Entertainment, Inc.1     2,223,300       92,489  
Five Below, Inc.1     518,411       91,691  
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Ltd.1     6,900,000       84,456  
Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc.     640,041       80,876  
adidas AG     560,596       76,527  
Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc., Class A1     796,855       55,485  
Domino’s Pizza, Inc.     140,000       48,496  
Lear Corp.     333,172       41,320  
General Motors Company     934,498       31,437  
Mattel, Inc.1     511,723       9,129  
              12,052,286  
                 
Industrials 10.68%                
TransDigm Group, Inc.     1,673,313       1,053,602  
Carrier Global Corp.     19,660,591       810,999  
Caterpillar, Inc.     3,030,771       726,052  
Boeing Company1     3,592,700       684,373  
Deere & Company     1,315,000       563,819  
CSX Corp.     17,375,343       538,288  
ITT, Inc.2     5,564,000       451,240  
Regal Rexnord Corp.2     3,654,382       438,453  
Union Pacific Corp.     2,116,812       438,328  
United Rentals, Inc.1     1,204,957       428,266  
Northrop Grumman Corp.     766,401       418,156  
Airbus SE, non-registered shares     3,404,440       404,796  
Norfolk Southern Corp.     1,250,260       308,089  
Raytheon Technologies Corp.     2,943,104       297,018  
Schneider Electric SE     1,971,587       277,283  
ABB, Ltd.     8,634,463       262,987  
Equifax, Inc.     1,340,417       260,523  
TFI International, Inc. (CAD denominated)     2,546,544       255,049  
Waste Connections, Inc.     1,834,233       243,146  
Emerson Electric Co.     2,465,000       236,788  
Lockheed Martin Corp.     474,929       231,048  
General Electric Co.     2,640,643       221,260  
Rockwell Automation     793,381       204,351  
Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.     669,100       154,348  
Sandvik AB     7,548,700       136,294  
Axon Enterprise, Inc.1     802,760       133,202  
Jacobs Solutions, Inc.     1,070,000       128,475  
LIXIL Corp.     8,167,300       124,466  
Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc.     9,417,714       115,461  
United Airlines Holdings, Inc.1     2,505,378       94,453  
United Parcel Service, Inc., Class B     530,598       92,239  
Honeywell International, Inc.     394,989       84,646  
AMETEK, Inc.     601,953       84,105  
L3Harris Technologies, Inc.     359,000       74,747  
Lifco AB, Class B     4,358,648       72,551  
IMCD NV     400,000       57,134  
Canadian Pacific Railway, Ltd.     728,300       54,324  
DSV A/S     275,000       43,617  
Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.     130,000       18,784  
              11,222,760  
                 
Financials 9.96%                
Apollo Asset Management, Inc.     12,515,772       798,381  
JPMorgan Chase & Co.     5,637,290       755,961  
Aon PLC, Class A     2,233,794       670,451  
KKR & Co., Inc.     11,807,376       548,098  

 

8 Fundamental Investors
   

Common stocks (continued)   Shares     Value
(000)
 
Financials (continued)                
Blackstone, Inc., nonvoting shares     6,535,931     $ 484,901  
Chubb, Ltd.     1,880,779       414,900  
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.     2,464,775       407,871  
Bank of America Corp.     10,486,518       347,313  
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.     1,005,800       345,372  
Wells Fargo & Company     8,317,784       343,441  
Discover Financial Services     3,448,860       337,402  
HDFC Bank, Ltd.     16,789,000       330,497  
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.     1,751,180       330,167  
Arch Capital Group, Ltd.1     4,874,000       305,990  
S&P Global, Inc.     882,768       295,674  
Capital One Financial Corp.     3,076,185       285,962  
Blue Owl Capital, Inc., Class A3     21,968,000       232,861  
OneMain Holdings, Inc.2     6,876,634       229,061  
Citizens Financial Group, Inc.     5,649,040       222,403  
Synchrony Financial     6,679,847       219,500  
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.     1,953,855       200,446  
First Republic Bank     1,582,232       192,858  
Signature Bank     1,658,466       191,088  
Citigroup, Inc.     4,060,000       183,634  
Kotak Mahindra Bank, Ltd.     8,124,000       178,745  
Progressive Corp.     1,311,114       170,065  
W. R. Berkley Corp.     2,200,000       159,654  
BlackRock, Inc.     212,450       150,548  
MSCI, Inc.     268,400       124,852  
Ares Management Corp., Class A     1,715,153       117,385  
China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd., Class H     19,335,000       107,182  
Brookfield Corp., Class A     3,358,176       105,648  
Moody’s Corp.     353,305       98,438  
London Stock Exchange Group PLC     1,110,776       95,842  
RenaissanceRe Holdings, Ltd.     463,000       85,299  
CME Group, Inc., Class A     505,414       84,990  
AIA Group, Ltd.     7,048,400       77,652  
Charles Schwab Corp.     780,000       64,943  
Toronto-Dominion Bank (CAD denominated)     825,013       53,419  
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CAD denominated)     1,022,000       41,340  
Focus Financial Partners, Inc., Class A1     700,000       26,089  
Brookfield Asset Management, Ltd., Class A     839,544       24,070  
Checkout Payments Group, Ltd., Series D1,4,5     159,760       17,347  
Morgan Stanley     98,500       8,374  
              10,466,114  
                 
Consumer staples 8.32%                
Philip Morris International, Inc.     24,483,277       2,477,953  
British American Tobacco PLC     38,586,299       1,530,900  
British American Tobacco PLC (ADR)     2,485,818       99,383  
Altria Group, Inc.     17,255,938       788,769  
Keurig Dr Pepper, Inc.     15,978,000       569,776  
Nestlé SA     4,738,967       547,282  
Mondelez International, Inc.     6,136,319       408,986  
Bunge, Ltd.     3,299,431       329,184  
Monster Beverage Corp.1     2,719,927       276,154  
Performance Food Group Co.1     4,522,612       264,075  
Archer Daniels Midland Company     2,697,039       250,420  
Constellation Brands, Inc., Class A     1,014,906       235,205  
Procter & Gamble Company     1,460,509       221,355  
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV     2,909,572       174,918  
Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (ADR)     9,920,942       139,786  
Walmart, Inc.     970,000       137,536  
Imperial Brands PLC     5,382,898       134,489  
General Mills, Inc.     923,309       77,419  
Kraft Heinz Company     1,810,177       73,692  
              8,737,282  

 

Fundamental Investors 9
   

Common stocks (continued)   Shares     Value
(000)
 
Communication services 6.13%                
Alphabet, Inc., Class C1     17,212,932     $ 1,527,303  
Alphabet, Inc., Class A1     3,625,224       319,854  
Netflix, Inc.1     4,092,130       1,206,687  
Comcast Corp., Class A     34,107,249       1,192,731  
Meta Platforms, Inc., Class A1     7,765,199       934,464  
Charter Communications, Inc., Class A1     1,033,985       350,624  
ZoomInfo Technologies, Inc.1     8,837,400       266,094  
Walt Disney Company1     2,420,000       210,250  
Publicis Groupe SA     2,300,000       146,052  
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.1     1,258,940       131,093  
Activision Blizzard, Inc.     868,540       66,487  
New York Times Co., Class A     1,308,000       42,458  
Electronic Arts, Inc.     212,126       25,918  
Vodafone Group PLC (ADR)     892,900       9,036  
BT Group PLC     3,839,255       5,213  
              6,434,264  
                 
Materials 5.45%                
Mosaic Co.     15,702,000       688,847  
Vale SA, ordinary nominative shares     21,080,000       354,863  
Vale SA (ADR), ordinary nominative shares3     14,158,839       240,276  
Linde PLC     1,806,354       589,197  
Corteva, Inc.     8,619,573       506,658  
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.     10,391,000       406,080  
Grupo México, SAB de CV, Series B     110,430,100       387,680  
First Quantum Minerals, Ltd.     17,523,000       366,119  
Glencore PLC     51,915,000       347,144  
Crown Holdings, Inc.     3,173,000       260,852  
Dow, Inc.     4,480,000       225,747  
Freeport-McMoRan, Inc.     5,500,000       209,000  
Rio Tinto PLC     2,900,000       203,482  
Steel Dynamics, Inc.     1,697,344       165,831  
Royal Gold, Inc.     1,417,000       159,724  
Albemarle Corp.     586,094       127,100  
Barrick Gold Corp.     7,239,000       124,366  
Franco-Nevada Corp.     807,000       110,006  
Nutrien, Ltd. (CAD denominated)3     1,354,298       98,872  
Lundin Mining Corp.3     10,415,000       63,921  
CCL Industries, Inc., Class B, nonvoting shares     1,157,433       49,443  
Sherwin-Williams Company     149,580       35,500  
              5,720,708  
                 
Energy 5.38%                
Canadian Natural Resources, Ltd. (CAD denominated)     21,551,757       1,196,807  
ConocoPhillips     7,928,350       935,545  
Exxon Mobil Corp.     4,659,762       513,972  
Pioneer Natural Resources Company     2,211,100       504,993  
TC Energy Corp. (CAD denominated)3     11,756,152       468,683  
Baker Hughes Co., Class A     13,360,000       394,521  
Chesapeake Energy Corp.     3,500,000       330,295  
Cenovus Energy, Inc. (CAD denominated)     16,097,000       312,310  
EOG Resources, Inc.     1,890,848       244,903  
HF Sinclair Corp.     4,252,000       220,636  
Chevron Corp.     865,945       155,429  
Range Resources Corp.     6,000,000       150,120  
EQT Corp.     2,814,000       95,198  
Equitrans Midstream Corp.     12,205,288       81,775  
Hess Corp.     206,200       29,243  
TotalEnergies SE     330,820       20,648  
              5,655,078  
                 
Utilities 2.65%                
AES Corp.2     35,632,216       1,024,783  
CenterPoint Energy, Inc.     13,023,942       390,588  
Edison International     4,685,099       298,066  
PG&E Corp.1     16,733,633       272,089  
Constellation Energy Corp.     2,708,364       233,488  
National Grid PLC     17,574,000       211,088  

 

10 Fundamental Investors
   

Common stocks (continued)   Shares     Value
(000)
 
Utilities (continued)                
CMS Energy Corp.     2,094,607     $ 132,651  
FirstEnergy Corp.     2,185,431       91,657  
Evergy, Inc.     1,299,136       81,755  
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, LP     1,500,000       46,462  
              2,782,627  
                 
