Fund Evaluator:

American Funds SMALLCAP World 529-C Overview

American Funds SMALLCAP World 529-C (CSPCX) is an actively managed International Equity Global Small/Mid Stock fund. Capital Group launched the fund in 2002.

The investment seeks long-term growth of capital. Normally the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in common stocks and other equity-type securities (such as preferred stocks, convertible preferred stocks and convertible bonds) of companies with small market capitalizations, including growth-oriented stocks. Under normal circumstances, the fund will invest a significant portion of its assets outside the United States, including in emerging markets.

About American Funds SMALLCAP World 529-C (CSPCX)

There are 17 members of the management team with an average tenure of 10.57 years: Brady Enright (2004), Bradford Freer (2007), Julian Abdey (2011), Brittain Ezzes (2024), Peter Eliot (2012), Leo Hee (2012), Roz Hongsaranagon (2013), Dimitrije Mitrinovic (2015), Samir Parekh (2015), Arun Swaminathan (2018), Piyada Phanaphat (2023), Andraz Razen (2009), Thatcher Thompson (2018), Shlok Melwani (2018), M Taylor Hinshaw (2023), Peter Gusev (2023), Aidan O'Connell (2012). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: MSCI ACWI IMI NR USD index with a weighting of 100% and MSCI ACWI Small NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. American Funds SMALLCAP World 529-C has 843 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 9.0% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

American Funds SMALLCAP World 529-C is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity fund group. American Funds SMALLCAP World 529-C has 44.7% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 51.9%. There is 44.6% allocated to foreign stock, and 1.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.1% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.1% convertible bond). American Funds SMALLCAP World 529-C has 2.3% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $30 million in total assets, which is below the $892 million average for the Global Small/Mid Stock category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

CSPCX Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The American Funds SMALLCAP World 529-C expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Global Small/Mid Stock category. American Funds SMALLCAP World 529-C has an expense ratio of 1.81%, which is 44% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a F. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. American Funds SMALLCAP World 529-C has a portfolio turnover rate of 41%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 57% for the Global Small/Mid Stock category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, American Funds SMALLCAP World 529-C returned -6.0%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Global Small/Mid Stock category had an average return of -2.0%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.

American Funds SMALLCAP World 529-C has a trailing yield of 0.08%, which is below the 1.34% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually and its capital gains annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

American Funds SMALLCAP World 529-C Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 9.8%, 1.0 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 16.5% over the past year (grade of C), 8.9% over the past three years (grade of C) and 0.4% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 8.5% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).

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