American Funds American Balanced Fund (BALFX)

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American Funds American Balanced Fund (BALFX) is up 9.7% since the beginning of the year. BALFX is currently trading at $41 per share. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of BALFX shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,579.

American Funds American Balanced Fund (BALFX) has returned 9.67% so far this year and 25.12% over the past 12 months. Over the last ten years, BALFX has returned 10.05% per year, falling short of the S&P 500 Index benchmark, which averaged 13.75% annually.

Based on dividend-adjusted daily data since Mar 15, 2001, BALFX's average daily return is +0.03%, while the average monthly return is +0.68%. At this rate, an investment would double in approximately 8.5 years.

Historically, 67% of months were positive and 33% were negative. The best month was Apr 2020 with a return of +7.8%, while the worst month was Oct 2008 at -11.9%. The longest winning streak lasted 10 consecutive months, and the longest losing streak was 5 months.

On a daily basis, BALFX closed higher 53% of trading days. The best single day was Oct 13, 2008 with a return of +6.6%, while the worst single day was Mar 16, 2020 at -7.1%.

American Funds American Balanced Fund has an annualized alpha of 2.98%, beta of 0.59, and R2 of 0.93 versus S&P 500 Index. Calculated based on daily prices since March 16, 2001.

• This fund participates in less of S&P 500 Index's moves in both directions, but captures a larger share of gains (67.31%) than losses (62.37%) - typical of diversified or defensive assets.
• This fund generated an annualized alpha of 2.98% versus S&P 500 Index - delivering returns beyond what market exposure alone would predict.
• Beta of 0.59 indicates this fund moves significantly less than S&P 500 Index - a genuinely defensive profile with reduced participation in both market rallies and downturns.

BALFX has an expense ratio of 0.62%, placing it in the medium range.

BALFX ranks 85 for risk / return — in the top 85% 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 American Balanced Fund (BALFX) and compare them to S&P 500 Index.

American Funds American Balanced Fund provided a 7.51% dividend yield over the last twelve months, with an annual payout of $3.08 per share. The fund has been increasing its distributions for 3 consecutive years.

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.

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 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 40.20%, occurring on Mar 9, 2009. Recovery took 467 trading sessions.

The chart below shows the rolling one-month volatility.