Real estate 1.19%                
VICI Properties, Inc. REIT     14,542,214       471,168  
Crown Castle, Inc. REIT     2,373,768       321,978  
Equinix, Inc. REIT     344,547       225,689  
Welltower, Inc. REIT     1,944,809       127,482  
Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. REIT     2,069,887       107,820  
              1,254,137  
                 
Total common stocks (cost: $67,921,447,000)             100,580,164  
                 
Convertible stocks 0.06%                
Utilities 0.06%                
AES Corp., convertible preferred units, 6.875% 2/15/20242     640,442       65,331  
                 
Total convertible stocks (cost: $64,044,000)             65,331  
                 
Short-term securities 4.48%                
Money market investments 4.29%                
Capital Group Central Cash Fund 4.31%2,6     45,072,023       4,506,752  
                 
Money market investments purchased with collateral from securities on loan 0.19%                
Invesco Short-Term Investments Trust – Government & Agency Portfolio, Institutional Class 4.22%6,7     86,514,867       86,515  
Goldman Sachs Financial Square Government Fund, Institutional Shares 4.15%6,7     82,656,547       82,657  
Capital Group Central Cash Fund 4.31%2,6,7     351,600       35,156  
              204,328  
                 
Total short-term securities (cost: $4,710,505,000)             4,711,080  
Total investment securities 100.28% (cost: $72,695,996,000)             105,356,575  
Other assets less liabilities (0.28)%             (294,932 )
                 
Net assets 100.00%           $ 105,061,643  

 

Investments in affiliates2

 

    Value of
affiliates at
1/1/2022
(000)
    Additions
(000)
    Reductions
(000)
    Net
realized
loss
(000)
    Net
unrealized
(depreciation)
appreciation
(000)
    Value of
affiliates at
12/31/2022
(000)
    Dividend
income
(000)
Common stocks 2.71%                                                      
Information technology 0.41%                                                      
Wolfspeed, Inc.1    $ 192,390     $ 383,360     $     $     $ (143,055 )   $ 432,695     $
Health care 0.00%                                                      
Applied Molecular Transport, Inc.8      32,344             4,207       (68,313 )     40,176            
Kronos Bio, Inc.8      42,573             13,734       (74,392 )     45,553            
                                                     
Consumer discretionary 0.26%                                                      
Adient PLC1      83,275       128,964                   (43,384 )     168,855      
Trainline PLC1      85,182       28,773                   (13,209 )     100,746      
                                              269,601        

 

Fundamental Investors 11
   

Investments in affiliates2 (continued)

 

    Value of
affiliates at
1/1/2022
(000)
    Additions
(000)
    Reductions
(000)
    Net
realized
loss
(000)
    Net
unrealized
(depreciation)
appreciation
(000)
    Value of
affiliates at
12/31/2022
(000)
    Dividend
income
(000)
 
Industrials 0.85%                                          
ITT, Inc.   $ 524,713     $ 42,172     $     $     $ (115,645 )   $ 451,240     $ 5,876  
Regal Rexnord Corp.     474,020       126,464                   (162,031 )     438,453       4,903  
                                              889,693          
Financials 0.22%                                                        
OneMain Holdings, Inc.     115,382       236,738       8,639       (5,855 )     (108,565 )     229,061       23,599  
Consumer staples 0.00%                                                        
Shop Apotheke Europe NV, non-registered shares8      151,680             49,343       (228,364 )     126,027              
Utilities 0.97%                                                        
AES Corp.     548,172       296,464                   180,147       1,024,783       19,123  
Total common stocks                                             2,845,833          
Convertible stocks 0.06%                                                        
Utilities 0.06%                                                        
AES Corp., convertible preferred units, 6.875% 2/15/2024     61,482                         3,849       65,331       4,403  
Short-term securities 4.32%                                                        
Money market investments 4.29%                                                        
Capital Group Central Cash Fund 4.31%6      2,325,312       13,093,258       10,911,474       (702 )     358       4,506,752       87,923  
Money market investments purchased with collateral from securities on loan 0.03%                                                        
Capital Group Central Cash Fund 4.31%6,7      17,038       18,118 9                              35,156       10 
Total short-term securities                                             4,541,908          
Total 7.09%                           $ (377,626 )   $ (189,779 )   $ 7,453,072     $ 145,827  

 

Restricted security5

 

    Acquisition
date
  Cost
(000)
    Value
(000)
    Percent
of net
assets
 
Checkout Payments Group, Ltd., Series D1,4   1/11/2022     $49,613       $17,347       .02 %

 

1 Security did not produce income during the last 12 months.
2 Affiliate of the fund or part of the same “group of investment companies” as the fund, as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
3 All or a portion of this security was on loan. The total value of all such securities was $217,793,000, which represented .21% of the net assets of the fund. Refer to Note 5 for more information on securities lending.
4 Value determined using significant unobservable inputs.
5 Restricted security, other than Rule 144A securities or commercial paper issued pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933. The total value of all such restricted securities was $17,347,000, which represented .02% of the net assets of the fund.
6 Rate represents the seven-day yield at 12/31/2022.
7 Security purchased with cash collateral from securities on loan. Refer to Note 5 for more information on securities lending.
8 Affiliated issuer during the reporting period but no longer held at 12/31/2022.
9 Represents net activity. Refer to Note 5 for more information on securities lending.
10 Dividend income is included with securities lending income in the fund’s statement of operations and is not shown in this table.

 

Key to abbreviations

ADR = American Depositary Receipts

CAD = Canadian dollars

REIT = Real Estate Investment Trust

 

Refer to the notes to financial statements.

 

12 Fundamental Investors
   

Financial statements

 

Statement of assets and liabilities  
at December 31, 2022 (dollars in thousands)

 

Assets:                
Investment securities, at value (includes $217,793 of investment securities on loan):                
Unaffiliated issuers (cost: $65,183,462)   $ 97,903,503          
Affiliated issuers (cost: $7,512,534)     7,453,072     $ 105,356,575  
Cash             3,711  
Cash denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars (cost: $9,074)             9,052  
Cash collateral received for securities on loan             22,703  
Receivables for:                
Sales of investments     4,028          
Sales of fund’s shares     60,931          
Dividends     190,131          
Securities lending income     61          
Other     *     255,151  
              105,647,192  
Liabilities:                
Collateral for securities on loan             227,031  
Payables for:                
Purchases of investments     55,832          
Repurchases of fund’s shares     233,777          
Investment advisory services     21,898          
Services provided by related parties     21,656          
Trustees’ deferred compensation     3,759          
Non-U.S. taxes     20,013          
Other     1,583       358,518  
Net assets at December 31, 2022           $ 105,061,643  
                 
Net assets consist of:                
Capital paid in on shares of beneficial interest           $ 71,186,499  
Total distributable earnings             33,875,144  
Net assets at December 31, 2022           $ 105,061,643  

 

*Amount less than one thousand.

 

Refer to the notes to financial statements.

 

Fundamental Investors 13
 

Financial statements (continued)

 

Statement of assets and liabilities  
at December 31, 2022 (continued)  
   
  (dollars and shares in thousands, except per-share amounts)

 

Shares of beneficial interest issued and outstanding (no stated par value) —
unlimited shares authorized (1,744,313 total shares outstanding)

 

    Net assets   Shares
outstanding
  Net asset value
per share
Class A   $ 55,416,402       919,698     $ 60.26  
Class C     1,179,516       19,691       59.90  
Class T     10       *     60.22  
Class F-1     1,639,546       27,226       60.22  
Class F-2     10,344,513       171,797       60.21  
Class F-3     7,605,811       126,319       60.21  
Class 529-A     3,061,373       50,915       60.13  
Class 529-C     86,208       1,431       60.24  
Class 529-E     82,271       1,369       60.07  
Class 529-T     16       *     60.23  
Class 529-F-1     11       *     60.06  
Class 529-F-2     264,776       4,395       60.24  
Class 529-F-3     12       *     60.24  
Class R-1     84,305       1,407       59.90  
Class R-2     586,589       9,807       59.81  
Class R-2E     71,040       1,187       59.86  
Class R-3     1,374,890       22,887       60.07  
Class R-4     1,242,866       20,684       60.09  
Class R-5E     319,426       5,315       60.10  
Class R-5     781,631       12,962       60.30  
Class R-6     20,920,431       347,223       60.25  
                         
*Amount less than one thousand.                        
 
Refer to the notes to financial statements.                        

 

14 Fundamental Investors
 

Financial statements (continued)

 

Statement of operations  
for the year ended December 31, 2022 (dollars in thousands)

 

Investment income:        
Income:                
Dividends (net of non-U.S. taxes of $56,891; also includes $145,827 from affiliates)   $ 2,345,924          
Securities lending income (net of fees)     1,537          
Interest from unaffiliated issuers     1,283     $ 2,348,744  
Fees and expenses*:                
Investment advisory services     271,971          
Distribution services     191,260          
Transfer agent services     70,309          
Administrative services     33,995          
529 plan services     2,148          
Reports to shareholders     2,211          
Registration statement and prospectus     1,634          
Trustees’ compensation     (164 )        
Auditing and legal     240          
Custodian     2,906          
Other     211       576,721  
Net investment income             1,772,023  
                 
Net realized gain and unrealized depreciation:                
Net realized gain (loss) on:                
Investments (net of non-U.S. taxes of $11,626):                
Unaffiliated issuers     3,170,354          
Affiliated issuers     (377,626 )        
Currency transactions     (2,140 )     2,790,588  
Net unrealized depreciation on:                
Investments (net of non-U.S. taxes of $14,216):                
Unaffiliated issuers     (26,683,005 )        
Affiliated issuers     (189,779 )        
Currency translations     (969 )     (26,873,753 )
Net realized gain and unrealized depreciation             (24,083,165 )
                 
Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations           $ (22,311,142 )

 

*Additional information related to class-specific fees and expenses is included in the notes to financial statements.

 

Statements of changes in net assets   (dollars in thousands)

 

    Year ended December 31,  
    2022     2021  
Operations:                
Net investment income   $ 1,772,023     $ 1,718,876  
Net realized gain     2,790,588       11,703,483  
Net unrealized (depreciation) appreciation     (26,873,753 )     12,264,353  
Net (decrease) increase in net assets resulting from operations     (22,311,142 )     25,686,712  
                 
Distributions paid to shareholders     (5,298,445 )     (13,995,644 )
                 
Net capital share transactions     (3,018,635 )     8,178,328  
                 
Total (decrease) increase in net assets     (30,628,222 )     19,869,396  
                 
Net assets:                
Beginning of year     135,689,865       115,820,469  
End of year   $ 105,061,643     $ 135,689,865  

 

Refer to the notes to financial statements.

