Fund Evaluator:

American Funds Emerging Mkts Bd R-5E Overview

American Funds Emerging Mkts Bd R-5E (REGJX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Emerging Markets Bond fund. Capital Group launched the fund in 2016.

The investment seeks a high level of total return over the long term, of which current income is a large component. The fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (including any borrowing for investment purposes) in bonds and other debt securities, which may be represented by derivatives. It will invest at least 80% of its net assets (including any borrowing for investment purposes) in emerging markets securities. The fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. It is non-diversified.

About American Funds Emerging Mkts Bd R-5E (REGJX)

There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.79 years: Luis Freitas de Oliveira (2019), Kirstie Spence (2016), Robert Burgess (2023). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 4 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg Global Aggregate TR USD index with a weighting of 100%, JPM GBI-EM Global Diversified TR USD index with a weighting of 50%, JPM Corporate EM Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 20% and JPM EMBI Global Diversified TR USD index with a weighting of 30%. American Funds Emerging Mkts Bd R-5E has 951 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 11.9% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

American Funds Emerging Mkts Bd R-5E is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. American Funds Emerging Mkts Bd R-5E has 86.4% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 90.4% (4.0% domestic bond, 86.4% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). American Funds Emerging Mkts Bd R-5E has 9.6% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $1 million in total assets, which is below the $325 million average for the Emerging Markets 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.

REGJX 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 Emerging Mkts Bd R-5E expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Emerging Markets Bond category. American Funds Emerging Mkts Bd R-5E has an expense ratio of 0.69%, which is 32% 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 Emerging Mkts Bd R-5E has a portfolio turnover rate of 57%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 83% for the Emerging Markets Bond category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, American Funds Emerging Mkts Bd R-5E returned -0.4%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Emerging Markets Bond category had an average return of -0.9%. 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 Emerging Mkts Bd R-5E has a trailing yield of 5.24%, which is below the 5.99% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly.

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 Emerging Mkts Bd R-5E Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 2.3%, 0.2 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 8.6% over the past year (grade of C), 7.3% over the past three years (grade of D) and 3.3% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 4.3% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).

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