ck0000908406-20240331
August
1, 2024
American
Century Investments
Prospectus
Short Duration
Fund
Investor
Class (ACSNX)
I
Class (ASHHX)
A
Class (ACSQX)
C
Class (ACSKX)
R
Class (ACSPX)
R5
Class (ACSUX)
R6
Class (ASDDX)
G
Class (ASDOX)
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The
Securities and Exchange Commission has
not
approved or disapproved these securities or
passed
upon the adequacy of this prospectus. Any
representation
to the contrary is a criminal offense. |
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©2024
American Century Proprietary Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
The fund seeks to maximize total return.
As a secondary objective,
the fund seeks a high level of income.
The
following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and
sell shares of the fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions
and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the
tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts
if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least
$100,000 in
American Century Investments funds. More information about these
and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in
Calculation
of Sales Charges
on page 17 of the fund’s prospectus, Appendix
A
of the fund’s prospectus and Sales
Charges
in Appendix
B
of the statement of additional information.
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Shareholder
Fees
(fees paid directly from your
investment) |
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Investor |
I |
A |
C |
R |
R5 |
R6
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G |
Maximum
Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
None |
2.25% |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
Maximum
Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of the lower of the original
offering price or redemption proceeds when redeemed within one year of
purchase) |
None |
None |
None¹ |
1.00% |
None |
None |
None |
None |
Maximum
Annual Account Maintenance Fee (waived if eligible investments total at
least $25,000 or shareholder has elected electronic delivery) |
$25 |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
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Annual
Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your
investment) |
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Investor |
I |
A
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C
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R
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R5
|
R6 |
G |
Management
Fee2 |
0.56% |
0.46% |
0.56% |
0.56% |
0.56% |
0.36% |
0.31% |
0.31% |
Distribution
and Service (12b-1) Fees |
None |
None |
0.25% |
1.00% |
0.50% |
None |
None |
None |
Other
Expenses |
0.01% |
0.01% |
0.01% |
0.01% |
0.01% |
0.01% |
0.01% |
0.01% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
0.57% |
0.47% |
0.82% |
1.57% |
1.07% |
0.37% |
0.32% |
0.32% |
Fee
Waiver |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
0.31%³ |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver |
0.57% |
0.47% |
0.82% |
1.57% |
1.07% |
0.37% |
0.32% |
0.01% |
1 Purchases
of $500,000 or more may be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of
1.00% if the shares are redeemed within one year of the date of the
purchase.
2 The
management fee has been restated to reflect the decrease in the management fee
effective August 1, 2023.
3 The advisor has
agreed to waive the G Class’s management fee in its entirety. The advisor
expects this fee waiver to remain in effect permanently and cannot terminate it
without the approval of the Board of Trustees.
Example
The example below is intended to help you compare the costs of
investing in the fund with the costs of investing in other mutual
funds. The example assumes that you invest
$10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your
shares at the end of those periods and that you earn a 5% return each year. The
example also assumes that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same, except
that it reflects the rate and duration of any fee waivers noted in the table
above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these
assumptions your costs would be:
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1
year
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3
years
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5
years
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10
years
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Investor
Class |
$58 |
$183 |
$319 |
$714 |
I
Class |
$48 |
$151 |
$264 |
$592 |
A
Class |
$307 |
$481 |
$670 |
$1,216 |
C
Class |
$160 |
$496 |
$856 |
$1,665 |
R
Class |
$109 |
$341 |
$591 |
$1,306 |
R5
Class |
$38 |
$119 |
$208 |
$469 |
R6
Class |
$33 |
$103 |
$180 |
$406 |
G
Class |
$1 |
$3 |
$6 |
$13 |
Portfolio
Turnover
The
fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund
shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s performance.
During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was
310% of the average
value of its portfolio.
The
fund invests in debt securities such as notes, bonds, commercial paper,
mortgage- or asset backed securities, collateralized loan obligations,
collateralized mortgage obligations, and U.S. Treasury securities. These
securities may be payable in U.S. or foreign currencies.
The
fund invests at least 65% of its assets in investment-grade, non-money market
debt securities. An investment-grade security is one that has been rated by a
nationally recognized statistical rating organization in its top four credit
quality categories or determined by the advisor to be of comparable credit
quality.The fund may invest up to 35% of its assets in high-yield debt
securities. A high-yield security, or junk bond, is one that has been rated
below the four highest categories used by a nationally recognized statistical
rating organization, or determined by the investment advisor to be of similar
quality. The fund may also invest in securities issued by companies that are
located in emerging market countries.