 

Fundamental Investors 15
 

Notes to financial statements

 

1. Organization

 

American Funds Fundamental Investors (the “trust”) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end, diversified management investment company and has initially issued one series of shares, Fundamental Investors (the “fund”). The fund seeks long-term growth of capital and income.

 

The fund has 21 share classes consisting of six retail share classes (Classes A, C, T, F-1, F-2 and F-3), seven 529 college savings plan share classes (Classes 529-A, 529-C, 529-E, 529-T, 529-F-1, 529-F-2 and 529-F-3) 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 5.75% for Class A; up to 3.50% for Class 529-A   None (except 1.00% for certain redemptions within 18 months of purchase without an initial sales charge)   None
Classes C and 529-C   None   1.00% for redemptions within one year of purchase   Class C converts to Class A after eight years and Class 529-C converts to Class 529-A after five years
Class 529-E   None   None   None
Classes T and 529-T*   Up to 2.50%   None   None
Classes F-1, F-2, F-3, 529-F-1, 529-F-2 and 529-F-3   None   None   None
Classes R-1, R-2, R-2E, R-3, R-4, R-5E, R-5 and R-6   None   None   None
* Class T and 529-T shares are not available for purchase.  

 

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. Dividend income is recognized on the ex-dividend date and 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), realized gains and losses and unrealized appreciation and depreciation 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.

 

Distributions paid to shareholders — Income dividends and capital gain distributions are recorded on the ex-dividend date.

 

16 Fundamental Investors
 

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 per share is calculated once daily as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange, normally 4 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.

 

Equity securities, including depositary receipts, are generally valued at the official closing price of, or the last reported sale price on, the exchange or market on which such securities are traded, as of the close of business on the day the securities are being valued or, lacking any sales, at the last available bid price. Prices for each security are taken from the principal exchange or market on which the security trades.

 

Fixed-income securities, including short-term securities, are generally valued at evaluated prices obtained from third-party 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 & loans; 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

 

Securities with both fixed-income and equity characteristics, or equity securities traded principally among fixed-income dealers, are generally valued in the manner described for either equity or fixed-income securities, depending on which method is deemed most appropriate by the fund’s investment adviser. The Capital Group Central Cash Fund (“CCF”), a fund within the Capital Group Central Fund Series (“Central Funds”), is valued based upon a floating net asset value, which fluctuates with changes in the value of CCF’s portfolio securities. The underlying securities are valued based on the policies and procedures in CCF’s statement of additional information.

 

Fundamental Investors 17
 

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 the fund’s investment adviser and approved by the 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, dealer or broker quotes, 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 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 designated 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 team. 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. 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 facilitated by the investment adviser’s global risk management 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 table presents the fund’s valuation levels as of December 31, 2022 (dollars in thousands):

 

    Investment securities  
    Level 1     Level 2     Level 3     Total  
Assets:                                
Common stocks:                                
Information technology   $ 18,400,601     $ 2,001,520     $     $ 20,402,121  
Health care     13,846,713       2,006,074             15,852,787  
Consumer discretionary     10,221,180       1,831,106             12,052,286  
Industrials     9,843,632       1,379,128             11,222,760  
Financials     9,658,849       789,918       17,347       10,466,114  
Consumer staples     6,349,693       2,387,589             8,737,282  
Communication services     6,282,999       151,265             6,434,264  
Materials     5,170,082       550,626             5,720,708  
Energy     5,634,430       20,648             5,655,078  
Utilities     2,571,539       211,088             2,782,627  
Real estate     1,254,137                   1,254,137  
Convertible stocks     65,331                   65,331  
Short-term securities     4,711,080                   4,711,080  
Total   $ 94,010,266     $ 11,328,962     $ 17,347     $ 105,356,575  
   
18 Fundamental Investors
 

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 common stocks and other 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 or companies; overall market changes; local, regional or global political, social or economic instability; governmental, governmental agency or central bank responses to economic conditions; and currency exchange rate, interest rate and commodity price fluctuations.

 

Economies and financial markets throughout the world are highly interconnected. Economic, financial or political events, trading and tariff arrangements, wars, terrorism, cybersecurity events, natural disasters, public health emergencies (such as the spread of infectious disease) and other circumstances in one country or region, including actions taken by governmental or quasi-governmental authorities in response to any of the foregoing, could have impacts on global economies or markets. As a result, whether or not the fund invests in securities of issuers located in or with significant exposure to the countries affected, the value and liquidity of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected by developments in other countries and regions.

 

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, major litigation, investigations or other controversies related to the issuer, changes in the issuer’s financial condition or credit rating, changes in government regulations affecting the issuer or its competitive environment and strategic initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions or dispositions and the market response to any such initiatives.

 

Investing in growth-oriented stocks — Growth-oriented common stocks and other equity-type securities (such as preferred stocks, convertible preferred stocks and convertible bonds) may involve larger price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments.

 

Investing in income-oriented stocks — The value of the fund’s securities and income provided by the fund may be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources available for dividend payments at, the companies in which the fund invests.

 

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 nationalization, currency blockage or the imposition of price controls, sanctions, or punitive taxes, each of which 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 regulatory, legal, accounting, auditing, financial reporting and recordkeeping requirements, 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, which could impact the liquidity of the fund’s portfolio. 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, including models, tools and data, employed by the investment adviser in this process may be flawed or incorrect and 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.

 

Fundamental Investors 19
 

5. Certain investment techniques

 

Securities lending — The fund has entered into securities lending transactions in which the fund earns income by lending investment securities to brokers, dealers or other institutions. Each transaction involves three parties: the fund, acting as the lender of the securities, a borrower, and a lending agent that acts as an intermediary.

 

Securities lending transactions are entered into by the fund under a securities lending agent agreement with the lending agent. The lending agent facilitates the exchange of securities between the fund and approved borrowers, ensures that securities loans are properly coordinated and documented, marks-to-market the value of collateral daily, secures additional collateral from a borrower if it falls below preset terms, and may reinvest cash collateral on behalf of the fund according to agreed parameters. The lending agent provides indemnification to the fund against losses resulting from a borrower default. Although risk is mitigated by the collateral and indemnification, the fund could experience a delay in recovering its securities and a potential loss of income or value if a borrower fails to return securities, collateral investments decline in value or the lending agent fails to perform.

 

The borrower is required to post highly liquid assets, such as cash or U.S. government securities, as collateral for the loan in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. Investments made with cash collateral are recognized as assets in the fund’s investment portfolio. The same amount is recorded as a liability in the fund’s statement of assets and liabilities. While securities are on loan, the fund will continue to receive the equivalent of the interest, dividends or other distributions paid by the issuer, as well as a portion of the interest on the investment of the collateral. Additionally, although the fund does not have the right to vote on securities while they are on loan, the fund has a right to consent on corporate actions and a right to recall loaned securities to vote. A borrower is obligated to return loaned securities at the conclusion of a loan or, during the pendency of a loan, on demand from the fund.

 

As of December 31, 2022, the total value of securities on loan was $217,793,000, and the total value of collateral received was $227,031,000, which consisted entirely of cash. Investment securities purchased from cash collateral are disclosed in the fund’s investment portfolio as short-term securities. Securities received as collateral, if any, are not recognized as fund assets. The contractual maturity of cash collateral received under the securities lending agreement is classified as overnight and continuous.

 

6. Taxation and distributions

 

Federal income taxation — The fund complies with the requirements under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies 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 year ended December 31, 2022, 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 year, the fund did not incur any significant interest or penalties.

 

The fund’s tax returns are generally 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 typically three years after the date of filing but can be extended in certain jurisdictions.

 

Non-U.S. taxation — Dividend and interest income are 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. As a result of rulings from European courts, the fund filed for additional reclaims related to prior years. These reclaims are recorded when the amount is known and there are no significant uncertainties on collectability. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the fund recognized $6,037,000 in reclaims (net of $227,000 in fees and the effect of realized gain or loss from currency translations) and $609,000 in interest related to European court rulings, which is included in dividend income and interest income, respectively, in the fund’s statement of operations. 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 determined on a tax basis 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 and cost of investments sold. 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.

 

20 Fundamental Investors
 

During the year ended December 31, 2022, the fund reclassified $310,655,000 from total distributable earnings to capital paid in on shares of beneficial interest to align financial reporting with tax reporting.

 

As of December 31, 2022, the tax basis components of distributable earnings, unrealized appreciation (depreciation) and cost of investments were as follows (dollars in thousands):

 

Undistributed ordinary income   $ 293,898  
Undistributed long-term capital gains     1,112,347  
Post-October capital loss deferral*     (100,566 )
Gross unrealized appreciation on investments     36,312,367  
Gross unrealized depreciation on investments     (3,724,855 )
Net unrealized appreciation on investments     32,587,512  
Cost of investments     72,769,063  
   
* This deferral is considered incurred in the subsequent year.

 

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

 

    Year ended December 31, 2022     Year ended December 31, 2021  
                Total                 Total  
    Ordinary     Long-term     distributions     Ordinary     Long-term     distributions  
Share class   income     capital gains     paid     income     capital gains     paid  
Class A   $ 877,592     $ 1,855,051     $ 2,732,643     $ 819,778     $ 6,419,669     $ 7,239,447  
Class C     9,246       41,196       50,442       7,838       159,570       167,408  
Class T                             1       1  
Class F-1     25,634       56,285       81,919       26,727       216,918       243,645  
Class F-2     191,768       353,408       545,176       190,478       1,282,648       1,473,126  
Class F-3     149,442       259,870       409,312       144,351       906,530       1,050,881  
Class 529-A     47,115       101,971       149,086       42,500       344,904       387,404  
Class 529-C     607       3,048       3,655       539       12,560       13,099  
Class 529-E     1,060       2,743       3,803       970       9,732       10,702  
Class 529-T           1       1             2       2  
Class 529-F-1                             1       1  
Class 529-F-2     4,665       8,566       13,231       3,908       26,823       30,731  
Class 529-F-3                             1       1  
Class R-1     647       2,896       3,543       486       10,709       11,195  
Class R-2     4,394       20,008       24,402       3,459       73,079       76,538  
Class R-2E     782       2,551       3,333       752       9,660       10,412  
Class R-3     17,042       46,983       64,025       16,555       177,220       193,775  
Class R-4     20,063       43,797       63,860       21,220       169,158       190,378  
Class R-5E     6,329       12,687       19,016       8,276       56,936       65,212  
Class R-5     15,537       27,874       43,411       17,802       112,079       129,881  
Class R-6     398,202       689,385       1,087,587       370,731       2,331,074       2,701,805  
Total   $ 1,770,125     $ 3,528,320     $ 5,298,445     $ 1,676,370     $ 12,319,274     $ 13,995,644  
   
Amount less than one thousand.

