Tweet
FYI - In the alphabet soup-like classes of mutual funds that are American Funds, as of April 21st they will no longer offer Class "B" shares due to a withdrawing of a third-party entity that financed the payments of the commissions.
What does that mean to those of you that invest in those shares? Well if you don't have access to their "R" class funds through an institutional/employer entity (401k, 403(b), etc...), you can either purchase their "A" class funds and pay a huge 5.75% front-end load or you can get their "C" class shares which have a very high expense ratio (i.e. their money market account charges a 1.43%
expense ratio vs. T. Rowe's 0.56% or Vanguard's 0.28%). You could also get "F" class shares if you go through a broker-dealer which would charge you on a "fee-based" type commission.
It's a shame because they have some really good funds however the commissions charged are just outrageous.
What does that mean to those of you that invest in those shares? Well if you don't have access to their "R" class funds through an institutional/employer entity (401k, 403(b), etc...), you can either purchase their "A" class funds and pay a huge 5.75% front-end load or you can get their "C" class shares which have a very high expense ratio (i.e. their money market account charges a 1.43%
expense ratio vs. T. Rowe's 0.56% or Vanguard's 0.28%). You could also get "F" class shares if you go through a broker-dealer which would charge you on a "fee-based" type commission.It's a shame because they have some really good funds however the commissions charged are just outrageous.