American Funds Bond Fund of America

Objective And Strategy

Objective
As high level of current income as is consistent with the preservation of capital.

Strategy
The fund seeks to maximize your level of current income and preserve your capital by investing primarily in bonds. Normally, the fund invests at least 80% of its assets in bonds and other debt securities. The fund invests at least 65% of its assets in investment-grade debt securities (rated Baa3 or better or BBB– or better by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations, or NRSROs, designated by the fund’s investment adviser, or unrated but determined to be of equivalent quality by the fund’s investment adviser), including cash and cash equivalents, securities issued and guaranteed by the U.S. and other governments, and securities backed by mortgage and other assets. The fund may invest up to 35% of its assets in debt securities rated Ba1 or below and BB+ or below by NRSROs or unrated but determined by the fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. Such securities are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds.” The fund may invest in debt securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States. The fund may also invest up to 20% of its assets in preferred stocks, including convertible and nonconvertible preferred stocks. In addition, the fund may invest, subject to the restrictions above, in contracts for future delivery of mortgage-backed securities, such as to be announced contracts and mortgage rolls. These contracts are normally of short duration and are replaced by another contract prior to maturity. Each such transaction is reflected as turnover in the fund’s portfolio resulting in a higher portfolio turnover rate than funds that do not employ this investment strategy. The fund is designed for investors seeking income and more price stability than stocks, and capital preservation over the long term. The investment adviser uses a system of multiple portfolio counselors in managing the fund’s assets.
Tax Inefficient Fund

Principal Risks

* This portfolio invests in securities of foreign issuers which involves risks not typically associated with domestic issuers, including currency fluctuations and the possibility of political and economic instability. Emerging markets involve risks in addition to those generally associated with foreign securities, because political and economic structures in many emerging markets may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development.

* Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a security may be unable to make interest payments and/or repay principal when due. A downgrade to an issuer's credit rating or a perceived change in an issuer's financial strength may affect a security's value, and thus, impact the VA Short-Term Fixed Portfolio's performance.

* Mortgage-backed securities may be affected by, among other things, changes or perceived changes in interest rates, factors concerning the interests in and structure of the issuer or the originator of the mortgage, or the quality of the underlying assets. The underlying assets may default or decline in quality or value.

* Bonds guaranteed by a government are subject to inflation risk and price depreciation risk.

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

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

* There may be little trading in the secondary market for particular bonds or other debt securities, which may make them more difficult to value, acquire or sell.