 

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 0.390% on the first $1 billion of daily net assets and decreasing to 0.227% on such assets in excess of $144 billion. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the investment advisory services fees were $271,971,000, which were equivalent to an annualized rate of 0.240% of average daily net assets.

 

Fundamental Investors 21
 

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, 529-F-2, 529-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 0.25% 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. All share classes with a plan may use up to 0.25% of average daily net assets to pay service fees, or to compensate AFD for paying service fees, to firms that have entered into agreements with AFD to provide certain shareholder services. The remaining amounts available to be paid under each plan are paid to dealers to compensate them for their sales activities.

 

  Share class   Currently approved limits   Plan limits
  Class A     0.25 %              0.25 %
  Class 529-A     0.25       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  

 

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 December 31, 2022, 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 all share classes. Administrative services are provided by CRMC and its affiliates to help assist third parties providing non-distribution services to fund shareholders. These services include providing in-depth information on the fund and market developments that impact fund investments. Administrative services also include, but are not limited to, coordinating, monitoring and overseeing third parties that provide services to fund shareholders. The agreement provides the fund the ability to charge an administrative services fee at the annual rate of 0.05% of the average daily net assets attributable to each share class of the fund. Currently the fund pays CRMC an administrative services fee at the annual rate of 0.03% of the average daily net assets attributable to each share class of the fund for CRMC’s provision of administrative services.

 

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 CollegeAmerica 529 college savings plan. The fees are based on the combined net assets invested in Class 529 and ABLE shares of the American Funds. Class ABLE shares are offered on other American Funds by Virginia529 through ABLEAmerica®, a tax-advantaged savings program for individuals with disabilities. Virginia529 is not considered a related party to the fund.

 

The quarterly fees are based on a series of decreasing annual rates beginning with 0.09% on the first $20 billion of the combined net assets invested in the American Funds and decreasing to 0.03% on such assets in excess of $75 billion. The fees for any given calendar quarter are accrued and calculated on the basis of the average net assets of Class 529 and ABLE shares of the American Funds for the last month of the prior calendar quarter. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the 529 plan services fees were $2,148,000, which were equivalent to 0.058% of the average daily net assets of each 529 share class.

 

22 Fundamental Investors
 

For the year ended December 31, 2022, 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     $146,985       $44,021       $17,827       Not applicable  
  Class C     13,465       998       405       Not applicable  
  Class T           *     *     Not applicable  
  Class F-1     4,516       2,369       551       Not applicable  
  Class F-2     Not applicable       12,539       3,453       Not applicable  
  Class F-3     Not applicable       79       2,509       Not applicable  
  Class 529-A     7,449       2,190       972       $1,882  
  Class 529-C     1,009       70       30       59  
  Class 529-E     436       29       26       51  
  Class 529-T           *     *     *
  Class 529-F-1           *     *     *
  Class 529-F-2     Not applicable       111       80       156  
  Class 529-F-3     Not applicable       *     *     *
  Class R-1     924       92       28       Not applicable  
  Class R-2     4,796       2,311       192       Not applicable  
  Class R-2E     489       174       24       Not applicable  
  Class R-3     7,611       2,389       457       Not applicable  
  Class R-4     3,580       1,517       430       Not applicable  
  Class R-5E     Not applicable       716       127       Not applicable  
  Class R-5     Not applicable       495       275       Not applicable  
  Class R-6     Not applicable       209       6,609       Not applicable  
  Total class-specific expenses     $191,260       $70,309       $33,995       $2,148  
     
  * Amount less than one thousand.

 

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 $(164,000) in the fund’s statement of operations reflects $451,000 in current fees (either paid in cash or deferred) and a net decrease of $615,000 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.

 

Investment in CCF — The fund holds shares of CCF, an institutional prime money market fund managed by CRMC. CCF invests in high-quality, short-term money market instruments. CCF is used as the primary investment vehicle for the fund’s short-term instruments. CCF shares are only available for purchase by CRMC, its affiliates, and other funds managed by CRMC or its affiliates, and are not available to the public. CRMC does not receive an investment advisory services fee from CCF.

 

Security transactions with related funds — The fund purchased investment securities from, and sold investment 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. Each transaction was executed at the current market price of the security and no brokerage commissions or fees were paid in accordance with Rule 17a-7 of the 1940 Act. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the fund engaged in such purchase and sale transactions with related funds in the amounts of $923,951,000 and $828,373,000, respectively, which generated $156,451,000 of net realized losses from such sales.

 

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 December 31, 2022.

 

Fundamental Investors 23
 

8. Indemnifications

 

The fund’s organizational documents provide board members and officers with indemnification against certain liabilities or expenses in connection with the performance of their duties to the fund. In the normal course of business, the fund may also enter into contracts that provide general indemnifications. The fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown since it is dependent on future claims that may be made against the fund. The risk of material loss from such claims is considered remote. Insurance policies are also available to the fund’s board members and officers.

 

9. Capital share transactions

 

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

 

    Sales*     Reinvestments of
distributions
    Repurchases*     Net (decrease)
increase
 
Share class   Amount     Shares     Amount     Shares     Amount     Shares     Amount     Shares  
                                       
Year ended December 31, 2022                                      
                                       
Class A   $ 2,874,872       44,281     $ 2,686,415       44,563     $ (6,344,779 )     (99,212 )   $ (783,492 )     (10,368 )
Class C     126,323       1,953       50,277       844       (382,119 )     (5,921 )     (205,519 )     (3,124 )
Class T                                                
Class F-1     51,867       790       81,235       1,348       (353,727 )     (5,426 )     (220,625 )     (3,288 )
Class F-2     1,809,585       27,960       530,201       8,786       (3,298,598 )     (51,329 )     (958,812 )     (14,583 )
Class F-3     1,325,747       20,553       407,161       6,745       (2,112,716 )     (33,393 )     (379,808 )     (6,095 )
Class 529-A     243,116       3,748       149,056       2,478       (362,952 )     (5,633 )     29,220       593  
Class 529-C     16,541       255       3,653       61       (41,747 )     (641 )     (21,553 )     (325 )
Class 529-E     6,921       107       3,802       63       (12,158 )     (186 )     (1,435 )     (16 )
Class 529-T                 1                         1        
Class 529-F-1                 1                         1        
Class 529-F-2     49,591       769       13,228       219       (37,401 )     (584 )     25,418       404  
Class 529-F-3                 1                         1        
Class R-1     9,634       147       3,528       59       (19,699 )     (304 )     (6,537 )     (98 )
Class R-2     94,497       1,458       24,386       410       (167,595 )     (2,571 )     (48,712 )     (703 )
Class R-2E     12,959       197       3,333       56       (28,489 )     (438 )     (12,197 )     (185 )
Class R-3     197,418       3,038       63,926       1,066       (409,922 )     (6,286 )     (148,578 )     (2,182 )
Class R-4     147,179       2,250       63,844       1,062       (431,790 )     (6,670 )     (220,767 )     (3,358 )
Class R-5E     121,377       1,853       19,014       316       (268,207 )     (4,128 )     (127,816 )     (1,959 )
Class R-5     68,258       1,054       43,358       717       (283,240 )     (4,414 )     (171,624 )     (2,643 )
Class R-6     1,876,217       29,848       1,082,070       17,916       (2,724,088 )     (42,583 )     234,199       5,181  
Total net increase (decrease)   $ 9,032,102       140,261     $ 5,228,490       86,709     $ (17,279,227 )     (269,719 )   $ (3,018,635 )     (42,749 )

 

Refer to the end of the table for footnotes.

 

24 Fundamental Investors
 
    Sales*     Reinvestments of
distributions
    Repurchases*     Net increase (decrease)  
Share class   Amount     Shares     Amount     Shares     Amount     Shares     Amount     Shares  
                                       
Year ended December 31, 2021                                      
                                       
Class A   $ 4,037,931       53,384     $ 7,118,564       95,848     $ (7,194,644 )     (95,174 )   $ 3,961,851       54,058  
Class C     182,055       2,419       166,833       2,261       (463,707 )     (6,164 )     (114,819 )     (1,484 )
Class T                                                
Class F-1     111,653       1,484       241,805       3,256       (801,609 )     (10,717 )     (448,151 )     (5,977 )
Class F-2     2,639,525       34,849       1,433,099       19,306       (2,657,058 )     (35,157 )     1,415,566       18,998  
Class F-3     1,634,182       21,634       1,045,606       14,084       (1,753,290 )     (23,235 )     926,498       12,483  
Class 529-A     312,260       4,127       387,334       5,226       (428,658 )     (5,667 )     270,936       3,686  
Class 529-C     21,270       281       13,092       177       (59,912 )     (790 )     (25,550 )     (332 )
Class 529-E     7,520       100       10,705       144       (19,013 )     (252 )     (788 )     (8 )
Class 529-T                 2                         2        
Class 529-F-1                 1                         1        
Class 529-F-2     59,331       780       30,715       414       (41,635 )     (549 )     48,411       645  
Class 529-F-3                 1                         1        
Class R-1     10,449       139       11,144       151       (31,985 )     (424 )     (10,392 )     (134 )
Class R-2     110,630       1,474       76,493       1,038       (195,652 )     (2,619 )     (8,529 )     (107 )
Class R-2E     16,303       221       10,411       141       (32,121 )     (431 )     (5,407 )     (69 )
Class R-3     229,697       3,059       193,470       2,613       (562,144 )     (7,453 )     (138,977 )     (1,781 )
Class R-4     206,232       2,735       190,341       2,569       (606,511 )     (8,047 )     (209,938 )     (2,743 )
Class R-5E     258,904       3,527       65,210       881       (241,663 )     (3,191 )     82,451       1,217  
Class R-5     109,737       1,461       129,798       1,745       (429,209 )     (5,705 )     (189,674 )     (2,499 )
Class R-6     3,694,739       48,766       2,686,657       36,167       (3,756,560 )     (49,487 )     2,624,836       35,446  
Total net increase (decrease)   $ 13,642,418       180,440     $ 13,811,281       186,021     $ (19,275,371 )     (255,062 )   $ 8,178,328       111,399  
     
* Includes exchanges between share classes of the fund.  
  Amount less than one thousand.  

 

10. Investment transactions

 

The fund engaged in purchases and sales of investment securities, excluding short-term securities and U.S. government obligations, if any, of $29,687,012,000 and $38,143,664,000, respectively, during the year ended December 31, 2022.

