Fund Evaluator:
American Funds College Enrollment 529-F3 (FTAOX)
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Best Performing in Short-Term Bond Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
American Funds College Enrollment 529-F3 Overview
American Funds College Enrollment 529-F3 (FTAOX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Short-Term Bond fund. Capital Group launched the fund in 2020.
The investment seeks to provide current income, consistent with preservation of capital. The adviser will attempt to achieve its investment objective by principally investing in a mix of American Funds fixed income funds that seek current income through investments in bonds or in other fixed income instruments. The fund may invest in growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds and balanced funds to a limited extent. It is designed for investors who are withdrawing (or who, in the near future, expect to withdraw) funds to meet higher education expenses.
About American Funds College Enrollment 529-F3 (FTAOX)
There are 8 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.99 years: Wesley Phoa (2012), Michelle Black (2020), William Robbins (2024), Shannon Ward (2021), Samir Mathur (2020), Jessica Spaly (2023), Raj Paramaguru (2024), David Hoag (2020). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg US Agg 1-5 Yr TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. American Funds College Enrollment 529-F3 has 7 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 100.0% 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 College Enrollment 529-F3 is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. American Funds College Enrollment 529-F3 has 5.1% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 10.4%. There is 1.1% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 80.2% (76.2% domestic bond, 3.9% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). American Funds College Enrollment 529-F3 has 8.2% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $147 million in total assets, which is below the $904 million average for the Short-Term Bond 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.
FTAOX 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 Enrollment 529-F3 expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Short-Term Bond category. American Funds College Enrollment 529-F3 has an expense ratio of 0.34%, which is 49% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. 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 Enrollment 529-F3 has a portfolio turnover rate of 10%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 135% for the Short-Term Bond category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, American Funds College Enrollment 529-F3 returned -0.3%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Short-Term Bond category had an average return of -0.0%. 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 College Enrollment 529-F3 has a trailing yield of 4.21%, which is above the 4.16% 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 Enrollment 529-F3 Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 1.3%, 0.4 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 4.7% over the past year (grade of A), 5.8% over the past three years (grade of A) and 2.4% per year over the past five years (grade of C) and 2.2% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).
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FTAOX 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 |
|
| FTAOX Return (NAV) | -0.3% | 0.4% | 4.7% | 5.8% | 2.4% | 2.2% |
| FTAOX Grade | F | C | A | A | C | C |
| +/- Category | -0.3% | 0.1% | 1.3% | 0.8% | 0.1% | -0.1% |
| Short-Term Bond Avg | -0.0% | 0.3% | 3.4% | 5.0% | 2.2% | 2.3% |
| FTAOX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.3% | na |
FTAOX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| FTAOX Return (NAV) | 1.3% | 8.0% | 5.1% | 5.2% | -6.8% | -0.2% | 5.9% | 4.0% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 1.2% |
| FTAOX Grade | A | A | B | D | F | C | A | D | C | F | F |
| +/- Category | 0.4% | 2.1% | 0.2% | -0.4% | -1.8% | -0.2% | 1.7% | -0.8% | 0.1% | -0.9% | -1.3% |
| Short-Term Bond Avg | 0.9% | 5.9% | 4.9% | 5.6% | -5.0% | -0.0% | 4.2% | 4.8% | 0.7% | 1.9% | 2.5% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 3.4% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.28 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.74 - High |
| Category Risk Grade: | F (96% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.58 |
| R-Squared: | 91% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Value |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Limited Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 4.2% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | |
| Total Assets: | $3173 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 0 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Other |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 10% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 8 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 13.9 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 6.0 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Phoa Wesley (2012), Black Michelle (2020), Mathur Samir (2020), Hoag David (2020), Ward Shannon (2021), Spaly Jessica (2023), Paramaguru Raj (2024), Robbins William (2024) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 7 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 100.0% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 5.1% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 10.4% |
| Foreign Stock: | 1.1% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 76.2% |
| Foreign Bond: | 3.9% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.1% |
| Cash: | 8.2% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Capital Group |
| Phone Number: | 800-421-4225 |
| Website: | www.americanfunds.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | October 30, 2020 |
| 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 (%): | 0.34% ( Rating : Below Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.66% |
| Share Class: | American Funds College Enrollment 529-A |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 50 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