No
more than 10% of the fund’s assets may be invested in non-dollar denominated
debt securities.
The
fund may invest in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and
certain U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities such as the Government
National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae). Ginnie Mae is supported by the full
faith and credit of the U.S. government. Securities issued or guaranteed by
other U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities, such as the Federal
National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage
Corporation (Freddie Mac), and the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) are not
guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or supported by the full faith and credit of the
U.S. government. However, they are authorized to borrow from the U.S. Treasury
to meet their obligations.
In
addition to the debt securities described above, the fund may also invest in
bank loans.
The
fund may invest in convertible securities, including contingent convertible
securities (sometimes referred to as CoCos or Additional Tier 1
instruments).
The
fund also may invest in derivative instruments provided that such investments
are in keeping with the fund’s investment objectives. Such derivatives may
include options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, and swaps
(including credit default swaps). The fund may use foreign currency exchange
contracts to shift investment exposure from one currency into another for
hedging purposes or to enhance returns.
The
weighted average duration of the fund’s portfolio must be three years or
shorter. Duration is an indication of the relative sensitivity of a security’s
market value to changes in interest rates. The longer the weighted average
duration of the fund’s portfolio, the more sensitive its market value is to
interest rate fluctuations. Duration is different from maturity in that it
attempts to measure the interest rate sensitivity of a security, as opposed to
its expected final maturity.
The
portfolio managers select securities using an approach that integrates
macroeconomic inputs, technical analysis of the relative value among various
sectors, and fundamental research on individual securities. The macroeconomic
framework provides interest rate and duration guidelines for the fund by
analyzing economic activity, inflation, and monetary policy. Portfolio managers
select individual securities using in-depth fundamental analysis designed to
provide a detailed understanding of the credit worthiness of a security and its
related market. As the market environment and investment opportunities change,
portfolio managers buy and sell securities to meet the fund’s evolving sector
allocations and credit quality standards.
•Interest
Rate Risk – Investments
in debt securities are sensitive to interest rate changes. Generally, the value
of debt securities and the funds that hold them decline as interest rates rise.
A period of rising interest rates may negatively affect the fund’s
performance.
•Credit
Risk – The
inability or perceived inability of a security’s issuer to make interest and
principal payments may cause the value of the security to decrease. As a result
the fund’s share price could also decrease. Changes in the credit rating of a
debt security held by the fund could have a similar
effect.
•High-Yield
Risk – Issuers of high-yield securities are more vulnerable to real
or perceived economic changes (such as an economic downturn or a prolonged
period of rising interest rates), political changes or adverse developments
specific to an issuer. These factors may be more likely to cause an issuer of
low quality bonds to default on its obligations.
•Liquidity
Risk – During
periods of market turbulence or unusually low trading activity, to meet
redemptions it may be necessary for the fund to sell securities at prices that
could have an adverse effect on the fund’s share price. Changing regulatory and
market conditions, including increases in interest rates and credit spreads may
adversely affect the liquidity of the fund’s
investments.
•Prepayment
and Extension Risk –
The fund may invest in debt securities backed by mortgages or other assets. If
these underlying assets are prepaid, the fund may benefit less from declining
interest rates than funds of similar duration that invest less heavily in
mortgage- and asset-backed securities. Conversely, an issuer may exercise its
right to pay principal on an obligation held by the fund later than expected
(extend the obligation) especially in periods of rising interest rates. These
events may lengthen the duration (i.e. interest rate sensitivity) and
potentially reduce the value of these securities.
•Collateralized
Obligations Risk –
Collateralized obligations, such as collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), are
subject to credit, interest rate, valuation, and prepayment and extension risks.
These securities also are subject to risk of default on the underlying asset,
particularly during periods of economic downturn. The market value of
collateralized obligations may be affected by, among other things, changes in
the market value of the underlying assets held by the collateralized
obligations, changes in the distributions on the underlying assets, defaults and
recoveries on the underlying assets, capital gains and losses on the underlying
assets, prepayments on underlying assets and the availability, and prices and
interest rates of underlying assets. Some of the collateralized obligations in
which the fund invests may be covenant-lite loans. Covenant-lite loans contain
fewer or less restrictive constraints on the borrower. The fund may have fewer
rights against a borrower and an accompanying greater risk of loss when it
invests in covenant-lite loans.