 

Fundamental Investors 25
 

Financial highlights

 

 

          (Loss) income from
investment operations1
    Dividends and distributions                                      
Year ended   Net asset
value,
beginning
of year
    Net
investment
income
    Net (losses)
gains on
securities
(both
realized and
unrealized)
    Total from
investment
operations
    Dividends
(from net
investment
income)
    Distributions
(from capital
gains)
    Total
dividends
and
distributions
    Net asset
value,
end
of year
    Total return2,3     Net assets,
end of
year
(in millions)
    Ratio of
expenses to
average net
assets before
reimburse-
ments4
    Ratio of
expenses to
average net
assets after
reimburse-
ments3,4
    Ratio of
net income
to average
net assets3
 
Class A:                                                                                                        
12/31/2022   $ 75.96     $ .95     $ (13.65 )   $ (12.70 )   $ (.96 )   $ (2.04 )   $ (3.00 )   $ 60.26       (16.67 )%   $ 55,416       .60 %     .60 %     1.48 %
12/31/2021     69.15       .96       14.18       15.14       (.94 )     (7.39 )     (8.33 )     75.96       22.49       70,646       .59       .59       1.26  
12/31/2020     62.02       .89       8.05       8.94       (1.03 )     (.78 )     (1.81 )     69.15       14.95       60,572       .61       .61       1.48  
12/31/2019     52.29       .98       13.30       14.28       (.94 )     (3.61 )     (4.55 )     62.02       27.61       56,715       .61       .61       1.65  
12/31/2018     62.21       1.01       (5.19 )     (4.18 )     (.99 )     (4.75 )     (5.74 )     52.29       (6.60 )     47,045       .59       .59       1.61  
Class C:                                                                                                        
12/31/2022     75.51       .46       (13.56 )     (13.10 )     (.47 )     (2.04 )     (2.51 )     59.90       (17.30 )     1,180       1.35       1.35       .71  
12/31/2021     68.77       .38       14.11       14.49       (.36 )     (7.39 )     (7.75 )     75.51       21.59       1,723       1.34       1.34       .51  
12/31/2020     61.66       .45       8.01       8.46       (.57 )     (.78 )     (1.35 )     68.77       14.08       1,671       1.35       1.35       .76  
12/31/2019     52.00       .52       13.23       13.75       (.48 )     (3.61 )     (4.09 )     61.66       26.66       2,061       1.37       1.37       .89  
12/31/2018     61.88       .50       (5.15 )     (4.65 )     (.48 )     (4.75 )     (5.23 )     52.00       (7.35 )     1,996       1.39       1.39       .81  
Class T:                                                                                                        
12/31/2022     75.93       1.12       (13.66 )     (12.54 )     (1.13 )     (2.04 )     (3.17 )     60.22       (16.46 )5      6      .34 5      .34 5      1.73 5 
12/31/2021     69.12       1.13       14.19       15.32       (1.12 )     (7.39 )     (8.51 )     75.93       22.78 5      6      .36 5      .36 5      1.49 5 
12/31/2020     62.02       1.04       8.02       9.06       (1.18 )     (.78 )     (1.96 )     69.12       15.22 5      6      .36 5      .36 5      1.74 5 
12/31/2019     52.28       1.12       13.32       14.44       (1.09 )     (3.61 )     (4.70 )     62.02       27.95 5      6      .37 5      .37 5      1.90 5 
12/31/2018     62.20       1.14       (5.19 )     (4.05 )     (1.12 )     (4.75 )     (5.87 )     52.28       (6.41 )5      6      .38 5      .38 5      1.82 5 
Class F-1:                                                                                                        
12/31/2022     75.91       .91       (13.63 )     (12.72 )     (.93 )     (2.04 )     (2.97 )     60.22       (16.71 )     1,640       .65       .65       1.41  
12/31/2021     69.10       .91       14.18       15.09       (.89 )     (7.39 )     (8.28 )     75.91       22.42       2,316       .65       .65       1.20  
12/31/2020     61.98       .87       8.03       8.90       (1.00 )     (.78 )     (1.78 )     69.10       14.89       2,522       .65       .65       1.45  
12/31/2019     52.26       .94       13.29       14.23       (.90 )     (3.61 )     (4.51 )     61.98       27.53       2,771       .66       .66       1.60  
12/31/2018     62.17       .96       (5.18 )     (4.22 )     (.94 )     (4.75 )     (5.69 )     52.26       (6.67 )     2,352       .67       .67       1.52  
Class F-2:                                                                                                        
12/31/2022     75.91       1.09       (13.65 )     (12.56 )     (1.10 )     (2.04 )     (3.14 )     60.21       (16.49 )     10,345       .39       .39       1.68  
12/31/2021     69.11       1.12       14.17       15.29       (1.10 )     (7.39 )     (8.49 )     75.91       22.73       14,149       .38       .38       1.47  
12/31/2020     62.00       1.02       8.03       9.05       (1.16 )     (.78 )     (1.94 )     69.11       15.20       11,567       .39       .39       1.71  
12/31/2019     52.27       1.10       13.30       14.40       (1.06 )     (3.61 )     (4.67 )     62.00       27.87       10,821       .40       .40       1.86  
12/31/2018     62.19       1.13       (5.19 )     (4.06 )     (1.11 )     (4.75 )     (5.86 )     52.27       (6.43 )     8,654       .41       .41       1.80  
Class F-3:                                                                                                        
12/31/2022     75.91       1.16       (13.65 )     (12.49 )     (1.17 )     (2.04 )     (3.21 )     60.21       (16.39 )     7,606       .28       .28       1.80  
12/31/2021     69.11       1.20       14.17       15.37       (1.18 )     (7.39 )     (8.57 )     75.91       22.86       10,052       .28       .28       1.58  
12/31/2020     62.00       1.08       8.03       9.11       (1.22 )     (.78 )     (2.00 )     69.11       15.32       8,288       .29       .29       1.81  
12/31/2019     52.27       1.17       13.29       14.46       (1.12 )     (3.61 )     (4.73 )     62.00       28.01       7,595       .30       .30       1.97  
12/31/2018     62.19       1.19       (5.19 )     (4.00 )     (1.17 )     (4.75 )     (5.92 )     52.27       (6.34 )     5,448       .31       .31       1.89  
Class 529-A:                                                                                                    
12/31/2022     75.81       .93       (13.63 )     (12.70 )     (.94 )     (2.04 )     (2.98 )     60.13       (16.69 )     3,061       .63       .63       1.44  
12/31/2021     69.02       .93       14.16       15.09       (.91 )     (7.39 )     (8.30 )     75.81       22.46       3,815       .63       .63       1.22  
12/31/2020     61.92       .86       8.02       8.88       (1.00 )     (.78 )     (1.78 )     69.02       14.88       3,219       .65       .65       1.43  
12/31/2019     52.21       .94       13.28       14.22       (.90 )     (3.61 )     (4.51 )     61.92       27.53       2,810       .67       .67       1.60  
12/31/2018     62.12       .96       (5.18 )     (4.22 )     (.94 )     (4.75 )     (5.69 )     52.21       (6.68 )     2,304       .67       .67       1.53  

 

Refer to the end of the table for footnotes.

 

26 Fundamental Investors
 

Financial highlights (continued)

 

          (Loss) income from
investment operations1
    Dividends and distributions                                      
Year ended   Net asset
value,
beginning
of year
    Net
investment
income
    Net (losses)
gains on
securities
(both
realized and
unrealized)
    Total from
investment
operations
    Dividends
(from net
investment
income)
    Distributions
(from capital
gains)
    Total
dividends
and
distributions
    Net asset
value,
end
of year
    Total return2,3     Net assets,
end of
year
(in millions)
    Ratio of
expenses to
average net
assets before
reimburse-
ments4
    Ratio of
expenses to
average net
assets after
reimburse-
ments3,4
    Ratio of
net income
to average
net assets3
 
Class 529-C:                                                                                                        
12/31/2022   $ 75.90     $ .43     $ (13.63 )   $ (13.20 )   $ (.42 )   $ (2.04 )   $ (2.46 )   $ 60.24       (17.34 )%   $ 86       1.40 %     1.40 %     .66 %
12/31/2021     69.09       .35       14.17       14.52       (.32 )     (7.39 )     (7.71 )     75.90       21.52       133       1.38       1.38       .46  
12/31/2020     61.90       .46       8.03       8.49       (.52 )     (.78 )     (1.30 )     69.09       14.05       144       1.40       1.40       .78  
12/31/2019     52.19       .50       13.27       13.77       (.45 )     (3.61 )     (4.06 )     61.90       26.59       350       1.41       1.41       .84  
12/31/2018     62.08       .48       (5.18 )     (4.70 )     (.44 )     (4.75 )     (5.19 )     52.19       (7.39 )     340       1.43       1.43       .76  
Class 529-E:                                                                                                        
12/31/2022     75.73       .78       (13.61 )     (12.83 )     (.79 )     (2.04 )     (2.83 )     60.07       (16.89 )     82       .87       .87       1.21  
12/31/2021     68.96       .75       14.14       14.89       (.73 )     (7.39 )     (8.12 )     75.73       22.16       105       .86       .86       .99  
12/31/2020     61.85       .73       8.03       8.76       (.87 )     (.78 )     (1.65 )     68.96       14.65       96       .87       .87       1.23  
12/31/2019     52.16       .81       13.26       14.07       (.77 )     (3.61 )     (4.38 )     61.85       27.24       94       .89       .89       1.37  
12/31/2018     62.06       .81       (5.17 )     (4.36 )     (.79 )     (4.75 )     (5.54 )     52.16       (6.88 )     82       .90       .90       1.29  
Class 529-T:                                                                                                        
12/31/2022     75.93       1.08       (13.65 )     (12.57 )     (1.09 )     (2.04 )     (3.13 )     60.23       (16.50 )5      6      .40 5      .40 5      1.67 5 
12/31/2021     69.13       1.10       14.17       15.27       (1.08 )     (7.39 )     (8.47 )     75.93       22.69 5      6      .41 5      .41 5      1.44 5 
12/31/2020     62.02       1.00       8.04       9.04       (1.15 )     (.78 )     (1.93 )     69.13       15.17 5      6      .41 5      .41 5      1.68 5 
12/31/2019     52.28       1.09       13.31       14.40       (1.05 )     (3.61 )     (4.66 )     62.02       27.86 5      6      .42 5      .42 5      1.85 5 
12/31/2018     62.20       1.10       (5.18 )     (4.08 )     (1.09 )     (4.75 )     (5.84 )     52.28       (6.46 )5      6      .44 5      .44 5      1.76 5 
Class 529-F-1:                                                                                                    
12/31/2022     75.73       1.04       (13.62 )     (12.58 )     (1.05 )     (2.04 )     (3.09 )     60.06       (16.56 )5      6      .46 5      .46 5      1.61 5 
12/31/2021     68.95       1.06       14.16       15.22       (1.05 )     (7.39 )     (8.44 )     75.73       22.68 5      6      .45 5      .45 5      1.40 5 
12/31/2020     61.85       .97       8.05       9.02       (1.14 )     (.78 )     (1.92 )     68.95       15.19 5      6      .42 5      .42 5      1.66 5 
12/31/2019     52.15       1.08       13.27       14.35       (1.04 )     (3.61 )     (4.65 )     61.85       27.84       196       .43       .43       1.83  
12/31/2018     62.07       1.10       (5.19 )     (4.09 )     (1.08 )     (4.75 )     (5.83 )     52.15       (6.48 )     149       .44       .44       1.76  
Class 529-F-2:                                                                                                    
12/31/2022     75.95       1.10       (13.66 )     (12.56 )     (1.11 )     (2.04 )     (3.15 )     60.24       (16.48 )     265       .38       .38       1.71  
12/31/2021     69.14       1.12       14.17       15.29       (1.09 )     (7.39 )     (8.48 )     75.95       22.73       303       .39       .39       1.47  
12/31/20207,8     59.63       .19       9.87       10.06       (.55 )           (.55 )     69.14       16.87 9      231       .07 9      .07 9      .29 9 
Class 529-F-3:                                                                                                    
12/31/2022     75.95       1.12       (13.66 )     (12.54 )     (1.13 )     (2.04 )     (3.17 )     60.24       (16.45 )     6      .34       .34       1.74  
12/31/2021     69.13       1.16       14.19       15.35       (1.14 )     (7.39 )     (8.53 )     75.95       22.81       6      .35       .33       1.52  
12/31/20207,8     59.63       .20       9.86       10.06       (.56 )           (.56 )     69.13       16.88 9      6      .09 9      .06 9      .30 9 
Class R-1:                                                                                                        
12/31/2022     75.51       .45       (13.56 )     (13.11 )     (.46 )     (2.04 )     (2.50 )     59.90       (17.30 )     84       1.37       1.37       .70  
12/31/2021     68.77       .36       14.11       14.47       (.34 )     (7.39 )     (7.73 )     75.51       21.55       114       1.37       1.37       .48  
12/31/2020     61.65       .42       8.02       8.44       (.54 )     (.78 )     (1.32 )     68.77       14.05       113       1.39       1.39       .71  
12/31/2019     52.00       .50       13.23       13.73       (.47 )     (3.61 )     (4.08 )     61.65       26.60       132       1.40       1.40       .86  
12/31/2018     61.88       .49       (5.16 )     (4.67 )     (.46 )     (4.75 )     (5.21 )     52.00       (7.38 )     128       1.41       1.41       .78  

