Fund Evaluator:
American Funds College 2042 529-F-3 (DAAGX)
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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 2042 529-F-3 Overview
American Funds College 2042 529-F-3 (DAAGX) is an actively managed Allocation Miscellaneous Allocation fund. Capital Group launched the fund in 2024.
The investment seeks to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees: growth, income and preservation of capital. The fund manager 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-and-income funds, equity-income funds, balanced funds and fixed income funds. The fund categories represent differing investment objectives and strategies.
About American Funds College 2042 529-F-3 (DAAGX)
There are 8 members of the management team with an average tenure of 2.38 years: Wesley Phoa (2024), Michelle Black (2024), William Robbins (2024), Shannon Ward (2024), Samir Mathur (2024), Jessica Spaly (2024), Raj Paramaguru (2024), David Hoag (2024). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
American Funds College 2042 529-F-3 has 18 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 75.5% 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 2042 529-F-3 is part of the Allocation global asset class and is within the Allocation fund group. American Funds College 2042 529-F-3 has 28.6% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 59.2%. There is 27.5% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.5% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 8.1% (7.0% domestic bond, 1.1% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). American Funds College 2042 529-F-3 has 4.2% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $14 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.
DAAGX 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 2042 529-F-3 expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Miscellaneous Allocation category. American Funds College 2042 529-F-3 has an expense ratio of 0.45%, which is 55% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. 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 2042 529-F-3 has a portfolio turnover rate of 6%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.2 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 2042 529-F-3 returned -1.8%, 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 2042 529-F-3 has a trailing yield of 1.00%, which is below the 3.08% 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 College 2042 529-F-3 Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 9.4%, 3.7 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 18.5% over the past year (grade of A).
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DAAGX 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 |
|
| DAAGX Return (NAV) | -1.8% | 3.3% | 18.5% | na | na | na |
| DAAGX Grade | F | A | A | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | -1.5% | 1.6% | 6.8% | na | na | na |
| Miscellaneous Allocation Avg | -0.2% | 1.7% | 11.6% | 10.6% | 5.1% | 5.9% |
| DAAGX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.9% | na | na | na |
DAAGX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| DAAGX Return (NAV) | 9.4% | 21.1% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| DAAGX Grade | A | A | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | 3.7% | 7.3% | na | na | na | 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: | na |
| Total Risk Index: | na |
| Category Risk Index: | na |
| Category Risk Grade: | |
| Beta: | na |
| R-Squared: | na |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Blend |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Moderate Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 1.0% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $928 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 0 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Other |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 6% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 8 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 2.4 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 2.4 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Phoa Wesley (2024), Black Michelle (2024), Robbins William (2024), Ward Shannon (2024), Mathur Samir (2024), Spaly Jessica (2024), Paramaguru Raj (2024), Hoag David (2024) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 18 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 75.5% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 28.6% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 59.2% |
| Foreign Stock: | 27.5% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.5% |
| Domestic Bond: | 7.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 1.1% |
| 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 15, 2024 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $1,000,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | na |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.45% ( Rating : Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.99% |
| Share Class: | American Funds College 2042 529-F-2 |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 50 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
