BALFX Alternatives & Similar Mutual Funds

American Funds American Balanced Fund (BALFX) belongs to the Diversified Portfolio category. Below you'll find alternative mutual funds from the same category, ranked by key criteria, plus funds that investors commonly compare with BALFX. Use the tables to find lower-cost options, better risk-adjusted returns, or a closer substitute for your current allocation.

Cheapest Alternatives to BALFX

BALFX charges 0.62% annually. There are 249 mutual funds in the Diversified Portfolio category with lower expense ratios, going as low as 0.02%.

Symbol	Name	Expense Ratio	AUM	Inception
FRGAX	Fidelity 70% Allocation Fund	0.02%	—	Jan 2022	BALFX vs FRGAX
PALDX	PGIM 60/40 Allocation Fund	0.03%	—	Sep 2017	BALFX vs PALDX
TSAIX	TIAA-CREF Lifestyle Aggressive Growth Fund	0.04%	—	Dec 2011	BALFX vs TSAIX
FYMIX	Fidelity Sustainable Multi-Asset Fund	0.05%	—	Feb 2022	BALFX vs FYMIX
BWBIX	Baron WealthBuilder Fund	0.05%	—	Dec 2017	BALFX vs BWBIX

Best Risk-Adjusted Alternatives to BALFX

BALFX has a PortfoliosLab risk / return rank of 85. There are 49 mutual funds in the Diversified Portfolio category with higher risk-adjusted ranks, going as high as 99.

Symbol	Name	Risk / Return Rank	AUM	Inception
STDAX	SEI Asset Allocation Trust Defensive Strategy Allo...	99	—	Nov 2003	BALFX vs STDAX
TIBIX	Thornburg Investment Income Builder Fund Class I	98	—	Dec 2002	BALFX vs TIBIX
NWQIX	Nuveen Flexible Income Fund	97	—	Dec 2009	BALFX vs NWQIX
FSRKX	Fidelity Strategic Real Return Fund Class K6	97	—	Sep 2005	BALFX vs FSRKX
FIQDX	Fidelity Advisor Strategic Real Return Fund Class ...	96	—	Oct 2018	BALFX vs FIQDX

Top Performing BALFX Alternatives (YTD)

BALFX is at 9.67% YTD. There are 126 mutual funds in the Diversified Portfolio category with higher YTD returns, going as high as 32.52%.

Symbol	Name	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
EKBAX	Allspring Diversified Capital Builder Fund	32.52%	—	Jan 1998	BALFX vs EKBAX
GRSPX	Greenspring Fund	20.11%	—	Jun 1983	BALFX vs GRSPX
MHELX	MH Elite Small Cap Fund of Funds Fund	17.53%	—	Aug 1998	BALFX vs MHELX
TIBIX	Thornburg Investment Income Builder Fund Class I	17.20%	—	Dec 2002	BALFX vs TIBIX
BLNDX	Standpoint Multi-Asset Fund Institutional	16.97%	—	Dec 2019	BALFX vs BLNDX

Lowest Volatility Alternatives to BALFX

BALFX has 8.74% 1-year volatility. There are 345 mutual funds in the Diversified Portfolio category with lower 1-year volatility, going as low as 0.86%.

Symbol	Name	Volatility 1Y	AUM	Inception
STDAX	SEI Asset Allocation Trust Defensive Strategy Allo...	0.86%	—	Nov 2003	BALFX vs STDAX
SCLAX	SEI Institutional Managed Trust Multi-Asset Capita...	2.64%	—	Apr 2012	BALFX vs SCLAX
SICIX	SEI Asset Allocation Trust Conservative Strategy F...	2.81%	—	Nov 2003	BALFX vs SICIX
AVEFX	Ave Maria Bond Fund	2.93%	—	Apr 2003	BALFX vs AVEFX
CSTAX	American Funds College 2027 Fund	3.04%	—	Sep 2012	BALFX vs CSTAX

Lowest Drawdown Alternatives to BALFX

BALFX has a 1-year max drawdown of -7.03%. There are 348 mutual funds in the Diversified Portfolio category with shallower 1-year drawdowns, going as shallow as -0.36%.

Symbol	Name	Max Drawdown 1Y	AUM	Inception
STDAX	SEI Asset Allocation Trust Defensive Strategy Allo...	-0.36%	—	Nov 2003	BALFX vs STDAX
FSRKX	Fidelity Strategic Real Return Fund Class K6	-1.93%	—	Sep 2005	BALFX vs FSRKX
FIQDX	Fidelity Advisor Strategic Real Return Fund Class ...	-1.94%	—	Oct 2018	BALFX vs FIQDX
FCSRX	Fidelity Advisor Strategic Real Return Fund Class ...	-1.99%	—	Sep 2005	BALFX vs FCSRX
FSRRX	Fidelity Strategic Real Return Fund	-2.05%	—	Sep 2005	BALFX vs FSRRX

Other Mutual Funds from American Funds

The 10 most viewed American Funds mutual funds shown here include ABALX, AIVSX, RGAGX and span 6 categories.