 

Refer to the end of the table for footnotes.

 

Fundamental Investors 27
 

Financial highlights (continued)

 

          (Loss) income from
investment operations1
    Dividends and distributions                                      
Year ended   Net asset
value,
beginning
of year
    Net
investment
income
    Net (losses)
gains on
securities
(both
realized and
unrealized)
    Total from
investment
operations
    Dividends
(from net
investment
income)
    Distributions
(from capital
gains)
    Total
dividends
and
distributions
    Net asset
value,
end
of year
    Total return2,3     Net assets,
end of
year
(in millions)
    Ratio of
expenses to
average net
assets before
reimburse-
ments4
    Ratio of
expenses to
average net
assets after
reimburse-
ments3,4
    Ratio of
net income
to average
net assets3
 
Class R-2:                                                                                                        
12/31/2022   $ 75.41     $ .44     $ (13.55 )   $ (13.11 )   $ (.45 )   $ (2.04 )   $ (2.49 )   $ 59.81       (17.32 )%   $ 587       1.39 %     1.39 %     .68 %
12/31/2021     68.70       .37       14.08       14.45       (.35 )     (7.39 )     (7.74 )     75.41       21.54       792       1.37       1.37       .48  
12/31/2020     61.61       .43       8.01       8.44       (.57 )     (.78 )     (1.35 )     68.70       14.06       729       1.38       1.38       .72  
12/31/2019     51.97       .51       13.22       13.73       (.48 )     (3.61 )     (4.09 )     61.61       26.62       734       1.40       1.40       .87  
12/31/2018     61.86       .49       (5.15 )     (4.66 )     (.48 )     (4.75 )     (5.23 )     51.97       (7.37 )     658       1.41       1.41       .79  
Class R-2E:                                                                                                  
12/31/2022     75.47       .63       (13.56 )     (12.93 )     (.64 )     (2.04 )     (2.68 )     59.86       (17.08 )     71       1.09       1.09       .98  
12/31/2021     68.75       .58       14.10       14.68       (.57 )     (7.39 )     (7.96 )     75.47       21.89       104       1.08       1.08       .77  
12/31/2020     61.67       .60       8.01       8.61       (.75 )     (.78 )     (1.53 )     68.75       14.39       99       1.08       1.08       1.01  
12/31/2019     52.02       .69       13.23       13.92       (.66 )     (3.61 )     (4.27 )     61.67       26.99       91       1.09       1.09       1.17  
12/31/2018     61.92       .69       (5.16 )     (4.47 )     (.68 )     (4.75 )     (5.43 )     52.02       (7.08 )     65       1.11       1.11       1.10  
Class R-3:                                                                                                        
12/31/2022     75.73       .73       (13.61 )     (12.88 )     (.74 )     (2.04 )     (2.78 )     60.07       (16.94 )     1,375       .93       .93       1.13  
12/31/2021     68.96       .70       14.14       14.84       (.68 )     (7.39 )     (8.07 )     75.73       22.08       1,898       .93       .93       .92  
12/31/2020     61.84       .70       8.03       8.73       (.83 )     (.78 )     (1.61 )     68.96       14.58       1,851       .93       .93       1.17  
12/31/2019     52.15       .77       13.27       14.04       (.74 )     (3.61 )     (4.35 )     61.84       27.17       1,986       .94       .94       1.31  
12/31/2018     62.05       .78       (5.18 )     (4.40 )     (.75 )     (4.75 )     (5.50 )     52.15       (6.95 )     1,880       .96       .96       1.24  
Class R-4:                                                                                                        
12/31/2022     75.75       .92       (13.60 )     (12.68 )     (.94 )     (2.04 )     (2.98 )     60.09       (16.69 )     1,243       .63       .63       1.43  
12/31/2021     68.97       .92       14.16       15.08       (.91 )     (7.39 )     (8.30 )     75.75       22.45       1,821       .63       .63       1.22  
12/31/2020     61.87       .88       8.01       8.89       (1.01 )     (.78 )     (1.79 )     68.97       14.92       1,847       .63       .63       1.47  
12/31/2019     52.17       .95       13.28       14.23       (.92 )     (3.61 )     (4.53 )     61.87       27.57       1,970       .64       .64       1.62  
12/31/2018     62.07       .96       (5.17 )     (4.21 )     (.94 )     (4.75 )     (5.69 )     52.17       (6.65 )     1,879       .65       .65       1.54  
Class R-5E:                                                                                                    
12/31/2022     75.77       1.04       (13.61 )     (12.57 )     (1.06 )     (2.04 )     (3.10 )     60.10       (16.54 )     319       .45       .45       1.60  
12/31/2021     68.99       1.10       14.14       15.24       (1.07 )     (7.39 )     (8.46 )     75.77       22.71       551       .42       .42       1.45  
12/31/2020     61.90       .99       8.02       9.01       (1.14 )     (.78 )     (1.92 )     68.99       15.14       418       .43       .43       1.67  
12/31/2019     52.19       1.09       13.28       14.37       (1.05 )     (3.61 )     (4.66 )     61.90       27.85       379       .43       .43       1.84  
12/31/2018     62.12       1.14       (5.22 )     (4.08 )     (1.10 )     (4.75 )     (5.85 )     52.19       (6.45 )     255       .45       .45       1.86  
Class R-5:                                                                                                        
12/31/2022     76.02       1.12       (13.66 )     (12.54 )     (1.14 )     (2.04 )     (3.18 )     60.30       (16.45 )     782       .33       .33       1.73  
12/31/2021     69.19       1.15       14.21       15.36       (1.14 )     (7.39 )     (8.53 )     76.02       22.81       1,186       .33       .33       1.52  
12/31/2020     62.08       1.06       8.03       9.09       (1.20 )     (.78 )     (1.98 )     69.19       15.25       1,253       .33       .33       1.77  
12/31/2019     52.33       1.13       13.33       14.46       (1.10 )     (3.61 )     (4.71 )     62.08       27.95       1,354       .34       .34       1.91  
12/31/2018     62.25       1.16       (5.19 )     (4.03 )     (1.14 )     (4.75 )     (5.89 )     52.33       (6.37 )     1,326       .35       .35       1.84  
Class R-6:                                                                                                        
12/31/2022     75.96       1.16       (13.66 )     (12.50 )     (1.17 )     (2.04 )     (3.21 )     60.25       (16.39 )     20,920       .28       .28       1.80  
12/31/2021     69.14       1.20       14.19       15.39       (1.18 )     (7.39 )     (8.57 )     75.96       22.87       25,982       .28       .28       1.58  
12/31/2020     62.04       1.08       8.03       9.11       (1.23 )     (.78 )     (2.01 )     69.14       15.30       21,200       .28       .28       1.80  
12/31/2019     52.30       1.17       13.31       14.48       (1.13 )     (3.61 )     (4.74 )     62.04       28.01       18,458       .29       .29       1.98  
12/31/2018     62.22       1.19       (5.19 )     (4.00 )     (1.17 )     (4.75 )     (5.92 )     52.30       (6.33 )     13,670       .30       .30       1.90  

 

Refer to the end of the table for footnotes.

 

28 Fundamental Investors
 

Financial highlights (continued)

 

  Year ended December 31,
  2022 2021 2020 2019 2018
Portfolio turnover rate for all share classes10   27%     25%     48%     40%     34%  

 

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 reimbursements from CRMC. During some of the years shown, CRMC reimbursed a portion of transfer agent services fees for Class 529-F-3 shares.
4 Ratios do not include expenses of any Central Funds. The fund indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of any Central Funds.
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 Amount less than $1 million.
7 Based on operations for a period that is less than a full year.
8 Class 529-F-2 and 529-F-3 shares began investment operations on October 30, 2020.
9 Not annualized.
10 Rates do not include the fund’s portfolio activity with respect to any Central Funds.

