American Funds Short-Term Bond Fund of America (ASBAX)

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The chart shows the growth of an initial investment of $10,000 in American Funds Short-Term Bond Fund of America, comparing it to the performance of the S&P 500 index or another benchmark. All prices have been adjusted for splits and dividends.

American Funds Short-Term Bond Fund of America (ASBAX) has returned -0.26% so far this year and 3.11% over the past 12 months. Over the last ten years, ASBAX has returned 1.57% per year, falling short of the S&P 500 Index benchmark, which averaged 12.16% annually.

Based on dividend-adjusted daily data since Oct 4, 2006, ASBAX's average daily return is +0.01%, while the average monthly return is +0.14%. At this rate, your investment would double in approximately 41.3 years.

Historically, 63% of months were positive and 37% were negative. The best month was Mar 2023 with a return of +1.5%, while the worst month was Sep 2022 at -1.5%. The longest winning streak lasted 13 consecutive months, and the longest losing streak was 9 months.

On a daily basis, ASBAX closed higher 25% of trading days. The best single day was Mar 13, 2023 with a return of +1.1%, while the worst single day was Jun 5, 2009 at -0.6%.

American Funds Short-Term Bond Fund of America has an annualized alpha of 1.78%, beta of -0.01, and R² of 0.02 versus S&P 500 Index. Calculated based on daily prices since October 05, 2006.

• This fund captured 4.48% of S&P 500 Index gains and tended to rise during its downturns (downside capture of -1.95%) — a profile typical of hedging or uncorrelated assets.
• Beta of -0.01 may look defensive, but with R² of 0.02 this fund is largely uncorrelated with S&P 500 Index — low beta reflects independence, not downside protection. See the Volatility section for a true picture of this fund's risk.
• R² of 0.02 means this fund moves largely independently of S&P 500 Index — capture ratios reflect limited market correlation rather than active downside protection. Consider using a more representative benchmark.

ASBAX has an expense ratio of 0.66%, placing it in the medium range.

ASBAX ranks 92 for risk / return — in the top 92% of mutual funds on our site. This means strong returns relative to risk — exactly what professional investors look for. Well-suited for investors who want to maximize return per unit of risk.

The table below present risk-adjusted performance metrics for American Funds Short-Term Bond Fund of America (ASBAX) and compare them to a chosen benchmark (S&P 500 Index).

American Funds Short-Term Bond Fund of America provided a 3.50% dividend yield over the last twelve months, with an annual payout of $0.33 per share.

The table displays the monthly dividend distributions for American Funds Short-Term Bond Fund of America. The dividends shown in the table have been adjusted to account for any splits that may have occurred.

The Drawdowns chart displays portfolio losses from any high point along the way. Drawdowns are calculated considering price movements and all distributions paid, if any.

The table below displays the maximum drawdowns of the American Funds Short-Term Bond Fund of America. A maximum drawdown is a measure of risk, indicating the largest reduction in portfolio value due to a series of losing trades.

The maximum drawdown for the American Funds Short-Term Bond Fund of America was 6.29%, occurring on Oct 20, 2022. Recovery took 431 trading sessions.

The current American Funds Short-Term Bond Fund of America drawdown is 0.93%.

The chart below shows the rolling one-month volatility.