•Foreign
Securities Risk –
Foreign securities are generally riskier than U.S. securities. Political
events (such as civil unrest, national elections and imposition of exchange
controls), social and economic events (such as labor strikes and rising
inflation), natural disasters and public health emergencies occurring in a
country where the fund invests could cause the fund’s investments in that
country to experience losses. Securities of foreign issuers may be less liquid,
more volatile and harder to value than U.S.
securities.
•Currency
Risk –
Because the fund may invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies, the
fund could experience gains or losses based solely on changes in the exchange
rate between foreign currencies and the U.S.
dollar.
•Emerging
Markets Risk –
Investing in emerging market countries generally is also riskier than investing
in foreign developed countries. Emerging market countries may have unstable
governments and/or economies that are subject to sudden change, and significant
volatility in their financial markets. These countries also may lack the legal,
business and social framework to support securities
markets.
•Derivatives
Risk – The
use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater
than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other
traditional instruments. Derivatives are subject to a number of risks, including
liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and correlation risk. Derivatives used
for hedging or risk management may not operate as intended, may expose the fund
to other risks, and may be insufficient to protect the fund from the risks they
were intended to hedge.
•Convertible
Securities Risk –
The value of convertible securities may rise and fall with the market value of
the underlying stock or, like a debt security, vary with changes in interest
rates and the credit quality of the issuer. A convertible security tends to
perform more like a stock when the underlying stock price is high relative to
the conversion price and more like a debt security when the underlying stock
price is low relative to the conversion price. Contingent convertible securities
(sometimes referred to as CoCos or Additional Tier 1 Instruments) are subject to
additional risks. Under certain circumstances, CoCos may be subject to automatic
write-down of the principal amount or value of the securities, sometimes to
zero, thereby cancelling the securities. If such an event occurs, the fund may
not have any rights to repayment of the principal amount of the securities that
has not become due. Additionally, the fund may not be able to collect interest
payments or dividends on such securities.
•Bank
Loan Risk –
The market for bank loans may not be highly liquid and the fund may have
difficulty selling them. Bank loans may not be considered securities, thus the
fund may not be afforded anti-fraud protections available under the federal
securities laws.
In
connection with purchasing loan participations, the fund generally will have no
right to enforce compliance by borrowers with loan terms nor any set off rights,
and the fund may not benefit directly from any posted collateral. As a result,
the fund may be subject to the credit risk of both the borrower and the lender
selling the participation. Bank loan transactions may take more than seven days
to settle, meaning that proceeds would be unavailable to make additional
investments or meet redemptions.
•Market
Risk –
The value of securities owned by the fund may go up and down, sometimes rapidly
or unpredictably. Market risks, including political, regulatory, economic and
social developments, can affect the value of the fund’s investments. Natural
disasters, public health emergencies, war, terrorism and other unforeseeable
events may lead to increased market volatility and may have adverse long-term
effects on world economies and markets generally.
•Redemption
Risk – The
fund may need to sell securities at times it would not otherwise do so to meet
shareholder redemption requests. Selling securities to meet such redemptions may
cause the fund to experience a loss, increase the fund’s transaction costs or
have tax consequences. To the extent that a large shareholder (including a fund
of funds or 529 college savings plan) invests in the fund, the fund may
experience relatively large redemptions as such shareholder reallocates its
assets.
•Principal
Loss –
At any given time your shares may be worth less than the price you paid for
them. In other words, it is possible to lose money by investing in the
fund.
An
investment in the fund is not a bank deposit, and it is not insured or
guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other
government agency.
The following
bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the
fund. The bar chart shows changes in the fund’s performance from year to year
for Investor Class shares. The table shows how the fund’s average annual returns
for the periods shown compared with those of a broad measure of market
performance. The table also shows returns for the Bloomberg U.S.
1-3 Year Government/Credit Bond Index, which the advisor considers to be more
representative of the fund’s investment strategy. The fund’s
past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of
how the fund will perform in the future. For current performance
information, including yields, please visit americancentury.com.
