Fund Evaluator:
American Funds College 2039 529-E (CTAEX)
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Best Performing in Miscellaneous Allocation Over the Last Year
| 7.8% | Fidelity Advisor Real Estate Income Z (FIKMX) |
| 7.7% | Fidelity Real Estate Income (FRIFX) |
Fund Details
American Funds College 2039 529-E Overview
American Funds College 2039 529-E (CTAEX) is an actively managed Allocation Miscellaneous Allocation fund. Capital Group launched the fund in 2021.
The investment seeks to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees: growth, income and preservation of capital. The adviser will increasingly emphasize income and preservation of capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in fixed income, equity-income and balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date. The Adviser will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying American Funds represent a variety of fund categories, including growth funds, growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds, balanced funds and fixed income funds.
About American Funds College 2039 529-E (CTAEX)
There are 8 members of the management team with an average tenure of 4.58 years: Wesley Phoa (2021), Michelle Black (2021), William Robbins (2024), Shannon Ward (2021), Samir Mathur (2021), Jessica Spaly (2023), Raj Paramaguru (2024), David Hoag (2021). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. American Funds College 2039 529-E has 20 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 72.4% 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 College 2039 529-E is part of the Allocation global asset class and is within the Allocation fund group. American Funds College 2039 529-E has 24.4% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 51.5%. There is 21.3% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.4% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 22.1% (18.9% domestic bond, 3.2% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). American Funds College 2039 529-E has 4.2% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $30 million in total assets, which is below the $676 million average for the Miscellaneous Allocation 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.
CTAEX 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 College 2039 529-E expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Miscellaneous Allocation category. American Funds College 2039 529-E has an expense ratio of 0.99%, which is the same as its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. 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 College 2039 529-E has a portfolio turnover rate of 4%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.3 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 18% for the Miscellaneous Allocation category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, American Funds College 2039 529-E returned -1.5%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Miscellaneous Allocation category had an average return of -0.2%. 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 College 2039 529-E has a trailing yield of 1.17%, which is below the 3.08% category average. The fund normally distributes its income 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 College 2039 529-E Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 7.6%, 1.9 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 15.4% over the past year (grade of B), 15.4% over the past three years (grade of A) and 8.0% per year over the past five years (grade of A).
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CTAEX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| CTAEX Return (NAV) | -1.5% | 2.6% | 15.4% | 15.4% | 8.0% | na |
| CTAEX Grade | F | B | B | A | A | na |
| +/- Category | -1.3% | 0.9% | 3.8% | 4.9% | 2.9% | na |
| Miscellaneous Allocation Avg | -0.2% | 1.7% | 11.6% | 10.6% | 5.1% | 5.9% |
| CTAEX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.5% | 1.0% | 0.8% | na |
CTAEX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| CTAEX Return (NAV) | 7.6% | 18.7% | 15.2% | 21.6% | -20.7% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| CTAEX Grade | B | B | A | A | F | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | 1.9% | 4.9% | 5.6% | 9.4% | -6.5% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Miscellaneous Allocation Avg | 5.7% | 13.8% | 9.6% | 12.1% | -14.2% | 12.5% | 7.2% | 17.6% | -4.0% | 11.9% | 7.1% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 11.5% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.94 - Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.46 - High |
| Category Risk Grade: | F (97% Rank) |
| Beta: | 1.16 |
| R-Squared: | 90% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Blend |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Moderate Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 1.2% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | |
| Total Assets: | $2285 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 31 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Other |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 4% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 8 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 5.6 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 4.6 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Ward Shannon (2021), Mathur Samir (2021), Phoa Wesley (2021), Black Michelle (2021), Hoag David (2021), Spaly Jessica (2023), Paramaguru Raj (2024), Robbins William (2024) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 20 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 72.4% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 24.4% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 51.5% |
| Foreign Stock: | 21.3% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.4% |
| Domestic Bond: | 18.9% |
| Foreign Bond: | 3.2% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.5% |
| Cash: | 4.2% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Capital Group |
| Phone Number: | 800-421-4225 |
| Website: | www.americanfunds.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | March 26, 2021 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $ 250 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | No |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.50% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.99% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.99% |
| Share Class: | American Funds College 2039 529-C |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 50 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