 

Refer to the notes to financial statements.

 

Fundamental Investors 29
 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

To the Shareholders and Board of Trustees of American Funds Fundamental Investors:

 

Opinion on the Financial Statements and Financial Highlights

 

We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities, including the investment portfolio, of Fundamental Investors, the portfolio constituting the American Funds Fundamental Investors (the “Fund”), as of December 31, 2022, the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended, and the related notes. In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Fund as of December 31, 2022, and 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 five years in the period then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

 

Basis for Opinion

 

The financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Fund’s financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Fund in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

 

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Fund is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Fund’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

 

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements and financial highlights, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements and financial highlights. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements and financial highlights. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of December 31, 2022, by correspondence with the custodian and brokers; when replies were not received from brokers, we performed other auditing procedures. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

Deloitte & Touche LLP

 

Costa Mesa, California

February 9, 2023

 

We have served as the auditor of one or more American Funds investment companies since 1956.

 

30 Fundamental Investors
 
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 (July 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022).

 

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, 529-F-1, 529-F-2 and 529-F-3 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.

 

Fundamental Investors 31
 

Expense example (continued)

    Beginning
account value
7/1/2022
    Ending
account value
12/31/2022
    Expenses paid
during period*
    Annualized
expense ratio
Class A – actual return   $ 1,000.00     $ 1,050.40     $ 3.10       .60 %
Class A – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,022.18       3.06       .60  
Class C – actual return     1,000.00       1,046.27       6.96       1.35  
Class C – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,018.40       6.87       1.35  
Class T – actual return     1,000.00       1,051.74       1.81       .35  
Class T – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,023.44       1.79       .35  
Class F-1 – actual return     1,000.00       1,050.18       3.36       .65  
Class F-1 – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,021.93       3.31       .65  
Class F-2 – actual return     1,000.00       1,051.57       2.02       .39  
Class F-2 – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,023.24       1.99       .39  
Class F-3 – actual return     1,000.00       1,052.17       1.45       .28  
Class F-3 – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,023.79       1.43       .28  
Class 529-A – actual return     1,000.00       1,050.29       3.31       .64  
Class 529-A – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,021.98       3.26       .64  
Class 529-C – actual return     1,000.00       1,046.19       7.27       1.41  
Class 529-C – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,018.10       7.17       1.41  
Class 529-E – actual return     1,000.00       1,048.94       4.49       .87  
Class 529-E – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,020.82       4.43       .87  
Class 529-T – actual return     1,000.00       1,051.44       2.12       .41  
Class 529-T – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,023.14       2.09       .41  
Class 529-F-1 – actual return     1,000.00       1,051.11       2.38       .46  
Class 529-F-1 – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,022.89       2.35       .46  
Class 529-F-2 – actual return     1,000.00       1,051.55       1.96       .38  
Class 529-F-2 – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,023.29       1.94       .38  
Class 529-F-3 – actual return     1,000.00       1,051.79       1.76       .34  
Class 529-F-3 – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,023.49       1.73       .34  
Class R-1 – actual return     1,000.00       1,046.27       7.07       1.37  
Class R-1 – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,018.30       6.97       1.37  
Class R-2 – actual return     1,000.00       1,046.20       7.12       1.38  
Class R-2 – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,018.25       7.02       1.38  
Class R-2E – actual return     1,000.00       1,047.79       5.63       1.09  
Class R-2E – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,019.71       5.55       1.09  
Class R-3 – actual return     1,000.00       1,048.70       4.80       .93  
Class R-3 – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,020.52       4.74       .93  
Class R-4 – actual return     1,000.00       1,050.37       3.26       .63  
Class R-4 – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,022.03       3.21       .63  
Class R-5E – actual return     1,000.00       1,051.27       2.27       .44  
Class R-5E – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,022.99       2.24       .44  
Class R-5 – actual return     1,000.00       1,051.81       1.71       .33  
Class R-5 – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,023.54       1.68       .33  
Class R-6 – actual return     1,000.00       1,052.09       1.45       .28  
Class R-6 – assumed 5% return     1,000.00       1,023.79       1.43       .28  

 

* 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).

 

32 Fundamental Investors
 
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 December 31, 2022:

 

Long-term capital gains   $3,838,661,000
Qualified dividend income   100%
Section 163(j) interest dividends   $66,552,000
Corporate dividends received deduction   $1,462,381,000
U.S. government income that may be exempt from state taxation   $16,383,000

 

Individual shareholders should refer to their Form 1099 or other tax information, which was mailed in January 2023, to determine the calendar year amounts to be included on their 2022 tax returns. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors.

 

Fundamental Investors 33
 

Approval of Investment Advisory and Service Agreement

 

The fund’s board has approved the continuation of the fund’s Investment Advisory and Service Agreement (the

“agreement”) with Capital Research and Management Company (“CRMC”) for an additional one-year term through November 30, 2023. The board approved the agreement following the recommendation of the fund’s Contracts Committee (the “committee”), which is composed of all the fund’s independent board members. The board and the committee determined in the exercise of their business judgment that the fund’s advisory fee structure was fair and reasonable in relation to the services provided, and that approving the agreement was in the best interests of the fund and its shareholders.

 

In reaching this decision, the board and the committee took into account their interactions with CRMC as well as information furnished to them throughout the year and otherwise provided to them, as well as information prepared specifically in connection with their review of the agreement, and were advised by their independent counsel with respect to the matters considered. They considered the following factors, among others, but did not identify any single issue or particular piece of information that, in isolation, was the controlling factor, and each board and committee member did not necessarily attribute the same weight to each factor.

 

1. Nature, extent and quality of services

The board and the committee considered the depth and quality of CRMC’s investment management process, including its global research capabilities; the experience, capability and integrity of its senior management and other personnel; the low turnover rates of its key personnel; the overall financial strength and stability of CRMC and the Capital Group organization; the resources and systems CRMC devotes to investment management (the manner in which the fund’s assets are managed, including liquidity management), financial, investment operations, compliance, trading, proxy voting, shareholder communications, and other services; and the ongoing evolution of CRMC’s organizational structure designed to maintain and strengthen these qualities. The board and the committee also considered the nature, extent and quality of administrative and shareholder services provided by CRMC to the fund under the agreement and other agreements, as well as the benefits to fund shareholders from investing in a fund that is part of a large family of funds. The board and the committee considered the risks assumed by CRMC in providing services to the fund, including operational, business, financial, reputational, regulatory and litigation risks. The board and the committee concluded that the nature, extent and quality of the services provided by CRMC have benefited and should continue to benefit the fund and its shareholders.

 

2. Investment results

The board and the committee considered the investment results of the fund in light of its objective. They compared the fund’s investment results with those of other funds (including funds that currently form the basis of the Lipper index for the category in which the fund is included) and data such as relevant market and fund indexes over various periods (including the fund’s lifetime) through March 31, 2022. They generally placed greater emphasis on investment results over longer term periods. On the basis of this evaluation and the board’s and the committee’s ongoing review of investment results, and considering the relative market conditions during certain reporting periods, the board and the committee concluded that the fund’s investment results have been satisfactory for renewal of the agreement, and that CRMC’s record in managing the fund indicated that its continued management should benefit the fund and its shareholders.

 

3. Advisory fees and total expenses

The board and the committee compared the advisory fees and total expense levels of the fund to those of other relevant funds. They observed that the fund’s advisory fees and expenses generally compared favorably to those of other similar funds included in the comparable Lipper category. The board and the committee also considered the breakpoint discounts in the fund’s advisory fee structure that reduce the level of fees charged by CRMC to the fund as fund assets increase. In addition, they reviewed information regarding the effective advisory fees charged to non-mutual fund clients by CRMC and its affiliates. They noted that, to the extent there were differences between the advisory fees paid by the fund and the advisory fees paid by those clients, the differences appropriately reflected the investment, operational, regulatory and market differences between advising the fund and the other clients. The board and the committee concluded that the fund’s cost structure was fair and reasonable in relation to the services provided, as well as in relation to the risks assumed by the adviser in sponsoring and managing the fund, and that the fund’s shareholders receive reasonable value in return for the advisory fees and other amounts paid to CRMC by the fund.

 

34 Fundamental Investors
 

4. Ancillary benefits

The board and the committee considered a variety of other benefits that CRMC and its affiliates receive as a result of CRMC’s relationship with the fund and other American Funds, including fees for administrative services provided to certain share classes; fees paid to CRMC’s affiliated transfer agent; sales charges and distribution fees received and retained by the fund’s principal underwriter, an affiliate of CRMC; and possible ancillary benefits to CRMC and its institutional management affiliates in managing other investment vehicles. The board and the committee reviewed CRMC’s portfolio trading practices, noting that CRMC bears the cost of third-party research. The board and committee also noted that CRMC benefited from the use of commissions from portfolio transactions made on behalf of the fund to facilitate payment to certain broker-dealers for research to comply with regulatory requirements applicable to these firms, with all such amounts reimbursed by CRMC. The board and the committee took these ancillary benefits into account in evaluating the reasonableness of the advisory fees and other amounts paid to CRMC by the fund.

 

5. Adviser financial information

The board and the committee reviewed information regarding CRMC’s costs of providing services to the American Funds, including personnel, systems and resources of investment, compliance, trading, accounting and other administrative operations. They considered CRMC’s costs and related cost allocation methodology as well as its track record of investing in technology, infrastructure and staff to maintain and expand services and capabilities, respond to industry and regulatory developments, and attract and retain qualified personnel. They noted information regarding the compensation structure for CRMC’s investment professionals. They reviewed information on the profitability of the investment adviser and its affiliates. The board and the committee also compared CRMC’s profitability and compensation data to the reported results and data of a number of large, publicly held investment management companies. The board and the committee noted the competitiveness and cyclicality of both the mutual fund industry and the capital markets, and the importance in that environment of CRMC’s long-term profitability for maintaining its independence, company culture and management continuity. They further considered the breakpoint discounts in the fund’s advisory fee structure and CRMC’s sharing of potential economies of scale, or efficiencies, through breakpoints and other fee reductions and costs voluntarily absorbed. The board and the committee concluded that the fund’s advisory fee structure reflected a reasonable sharing of benefits between CRMC and the fund’s shareholders.

 

Fundamental Investors 35
 
Liquidity Risk Management Program unaudited

 

The fund has adopted a liquidity risk management program (the “program”). The fund’s board has designated Capital Research and Management Company (“CRMC”) as the administrator of the program. Personnel of CRMC or its affiliates conduct the day-to-day operation of the program pursuant to policies and procedures administered by the Capital Group Liquidity Risk Management Committee.

