American Funds American Balanced Fund (BALFX)
The fund uses a balanced approach to invest in a broad range of securities, including common stocks and investment-grade bonds. It also invests in securities issued and guaranteed by the U.S. government and by federal agencies and instrumentalities. In addition, the fund may invest a portion of its assets in common stocks, most of which have a history of paying dividends, bonds and other securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States.
Fund Info
US0240714099
024071409
Mar 15, 2001
$250
Large-Cap
Blend
Expense Ratio
BALFX has an expense ratio of 0.62%, placing it in the medium range.
Share Price Chart
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Compare to other instruments
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Performance
Performance Chart
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Returns By Period
American Funds American Balanced Fund (BALFX) returned 2.93% year-to-date (YTD) and 5.56% over the past 12 months. Over the past 10 years, BALFX returned 5.18% annually, underperforming the S&P 500 benchmark at 10.87%.
BALFX
2.93%
6.89%
-1.18%
5.56%
7.30%
5.18%
^GSPC (Benchmark)
1.30%
12.79%
1.49%
12.35%
15.37%
10.87%
Monthly Returns
The table below presents the monthly returns of BALFX, with color gradation from worst to best to easily spot seasonal factors. Returns are adjusted for dividends.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2.92% | -0.25% | -2.83% | -0.26% | 3.47% | 2.93% | |||||||
| 2024 | 0.72% | 2.58% | 2.75% | -3.25% | 2.96% | 2.78% | 1.85% | 1.68% | 1.75% | -1.10% | 2.87% | -6.07% | 9.45% |
| 2023 | 4.04% | -3.25% | 2.11% | 1.33% | -0.74% | 3.34% | 2.07% | -1.41% | -3.48% | -1.56% | 6.64% | 4.63% | 13.97% |
| 2022 | -3.35% | -1.52% | 0.81% | -5.53% | 1.59% | -6.70% | 4.48% | -3.08% | -7.13% | 5.23% | 5.58% | -2.77% | -12.72% |
| 2021 | -0.66% | 1.50% | 2.88% | 2.95% | 1.81% | 0.04% | 1.13% | 1.46% | -3.13% | 3.71% | -0.95% | 0.97% | 12.13% |
| 2020 | -0.18% | -3.80% | -7.99% | 7.82% | 2.70% | 0.50% | 3.42% | 2.37% | -1.64% | -1.80% | 6.96% | -0.08% | 7.44% |
| 2019 | 4.74% | 1.42% | 1.54% | 2.06% | -3.52% | 4.09% | 0.66% | -0.15% | 0.90% | 1.67% | 2.10% | 0.21% | 16.62% |
| 2018 | 3.21% | -3.32% | -1.02% | 0.30% | 1.16% | 0.46% | 2.14% | 0.87% | 0.20% | -4.09% | 1.91% | -8.01% | -6.56% |
| 2017 | 1.77% | 2.10% | 0.29% | 0.93% | 1.39% | -0.40% | 1.91% | 0.49% | 1.14% | 1.63% | 1.42% | -1.82% | 11.34% |
| 2016 | -2.52% | 0.00% | 4.34% | 1.24% | 0.45% | 0.76% | 1.66% | -0.00% | 0.03% | -0.88% | 1.50% | -0.71% | 5.88% |
| 2015 | -1.33% | 3.56% | -1.03% | 1.09% | 0.36% | -1.77% | 1.87% | -4.40% | -0.99% | 5.85% | 0.32% | -4.50% | -1.44% |
| 2014 | -2.34% | 3.06% | 1.21% | 0.49% | 1.66% | 1.12% | -1.54% | 3.24% | -1.01% | 1.42% | 2.05% | 0.39% | 10.03% |
Risk-Adjusted Performance
Risk-Adjusted Performance Rank
The current rank of BALFX is 47, indicating average performance compared to other mutual funds on our website. Here’s a breakdown of how it compares using common performance measures.
Risk-Adjusted Performance Indicators
The charts below present risk-adjusted performance metrics for American Funds American Balanced Fund (BALFX) and compare them to a chosen benchmark (^GSPC). These indicators evaluate an investment's returns against its associated risks.
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Dividends
Dividend History
American Funds American Balanced Fund provided a 1.99% dividend yield over the last twelve months, with an annual payout of $0.70 per share.
| Period | TTM | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend | $0.70 | $0.70 | $0.74 | $0.47 | $0.38 | $0.39 | $0.53 | $0.50 | $0.47 | $0.42 | $0.57 | $2.00 |
Dividend yield | 1.99% | 2.04% | 2.31% | 1.63% | 1.13% | 1.28% | 1.85% | 2.02% | 1.71% | 1.71% | 2.41% | 8.08% |
Monthly Dividends
The table displays the monthly dividend distributions for American Funds American Balanced Fund. The dividends shown in the table have been adjusted to account for any splits that may have occurred.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | |||||||
| 2024 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.11 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.11 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.39 | $0.70 |
| 2023 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.45 | $0.74 |
| 2022 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.18 | $0.47 |
| 2021 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.09 | $0.38 |
| 2020 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.39 |
| 2019 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.24 | $0.53 |
| 2018 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.22 | $0.50 |
| 2017 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.18 | $0.47 |
| 2016 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.14 | $0.42 |
| 2015 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.29 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.10 | $0.57 |
| 2014 | $0.21 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.09 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.09 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $1.60 | $2.00 |
Drawdowns
Drawdowns Chart
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.
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Worst Drawdowns
The table below displays the maximum drawdowns of the American Funds American Balanced Fund. 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 American Balanced Fund was 39.25%, occurring on Mar 9, 2009. Recovery took 457 trading sessions.
The current American Funds American Balanced Fund drawdown is 3.97%.
Depth | Start | To Bottom | Bottom | To Recover | End | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -39.25% | Oct 10, 2007 | 354 | Mar 9, 2009 | 457 | Dec 29, 2010 | 811 |
| -22.34% | Feb 20, 2020 | 23 | Mar 23, 2020 | 99 | Aug 12, 2020 | 122 |
| -21.13% | Mar 20, 2002 | 142 | Oct 9, 2002 | 170 | Jun 11, 2003 | 312 |
| -20.46% | Nov 10, 2021 | 224 | Sep 30, 2022 | 340 | Feb 8, 2024 | 564 |
| -13.84% | Sep 24, 2018 | 64 | Dec 24, 2018 | 131 | Jul 3, 2019 | 195 |
Volatility
Volatility Chart
The chart below shows the rolling one-month volatility.
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