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 252 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
VTMFX	Vanguard Tax-Managed Balanced Fund Admiral Shares	0.05%	12.30B	Sep 1994	BALFX vs VTMFX

Best Risk-Adjusted Alternatives to BALFX

BALFX has a PortfoliosLab risk / return rank of 82. There are 45 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
EKBAX	Allspring Diversified Capital Builder Fund	95	—	Jan 1998	BALFX vs EKBAX
AYBLX	Pioneer Balanced ESG Fund	95	—	Dec 1991	BALFX vs AYBLX

Top Performing BALFX Alternatives (YTD)

BALFX is at 9.37% YTD. There are 128 mutual funds in the Diversified Portfolio category with higher YTD returns, going as high as 38.34%.

Symbol	Name	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
EKBAX	Allspring Diversified Capital Builder Fund	38.34%	—	Jan 1998	BALFX vs EKBAX
GRSPX	Greenspring Fund	21.91%	—	Jun 1983	BALFX vs GRSPX
MHELX	MH Elite Small Cap Fund of Funds Fund	20.27%	—	Aug 1998	BALFX vs MHELX
TIBIX	Thornburg Investment Income Builder Fund Class I	17.52%	—	Dec 2002	BALFX vs TIBIX
SMIFX	Sound Mind Investing Fund	15.84%	—	Dec 2005	BALFX vs SMIFX

Lowest Volatility Alternatives to BALFX

BALFX has 9.22% 1-year volatility. There are 343 mutual funds in the Diversified Portfolio category with lower 1-year volatility, going as low as 0.85%.

Symbol	Name	Volatility 1Y	AUM	Inception
STDAX	SEI Asset Allocation Trust Defensive Strategy Allo...	0.85%	—	Nov 2003	BALFX vs STDAX
SCLAX	SEI Institutional Managed Trust Multi-Asset Capita...	2.83%	—	Apr 2012	BALFX vs SCLAX
SICIX	SEI Asset Allocation Trust Conservative Strategy F...	2.86%	—	Nov 2003	BALFX vs SICIX
AVEFX	Ave Maria Bond Fund	2.99%	—	Apr 2003	BALFX vs AVEFX
CSTAX	American Funds College 2027 Fund	3.14%	—	Sep 2012	BALFX vs CSTAX

Lowest Drawdown Alternatives to BALFX

BALFX has a 1-year max drawdown of -7.03%. There are 349 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
SCLAX	SEI Institutional Managed Trust Multi-Asset Capita...	-2.32%	—	Apr 2012	BALFX vs SCLAX
DGTSX	DFA Global Allocation 25/75 Portfolio	-2.64%	—	Dec 2003	BALFX vs DGTSX
SICIX	SEI Asset Allocation Trust Conservative Strategy F...	-2.65%	—	Nov 2003	BALFX vs SICIX
FSRKX	Fidelity Strategic Real Return Fund Class K6	-2.68%	—	Sep 2005	BALFX vs FSRKX

Other Mutual Funds from American Funds

The 10 most viewed American Funds mutual funds shown here include ABALX, AIVSX, AWSHX and span 7 categories.

Symbol	Name	Category	Risk / Return Rank	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
ABALX	American Funds American Balanced Fund Class A	Diversified Portfolio	82	9.39%	—	Jul 1975	BALFX vs ABALX
AIVSX	American Funds Investment Company of America Class...	Large Cap Blend Equities	45	8.86%	—	Jan 1934	BALFX vs AIVSX
AWSHX	American Funds Washington Mutual Investors Fund Cl...	Large Cap Blend Equities	38	5.48%	—	Jul 1952	BALFX vs AWSHX
RGAGX	American Funds The Growth Fund of America Class R-...	Large Cap Growth Equities	30	8.89%	—	Dec 1973	BALFX vs RGAGX
RERGX	American Funds EUPAC Fund Class R-6	Foreign Large Cap Equities, Large Cap Growth Equities, Actively Managed	48	13.57%	—	May 2009	BALFX vs RERGX
ANCFX	American Funds Fundamental Investors Class A	Large Cap Blend Equities, Actively Managed	68	14.25%	—	Aug 1978	BALFX vs ANCFX
ANWPX	American Funds New Perspective Fund Class A	Global Equities, Large Cap Growth Equities, Actively Managed	28	6.46%	—	Mar 1973	BALFX vs ANWPX
GFFFX	American Funds The Growth Fund of America Class F-...	Large Cap Growth Equities	30	8.83%	—	Dec 1973	BALFX vs GFFFX
AMECX	American Funds The Income Fund of America Class A	Diversified Portfolio, Dividend	48	5.72%	—	Dec 1973	BALFX vs AMECX
AMCPX	American Funds AMCAP Fund Class A	Large Cap Growth Equities	21	4.20%	—	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	67	6.36%	64.10B	Nov 2000	BALFX vs VBIAX
AOR	iShares Core 60/40 Balanced Allocation ETF	Diversified Portfolio	60	6.31%	3.67B	Nov 2008	BALFX vs AOR
VBINX	Vanguard Balanced Index Fund	Diversified Portfolio	66	6.32%	—	Nov 1992	BALFX vs VBINX
FPURX	Fidelity Puritan Fund	Diversified Portfolio	73	10.65%	—	Apr 1947	BALFX vs FPURX
STFBX	State Farm Balanced Fund	Diversified Portfolio	87	8.17%	—	Mar 1968	BALFX vs STFBX
VWRL.AS	Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (USD) Distributi...	Global Equities	82	12.93%	—	May 2012	BALFX vs VWRL.AS
VT	Vanguard Total World Stock ETF	Global Equities	59	10.06%	95.30B	Jun 2008	BALFX vs VT
QQQ	Invesco QQQ ETF	Nasdaq-100	59	16.45%	493.17B	Mar 1999	BALFX vs QQQ
URTH	iShares MSCI World ETF	Global Equities	57	8.07%	8.07B	Jan 2012	BALFX vs URTH
HBLYX	The Hartford Balanced Income Fund	Diversified Portfolio	33	2.70%	—	Jul 2006	BALFX vs HBLYX
NTSX	WisdomTree U.S. Efficient Core Fund	Diversified Portfolio	50	6.46%	1.38B	Aug 2018	BALFX vs NTSX
FBALX	Fidelity Balanced Fund	Diversified Portfolio	85	9.80%	—	Nov 1986	BALFX vs FBALX
JBALX	JPMorgan Global Allocation Fund Class A	Global Allocation	33	3.50%	—	Dec 1991	BALFX vs JBALX
NBARX	American Funds Retirement Income Portfolio - Moder...	Diversified Portfolio	54	4.99%	—	Aug 2015	BALFX vs NBARX
AMBFX	American Funds American Balanced Fund® Class F-2	Diversified Portfolio	83	9.50%	—	Aug 2008	BALFX vs AMBFX
BAAPX	BlackRock 80/20 Target Allocation Fund Class A	Diversified Portfolio	73	12.10%	—	Dec 2006	BALFX vs BAAPX
PUDZX	PGIM Real Assets Fund	Diversified Portfolio	76	10.63%	—	Dec 2010	BALFX vs PUDZX
FXAIX	Fidelity 500 Index Fund	S&P 500	65	9.79%	—	Feb 1988	BALFX vs FXAIX
VTI	Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF	Large Cap Blend Equities	59	8.82%	2.30T	May 2001	BALFX vs VTI
VWELX	Vanguard Wellington Fund Investor Shares	Diversified Portfolio	65	6.10%	124.70B	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