 

Under the program, CRMC manages the fund’s liquidity risk, which is the risk that the fund could not meet shareholder redemption requests without significant dilution of remaining shareholders’ interests in the fund. This risk is managed by monitoring the degree of liquidity of the fund’s investments, limiting the amount of the fund’s illiquid investments, and utilizing various risk management tools and facilities available to the fund for meeting shareholder redemptions, among other means. CRMC’s process of determining the degree of liquidity of the fund’s investments is supported by one or more third-party liquidity assessment vendors.

 

The fund’s board reviewed a report prepared by CRMC regarding the operation and effectiveness of the program for the period October 1, 2021, through September 30, 2022. No significant liquidity events impacting the fund were noted in the report. In addition, CRMC provided its assessment that the program had been effective in managing the fund’s liquidity risk.

 

36 Fundamental Investors

 

 

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 trustee3
  Other directorships4
held by trustee
Joseph J. Bonner, 1955   2019   President and CEO, Solana Beach Capital LLC (real estate advisory); Global Head of Real Estate, Board Member, The Interlink Group (private merchant bank)   3   Extra Space Storage
Mary Anne Dolan, 1947   2010   Founder and President, MAD Ink (communications company); former Editor-in-Chief, The Los Angeles Herald Examiner (retired 1989)   10   None
Cecilia V. Estolano, 1966   2022   Founder and CEO of Estolano Advisors (urban planning and public policy consultancy); CEO of Better World Group (boutique environmental advocacy consultancy)   3   None
John G. Freund, MD, 1953
Chair of the Board
(Independent and
Non-Executive)
  2010   Founder and former Managing Director, Skyline Ventures (a venture capital investor in health care companies); Co-Founder of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (1995–2000); Co-Founder and former CEO of Arixa Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (2016–2020)   10   Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc.; SI - Bone, Inc.; Sutro Biopharma, Inc.
Yvonne L. Greenstreet, 1962   2019   Chief Executive Officer, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.   3   Pacira, Inc. (pharmaceuticals)
Linda Griego, 1947   2015   Former President and CEO, Griego Enterprises, Inc. (business management company)   7   ViacomCBS Inc.
Leonade D. Jones, 1947   1998   Retired; former Treasurer, The Washington Post Company (retired 1996)   10   None
Martin E. Koehler, 1957   2021   Independent management consultant   6   None
Sharon I. Meers, 1965   2017   Co-Founder and COO, Midi Health, Inc. (a women’s telehealth company); former Senior Director, Head of Strategic Partnerships, eBay Enterprise   7   None
Kenneth M. Simril, 1965   2016   President and CEO, SCI Ingredients Holdings, Inc. (food manufacturing)   7   Bunge Limited (agricultural business and food company)
Christopher E. Stone, 1956   2010   Professor of Practice of Public Integrity, University of Oxford, Blavatnik School of Government; former President, Open Society Foundations   9   None

 

Interested trustees5,6

 

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 trustee3
  Other directorships4
held by trustee
Brady L. Enright, 1967
Co-President
  2015   Partner — Capital World Investors, Capital Research and Management Company; Partner — Capital World Investors, Capital Bank and Trust Company7    3   None
Anne-Marie Peterson, 1972   2019   Partner — Capital World Investors, Capital Research and Management Company   3   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 Capital Group website at capitalgroup.com. The address for all trustees and officers of the fund is 333 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071, Attention: Secretary.

 

Refer to page 38 for footnotes.

 

Fundamental Investors 37
 

Other officers6

 

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
Mark L. Casey, 1970
Co-President
  2008   Partner — Capital International Investors, Capital Research and Management Company
Walt Burkley, 1966
Principal Executive Officer
  2010   Senior Vice President and Senior Counsel — Fund Business Management Group, Capital Research and Management Company; Director, Capital Research Company7; Director, Capital Research and Management Company
Michael W. Stockton, 1967
Executive Vice President
  2014   Senior Vice President — Fund Business Management Group, Capital Research and Management Company
Julian N. Abdey, 1972
Senior Vice President
  2019   Partner — Capital International Investors, Capital Research and Management Company; Director, The Capital Group Companies, Inc.7 
Paul Benjamin, 1979
Senior Vice President
  2020   Partner — Capital World Investors, Capital Research and Management Company; Director, Capital Strategy Research, Inc.7 
Mathews Cherian, 1967
Senior Vice President
  2018   Partner — Capital World Investors, Capital Research and Management Company
Irfan M. Furniturewala, 1971
Senior Vice President
  2020   Partner — Capital International Investors, Capital Research and Management Company
Dimitrije M. Mitrinovic, 1977
Senior Vice President
  2022   Partner — Capital World Investors, Capital Research and Management Company
Dina N. Perry, 1945
Senior Vice President
  1994   Partner — Capital World Investors, Capital Research and Management Company
Diana Wagner, 1973
Senior Vice President
  2022   Partner — Capital World Investors, Capital Research and Management Company; Director, The Capital Group Companies, Inc.7 
Julie E. Lawton, 1973
Secretary
  2010   Assistant Vice President — Fund Business Management Group, Capital Research and Management Company; Secretary, Capital Research Company7 
Hong T. Le, 1978
Treasurer
  2018   Vice President — Investment Operations, Capital Research and Management Company
Sandra Chuon, 1972
Assistant Treasurer
  2019   Vice President — Investment Operations, Capital Research and Management Company
Brian C. Janssen, 1972
Assistant Treasurer
  2016-2018, 2020   Senior 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 Funds managed by Capital Research and Management Company or its affiliates.
4 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.
5 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).
6 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.
7 Company affiliated with Capital Research and Management Company.

 

38 Fundamental Investors
 

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Fundamental Investors 39
 

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40 Fundamental Investors
 

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Fundamental Investors 41
 

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42 Fundamental Investors
 

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Fundamental Investors 43
 

Office of the fund
6455 Irvine Center Drive
Irvine, CA 92618-4518

 

Investment adviser
Capital Research and Management Company
333 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071-1406

 

Transfer agent for shareholder accounts
American Funds Service Company
(Write to the address nearest you.)

 

P.O. Box 6007
Indianapolis, IN 46206-6007

 

P.O. Box 2280
Norfolk, VA 23501-2280

 

Custodian of assets
State Street Bank and Trust Company
One Lincoln Street
Boston, MA 02111-2900

 

Counsel
Dechert LLP
One Bush Street, Suite 1600
San Francisco, CA 94104-4446

 

Independent registered public accounting firm
Deloitte & Touche LLP
695 Town Center Drive
Suite 1000
Costa Mesa, CA 92626-7188

 

Principal underwriter
American Funds Distributors, Inc.
333 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071-1406

 

44 Fundamental Investors
 

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 Capital Group website at capitalgroup.com.

 

“American Funds Proxy Voting Procedures and Principles” — which describes how we vote proxies relating to portfolio securities — is available on our 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 our website.

 

Fundamental Investors files a complete list of its portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form NPORT-P. The list of portfolio holdings is available free of charge on the SEC website and on our website.

 

This report is for the information of shareholders of Fundamental Investors, 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, 2023, this report must be accompanied by an American Funds statistical update for the most recently completed calendar quarter.

 

The S&P 500 Index (“Index”) is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and/or its affiliates and has been licensed for use by Capital Group. Copyright © 2023 S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a division of S&P Global, and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Redistribution or reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without written permission of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC.

 

American Funds Distributors, Inc., member FINRA.

 

The Capital Advantage®

 

Since 1931, Capital Group, home of American Funds, has helped investors pursue long-term investment success. Our consistent approach — in combination with The Capital SystemTM — has resulted in superior outcomes.

 

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 industry 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 outcomes

Equity funds have beaten their Lipper peer indexes in 90% of 10-year periods and 99% of 20-year periods.2 Fixed income funds have helped investors achieve diversification through attention to correlation between bonds and equities.3 Fund management fees have been among the lowest in the industry.4

 

  1  Investment industry experience as of December 31, 2021.
  2  Based on Class F-2 share results for rolling calendar-year periods starting the first full calendar year after each fund’s inception through December 31, 2021. 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.
  3  Based on Class F-2 share results as of December 31, 2021. Thirteen of the 17 fixed income American Funds that have been in existence for the three-year period showed a three-year correlation below 0.3. S&P 500 Index was used as an equity market proxy. Correlation based on monthly total returns. Correlation is a statistical measure of how two securities move in relation to each other. A correlation ranges from –1 to 1. A positive correlation close to 1 implies that as one security moves, either up or down, the other security will move in “lockstep,” in the same direction. A negative correlation close to –1 indicates that the securities have moved in the opposite direction.
  4  On average, our management fees were in the lowest quintile 63% of the time, based on the 20-year period ended December 31, 2021, versus comparable Lipper categories, excluding funds of funds.

 

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 the results of the original share class of the fund 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. Visit capitalgroup.com for more information on specific expense adjustments and the actual dates of first sale.

 

All Capital Group trademarks mentioned are owned by The Capital Group Companies, Inc., an affiliated company or fund. All other company and product names mentioned are the property of their respective companies.

 

 

 

 

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 by calling 800/421-4225 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 Christopher E. Stone, 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

  FI
     
Registrant:    

a)  Audit Fees:    
Audit 2021           100,000
  2022           101,000
     
b)  Audit-Related Fees:    
  2021             19,000
  2022             21,000
     
c)  Tax Fees:    
  2021             12,000
  2022             15,000
  The tax fees consist of professional services relating to the preparation of the Registrant’s tax returns.  
     
d)  All Other Fees:    
  2021  None
  2022  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:    
  2021       1,427,000
  2022       2,394,000
  The audit-related fees consist of assurance and related services relating to the examination of the Registrant’s transfer agent, principal underwriter and investment adviser conducted in accordance with Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements Number 18 issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.  
     
c)  Tax Fees:    

  2021                1,000
  2022           394,000
  The tax fees consist of consulting services relating to the Registrant’s investments.  
     
     
d)  All Other Fees:    
  2021                2,000
  2022  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 $1,460,000 for fiscal year 2021 and $2,824,000 for fiscal year 2022. 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 semi-annual 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 FUNDAMENTAL INVESTORS
   
  By __/s/ Walter R. Burkley________________
 

Walter R. Burkley,

Principal Executive Officer

   
  Date: February 28, 2023

 

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/ Walter R. Burkley_____________

Walter R. Burkley,

Principal Executive Officer

 
Date: February 28, 2023

 

 

 

By ___/s/ Hong T. Le__________________

Hong T. Le, Treasurer and

Principal Financial Officer

 
Date: February 28, 2023