Customer Relationship Summary (CRS)

American Funds & Trusts, Inc.

Customer Relationship Summary (CRS)

 

 

Introduction

Tell me about your firm

American Funds & Trusts, Inc. is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).  As a broker-dealer we provide brokerage accounts and services rather than advisory accounts and services.

Tell me about this form

This document gives you a summary of the types of services we provide and how you pay.  Please ask us for additional information.

 

Relationships and Services

What investment services & advice will you give me?
  • We offer brokerage services to retail investors, including buying and selling securities.  We specialize in mutual funds and can also advise you on variable annuities upon request.

Other principal services
  • We will offer you advice and discuss with you your investment goals and design with you a strategy to achieve your investment goals. 
  • You may select investments, or we may recommend investments for your account, but the ultimate investment decision as to your investment strategy and the purchase or sale of investments will be yours.
  • Although we are not required to monitor your specific portfolio or investments on an ongoing basis; we do, however, regularly monitor the performance of the mutual fund investments we recommend.
  • Our investment advice will cover a selection of mutual fund and variable annuity investments for which we have existing broker-dealer agreements.  The mutual fund company will deliver account statements to you each quarter.

Questions to ask your financial professional
  • Given my financial situation, why should I choose a brokerage account?

 

Fees and Costs

What fees will I pay to your firm?
  • Fees and costs affect the value of your account over time.  Please ask your financial professional to give you personalized information of fees and costs you will pay.
  • AF&T is not a fee-based broker and will not charge you a fee for brokerage services.  Fees are charged to you by the Mutual Fund Company.

What fees will the Mutual Fund company charge me?
  • Mutual funds and variable annuities fees are charged to you by the various fund companies each time you invest. 
  • Fee details can be found in a mutual fund’s prospectus, a legal document that each mutual fund is required to file with the SEC.  A sales charge, often referred to as a load, is the broker’s sales commission or fee deducted from your investment when you buy the fund.  All funds charge annual expense fees to cover the fund’s operating costs, including management fees, distribution and service fees (commonly known as 12b-1 fees), and general administrative expenses.  These expenses are deducted from the fund before its returns are calculated.  Mutual funds may be offered in multiple share classes (most commonly Class A shares and Class C shares).  Class C shares may be subject to Contingent Deferred Sales Charges (CDSC).  This structure allows each investor the opportunity to select a share class that is best suited to his or her investment goals.  The differences typically revolve around how much you will be charged for buying the fund, when you will pay any sales charges that apply, and the amount you will pay in annual fees and expenses, i.e. IRA setup and annual custodian fees. With variable annuities you may have to pay surrender charges to sell the investment.
  • You will pay fees and costs whether you make or lose money on your investments.  Fees and costs will reduce any amount of money you make on your investments over time.  It is your responsibility to ensure you understand what fees and costs you are paying.

How do you make money and what conflicts of interest do you have?

Questions to ask your financial professional
  • Do the math for me.  How much would my Class A or Class C charge be?  What would make the sales charge more or less? 
  • What additional costs should I expect in connection with my account?
  • Tell me how you and your firm make money in connection with my account.  Do you or your firm receive any payments from anyone besides me in connection with my investments?
  • Are there any other potential conflicts of interest and if so, what would they be?

 

Our obligations to you

What are your legal obligations to me when providing recommendations
  • We must abide by certain laws and regulations in our interactions with you and we are held to a standard that covers every aspect of our investment broker-dealer relationship with you.
  • We must act in your best interest and not place our interests ahead of yours when we recommend an investment or an investment strategy involving securities.  When we provide any service to you, we must treat you fairly and comply with a number of specific obligations. 

Questions to ask your financial professional
  • How will you choose investments to recommend for my account?
  • How will you monitor my mutual fund’s performance & offer investment advice?
  • What is your relevant experience, including your licenses, education, & other qualifications?  What are the abbreviations in your licenses & what do they mean?
  • Do you or your firm have a disciplinary history? For what type of conduct?
  • Who is the primary contact person for my account?  What can you tell me about his or her legal obligations to me?  If I have concerns about how this person is treating me, who can I talk to?

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  • For additional information about our firm, registered representatives and services you may visit: investor.gov/crs; brokercheck.finra.org; americanfundsandtrusts.com