American Funds The New Economy Fund® Class F-2 NEFFX

American Funds New Economy (which includes the Capital Group-branded Luxembourg and Japan vehicles) benefits from a seasoned management team, deep analyst support, and a distinctive, innovation-focused approach.

After the latest firmwide self-assessment, this strategy underwent personnel changes at the beginning of 2026 but remains in experienced hands. Equity subsidiaries Capital World Investors and Capital Research Global Investors had been running it since mid-2018, but as of Jan. 1, 2026, Capital Group removed CRGI. The move means that two managers and one analyst team that oversaw roughly 20% of assets are no longer on the strategy, while a veteran global small-cap manager was added to bolster the lineup.

Mathews Cherian continues to lead the strategy alongside Richmond Wolf, Paul Benjamin, Lara Pellini, Tomoko Fortune, and Peter Gusev. Each brings more than 20 years of industry experience, and a robust research platform that includes more than 50 analysts supports them.

The strategy’s broad mandate and globally based team position it well to identify opportunities across both US and non-US markets. Capital Group's multimanager approach lets managers independently run their own sleeves of the portfolio in line with their styles, while a shared emphasis on innovative, growth-oriented companies creates a cohesive portfolio. This results in meaningful tilts, including a pronounced emphasis on technology and healthcare, which together accounted for roughly half of assets as of March 2026. The managers also invest opportunistically across the market-cap spectrum, with roughly 25% of assets in small- and mid-cap stocks, and maintain flexibility to allocate to emerging markets.

The strategy has delivered solid long-term results. Over the trailing 15- and 20-year periods ended May 2026, the US mutual fund’s R6 shares landed in the top decile of the global large-stock growth Morningstar Category and outpaced both the MSCI All Country World Index (its chosen benchmark) and the more apt MSCI ACWI Growth Index category benchmark.

Short-term results can be more volatile given the strategy’s pronounced tilts, but positioning can pay off. For example, through May 2026, the fund gained 56% over the trailing year, sharply outpacing peers and benchmarks, aided by sizable positions in technology leaders such as SK Hynix, Micron Technology, Broadcom, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.

Overall, the strategy’s experienced team, flexible process, and long-term track record make it a compelling option for investors seeking differentiated global growth exposure.

The strategy flexibly targets innovative companies across the global universe and warrants an Above Average Process rating.

The management team seeks to capitalize on structural shifts in the global economy by investing in companies driving—or benefiting from—innovation. Managers focus on themes such as digital disruptors and enablers, including e-commerce; evolving business models tied to the energy transition; and advances in healthcare. This broad mandate allows the managers to invest in US and non-US companies across the market-cap spectrum. Importantly, the managers can make the most of that freedom here with a roughly USD 45 billion asset base—smaller than some of Capital Group’s other colossal strategies. That allows the analyst team to dive into the less-liquid and less-efficient small-cap universe, which is a plus. The strategy has typically counted 20%-35% of assets in mid- and small-cap stocks combined, giving it a smaller-cap tilt relative to its MSCI ACWI prospectus benchmark, though it’s leaned into larger companies more recently as some stand to benefit from artificial intelligence demand.

Each manager invests with their own style, relying on the combination of sleeves to fulfill the strategy’s diversified global growth mandate. The stratified structure ensures that any one decision doesn’t overpower the portfolio and results in a broad portfolio that typically lands in the large-growth square of the Morningstar Style Box. Annual portfolio turnover is typically below the global large-stock growth category peer norm, showing the managers' longer-term investing horizon.

The strategy’s independent, multimanager approach produces a broad portfolio. As of March 2026, it counted roughly 180 names, with roughly one-third of assets stashed in the top 10 holdings.

Looking for innovative firms leads the team’s fundamentals-driven investment decisions to cluster around certain themes. The strategy’s most prominent exposure has typically been to technology. As of March 2026, the fund devoted 38% of assets to the sector, which was slightly underweight the MSCI ACWI Growth Index’s allocation and roughly 11 percentage points overweight to the MSCI ACWI. Seven of the top 10 holdings were tech firms, including Broadcom, SK Hynix, Microsoft, and Micron Technology. Artificial intelligence needs have increased chip demand exponentially, so the strategy has doubled its semiconductor stake to 25% of assets, roughly double what it was a few years ago.

Healthcare has been another favored sector. As of March 2026, the fund had 11% of assets in healthcare, which was a 3-percentage-point overweighting relative to the category benchmark and about a 2-percentage-point overweighting to the prospectus index. Eli Lilly and Vertex Pharmaceuticals were top holdings.