Sales
charges and account fees, if applicable, are not reflected in the bar chart. If
those charges were included, returns would be less than those
shown.
Calendar Year Total
Returns
Highest
Performance Quarter (2Q
2020): 3.08% Lowest
Performance Quarter (1Q
2022): -2.66%
As
of June 30, 2024, the most
recent calendar quarter end, the fund’s Investor Class year-to-date
return was 1.46%.
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Average
Annual Total Returns
For
the calendar year ended December 31, 2023 |
1
year
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5
years
|
10
years
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Since
Inception |
Inception
Date |
Investor
Class
Return Before Taxes |
4.70% |
1.85% |
1.53% |
— |
11/30/2006 |
Return
After Taxes on Distributions |
3.02% |
0.86% |
0.62% |
— |
11/30/2006 |
Return
After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund
Shares |
2.76% |
1.00% |
0.77% |
— |
11/30/2006 |
I
Class1
Return Before Taxes |
4.91% |
1.95% |
1.63% |
— |
04/10/2017 |
A
Class
Return Before Taxes |
2.20% |
1.14% |
1.04% |
— |
11/30/2006 |
C
Class2
Return Before Taxes |
3.66% |
0.84% |
0.67% |
— |
11/30/2006 |
R
Class
Return Before Taxes |
4.18% |
1.32% |
1.02% |
— |
11/30/2006 |
R5
Class
Return Before Taxes |
5.02% |
2.05% |
1.73% |
— |
11/30/2006 |
R6
Class
Return Before Taxes |
4.96% |
2.11% |
— |
1.89% |
07/28/2017 |
G
Class
Return Before Taxes |
5.29% |
— |
— |
1.27% |
11/04/2020 |
Bloomberg
U.S. Aggregate Bond Index3
(reflects no deduction for
fees, expenses or taxes) |
5.53% |
1.10% |
1.81% |
— |
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Bloomberg U.S. 1-3 Year Government/Credit Bond
Index
(reflects no deduction for
fees, expenses or taxes)
|
4.61% |
1.51% |
1.27% |
— |
— |
1 Historical
performance for the I Class prior to its inception is based on the performance
of R5 Class shares. I Class performance has been adjusted to reflect differences
in expenses between classes, if applicable.
2 C
Class shares automatically convert to A Class shares after approximately eight
years. All returns for periods greater than eight years reflect this
conversion.
3 The
fund’s broad-based securities market index changed from the Bloomberg U.S. 1-3
Year Government/Credit Bond Index to the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index as
a result of recent regulatory changes requiring that such index represent the
overall applicable securities market.
The after-tax returns are
shown only for Investor Class shares. After-tax returns for other share classes
will vary. After-tax returns are
calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax
rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.
Actual after-tax returns
depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax
returns are not relevant to investors who hold their fund shares through
tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or
IRAs.
Investment
Advisor
American
Century Investment Management, Inc.
Portfolio
Managers
Robert
V. Gahagan,
Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, has served on teams managing
fixed-income investments since joining the advisor in 1983.
Paul
Norris,
Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, has been a member of the team that
manages the funds since 2023.
James
E. Platz,
CFA, Vice President and Portfolio Manager, has served on teams managing
fixed-income investments since joining the advisor in 2003.
Charles
Tan,
Senior Vice President and Co-Chief Investment Officer, Global Fixed Income, has
served on teams managing fixed-income investments since joining the advisor in
2018.
You
may purchase or redeem shares of the fund on any business day through our
website at americancentury.com, in person (at one of our Investor Centers), by
mail (American Century Investments, P.O. Box 419200, Kansas City, MO
64141-6200), by telephone at 1-800-345-2021 (Investor Services Representative)
or 1-800-345-3533 (Business, Not-For-Profit and Employer-Sponsored Retirement
Plans), or through a financial intermediary. Shares may be purchased and
redemption proceeds received by electronic bank transfer, by check or by
wire.
Unless
otherwise specified below, the minimum initial investment amount to open an
account is $2,500 ($1,000 for Coverdell Education Savings Accounts and IRAs).
However, American Century Investments will waive the fund minimum if you make an
initial investment of at least $500 and continue to make automatic investments
of at least $100 a month until reaching the fund minimum. Investors opening
accounts through financial intermediaries may open an account with $250 for the
Investor, A, C and R Classes, but the financial intermediaries may require their
clients to meet different investment minimums. The minimum may be waived for
broker-dealer sponsored wrap program accounts, fee based accounts, and accounts
through bank/trust and wealth management advisory organizations.