Symbol	Name	Category	Risk / Return Rank	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
ABALX	American Funds American Balanced Fund Class A	Diversified Portfolio	85	9.71%	—	Jul 1975	BALFX vs ABALX
AIVSX	American Funds Investment Company of America Class...	Large Cap Blend Equities	58	10.91%	—	Jan 1934	BALFX vs AIVSX
RGAGX	American Funds The Growth Fund of America Class R-...	Large Cap Growth Equities	37	10.60%	—	Dec 1973	BALFX vs RGAGX
AWSHX	American Funds Washington Mutual Investors Fund Cl...	Large Cap Blend Equities	38	5.47%	—	Jul 1952	BALFX vs AWSHX
RERGX	American Funds EuroPacific Growth Fund Class R-6	Foreign Large Cap Equities, Large Cap Growth Equities	41	11.72%	—	—	BALFX vs RERGX
ANCFX	American Funds Fundamental Investors Class A	Large Cap Blend Equities	77	15.14%	—	Jan 1978	BALFX vs ANCFX
ANWPX	American Funds New Perspective Fund Class A	Large Cap Growth Equities, Global Equities	29	7.27%	—	Mar 1973	BALFX vs ANWPX
GFFFX	American Funds The Growth Fund of America	Large Cap Growth Equities	36	10.54%	—	Dec 1973	BALFX vs GFFFX
AMECX	American Funds The Income Fund of America Class A	Diversified Portfolio, Dividend	52	5.99%	—	Dec 1973	BALFX vs AMECX
AMCPX	American Funds AMCAP Fund Class A	Large Cap Growth Equities	29	7.17%	—	Jan 1967	BALFX vs AMCPX

Often Compared With BALFX

Investors most often compare BALFX with VBIAX, AOR, VBINX. These 20 comparison targets span 6 categories, based on PortfoliosLab usage data.

Symbol	Name	Category	Risk / Return Rank	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
VBIAX	Vanguard Balanced Index Fund Admiral Shares	Diversified Portfolio	76	7.20%	62.30B	Nov 2000	BALFX vs VBIAX
AOR	iShares Core Growth Allocation ETF	Diversified Portfolio	71	7.96%	3.65B	Nov 2008	BALFX vs AOR
VBINX	Vanguard Balanced Index Fund	Diversified Portfolio	75	7.17%	—	Nov 1992	BALFX vs VBINX
FPURX	Fidelity Puritan Fund	Diversified Portfolio	71	9.76%	—	Apr 1947	BALFX vs FPURX
STFBX	State Farm Balanced Fund	Diversified Portfolio	87	8.66%	—	Mar 1968	BALFX vs STFBX
VWRL.AS	Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF	Global Equities	80	13.58%	—	May 2012	BALFX vs VWRL.AS
VT	Vanguard Total World Stock ETF	Global Equities	72	13.23%	90.20B	Jun 2008	BALFX vs VT
QQQ	Invesco QQQ ETF	Nasdaq-100	77	21.62%	493.99B	Mar 1999	BALFX vs QQQ
URTH	iShares MSCI World ETF	Global Equities	68	10.99%	8.10B	Jan 2012	BALFX vs URTH
NTSX	WisdomTree U.S. Efficient Core Fund	Diversified Portfolio	65	9.77%	1.34B	Aug 2018	BALFX vs NTSX
HBLYX	The Hartford Balanced Income Fund	Diversified Portfolio	34	2.50%	—	Jul 2006	BALFX vs HBLYX
FBALX	Fidelity Balanced Fund	Diversified Portfolio	87	10.05%	—	Nov 1986	BALFX vs FBALX
JBALX	JPMorgan Global Allocation Fund Class A	Global Allocation	37	3.95%	—	Dec 1991	BALFX vs JBALX
AMBFX	American Funds American Balanced Fund® Class F-2	Diversified Portfolio	86	9.80%	—	Aug 2008	BALFX vs AMBFX
NBARX	American Funds Retirement Income Portfolio - Moder...	Diversified Portfolio	59	5.14%	—	Aug 2015	BALFX vs NBARX
BAAPX	BlackRock 80/20 Target Allocation Fund Class A	Diversified Portfolio	74	12.15%	—	Dec 2006	BALFX vs BAAPX
PUDZX	PGIM Real Assets Fund	Diversified Portfolio	90	12.42%	—	Dec 2010	BALFX vs PUDZX
FXAIX	Fidelity 500 Index Fund	S&P 500	75	11.56%	—	Feb 1988	BALFX vs FXAIX
VTI	Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF	Large Cap Blend Equities	74	12.01%	2.20T	May 2001	BALFX vs VTI
VWELX	Vanguard Wellington Fund Investor Shares	Diversified Portfolio	75	7.04%	121.30B	Jul 1929	BALFX vs VWELX

Compare BALFX with Any Fund or Stock

Compare BALFX with any ETF, mutual fund, or stock using PortfoliosLab's comparison tool.

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Diversifiers

Pair BALFX with funds that move differently

American Funds American Balanced Fund alternatives help with substitution. Diversifiers are the next step when you want funds with lower historical correlation to BALFX.

Explore BALFX Diversifiers

American Funds American Balanced Fund (BALFX) Alternatives