The fund tends to invest 17%-30% of its assets in non-US stocks, including emerging markets. As of March 2026, it had 29% of assets in non-US stocks, which was underweight the prospectus benchmark’s 36% and the category norm of 39%. Its emerging-markets stake (including South Korea and Taiwan) has typically ranged from about 9% to 15% and has typically been slightly overweight relative to the prospectus index and category.

This strategy’s organizational strengths, as well as the managers' experience, ability, fund ownership, and strong analyst support, warrant an Above Average People rating.

After the firm’s latest periodic review, this strategy underwent personnel changes at the beginning of 2026. It had been run by equity subsidiaries Capital World Investors and Capital Research Global Investors, but on Jan. 1, 2026, Capital Group removed CRGI. This move meant that two managers, Harold La and Caroline Jones, and one analyst team came off the strategy. To combat the departures, the firm added Peter Gusev to the management team. Gusev has managed a global small-cap strategy at the firm for more than five years, so he’s a capable addition to this global strategy.

Yet, this strategy remains in veteran hands. Industry veteran Mathews Cherian leads the whole strategy, which includes Richmond Wolf, Paul Benjamin, Lara Pellini, Tomoko Fortune, and Gusev. All the managers have more than 20 years of industry experience. Cherian, who took over the leadership role in 2022, keeps tabs on the stylistic mix of the overall manager lineup while navigating retirements and naming new managers. A deep research team of more than 50 analysts supports the managers.

Capital Group stands out from the pack as it enhances capabilities around strong core competencies. It earns a High Parent rating.

Since 1931, Capital Group, parent of American Funds, has thoughtfully built out capabilities to become one of the world’s largest asset managers, managing more than USD 3 trillion dollars. Building on the success of its long-term-oriented, multiple-manager system for global equities, the firm has developed robust fixed-income and multi-asset units, each managing more than USD 500 billion. In January 2026, as part of its periodic review of its now five distinct research organizations, Capital Group implemented changes to its equity investment subsidiaries. This exercise resulted in most equity strategies having at least one portfolio manager change, but according to the firm, it better balances each of Capital Group’s three equity groups in terms of investment breadth and helps the firm better align leadership opportunities across the groups. These kinds of shifts have occurred before, with the last coming in 2018.

Capital Group has also turned its attention to some modern opportunities. To address public/private market convergence trends, it launched in April 2025 two semiliquid funds with private market giant KKR. In keeping with its signature portfolio management approach, it splits those funds into multiple sleeves, which are managed independently by distinct managers at each firm. Capital Group plans to deepen this relationship with target-date and model portfolios, as well as public/private equity funds. On the other end of the spectrum, although the firm is firmly dedicated to active management, it has also acknowledged investor preference for passive investing and has thus partnered with indexing stalwarts Vanguard, BlackRock, and Schwab on active/passive models. Capital Group’s proven investment prowess, strong reputation among investors, and scale mean it can be selective with its partnerships.

In addressing another recent trend, since early 2022, the firm has launched more than 25 active exchange-traded funds globally, most of which are distinct, but several are similar to some of its legacy American Funds mutual funds. Unlike some of its peers, though, it has not filed for SEC exemptive relief to offer ETFs as a share class.

That’s a lot of change for such a storied and sizable firm, but Capital Group has a long history of serving investors well.

The strategy has a strong long-term record. The US mutual fund R6 shares’ 16.8% annualized return during the trailing 10 years through May 2026 beat its MSCI ACWI prospectus benchmark and the more apt MSCI ACWI Growth Index category benchmark by 6.9 and 7.6 percentage points, respectively. It also landed in the top decile of the global large-stock growth category over the trailing 15- and 20-year periods ended May 2026.

Recent performance has been strong. As AI has been a driver of market returns recently, this strategy’s focus on innovation has helped, as managers have hefty stakes in semiconductor and memory companies. For the trailing year through May 2026, the strategy’s 56% gain pummeled the indexes and category, thanks in part to hefty stakes in SK Hynix, Micron Technology, Broadcom, and TSMC.

The fund's stock-picking typically boosts returns, but it can also add to the strategy’s risk profile. Technology picks helped the fund land in the top quartile of peers in 2020, as well as in calendar 2023-25. But that positioning can weigh on results at times. For example, in 2021, after markets soured on growth stocks, its technology picks, along with healthcare, weighed on results; the strategy landed in the bottom half of the category.

American Funds New Economy F2's Prospectus Adjusted Expense Ratio is 0.51% per year. It places it in the cheapest quintile of the Morningstar US Fund Global Large-Stock Growth Category, where the median fee is 0.99% per year. This cost positioning translates into a Medalist Rating Price Score of 2.24, which reflects its relative price positioning within the category. The Price Score ranges from -2.50 (most expensive) to +2.50 (cheapest), with higher scores indicating better cost competitiveness.