The
minimum initial investment amount for the I Class is generally $5 million ($3
million for endowments and foundations), but the minimum may be waived if you
have an aggregate investment in the American Century family of funds of $10
million or more ($5 million for endowments and foundations). This includes
accounts held directly with American Century and those held through a financial
intermediary.
There
is no minimum initial investment amount for R5 or R6 Class shares.
For
the Investor, A, C, R, R5 and R6 Classes, there is no minimum initial investment
amount for certain employer-sponsored retirement plans, however, financial
intermediaries or plan recordkeepers may require plans to meet different
minimums. Employer-sponsored retirement plans are not eligible to purchase I
Class shares.
There
is a $50 minimum for subsequent purchases, except that there is no subsequent
purchase minimum for financial intermediaries or employer-sponsored retirement
plans.
G
Class shares are available for purchase by other funds offered by American
Century Investments for which it charges a management fee. In its sole
discretion, American Century Investments may also make G Class shares available
for purchase by other institutional clients for which American Century
Investments provides investment management services for a fee pursuant to an
investment advisory agreement. Currently, eligible clients are limited to
commingled investment trusts or other pooled investment vehicles that utilize a
target date or other asset allocation investment strategy for which American
Century Investments provides asset allocation or glide path investment
management services for a fee. G Class shares do not have a minimum purchase
amount.
Fund
distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income or capital gains, unless
you are investing through a tax-deferred account such as a 401(k) or individual
retirement account (in which case you may be taxed upon withdrawal of your
investment from such account).
If
you purchase the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary
(such as a bank, insurance company, plan sponsor or financial professional), the
fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund
shares and related services for investments in all classes except the R6 Class
and G Class. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the
broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the fund
over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial
intermediary’s website for more information.
What
are the fund’s investment objectives?
The
fund seeks to maximize total return. As a secondary objective, the fund seeks a
high level of income.
What
are the fund’s principal investment strategies?
The
fund invests in debt securities such as notes, bonds, commercial paper,
mortgage- or asset backed securities, collateralized loan obligations,
collateralized mortgage obligations, and U.S. Treasury securities. These
securities may be payable in U.S. or foreign currencies.
The
fund invests at least 65% of its assets in investment-grade, non-money market
debt securities. An investment-grade security is one that has been rated by a
nationally recognized statistical rating organization in its top four credit
quality categories or determined by the advisor to be of comparable credit
quality. The fund may invest up to 35% of its assets in high-yield debt
securities. A high-yield security is one that has been rated below the four
highest categories used by a nationally recognized statistical rating
organization, or determined by the investment advisor to be of similar
quality. The fund may also invest in securities issued by companies that
are located in emerging market countries—emerging market countries.
No
more than 10% of the fund’s assets may be invested in non-dollar denominated
debt securities.
The
weighted average duration of the fund’s portfolio must be three years or
shorter. Duration, which is an indication of the relative sensitivity of a
security’s market value to changes in interest rates, is based upon the
aggregate of the present value of all principal and interest payments to be
received, discounted at the current market rate of interest and expressed in
years. The longer the weighted average duration of the fund’s portfolio, the
more sensitive its market value is to interest rate fluctuations. For example,
if the weighted average duration of the fund’s portfolio is two years, a 2%
change in the value of the fund’s portfolio would be expected for every 1%
change in interest rates.
Because
the fund will own many debt securities, the portfolio managers calculate the
average of the remaining durations of all the debt securities the fund owns to
evaluate the interest rate sensitivity of the entire portfolio. This average is
weighted according to the size of the fund’s individual holdings and is called
the weighted average duration. The following chart shows how portfolio managers
would calculate the weighted average duration for the fund if it owned only two
debt securities.
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Amount
of
Security
Owned |
Percent
of
Portfolio |
Remaining
Duration |
Weighted
Duration |
Debt
Security A |
$100,000 |
25% |
4
years |
1
year |
Debt
Security B |
$300,000 |
75% |
12
years |
9
years |
Weighted
Average Duration |
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10
years |
Duration
is different from maturity in that it attempts to measure the interest rate
sensitivity of a security, as opposed to its expected final maturity. Further,
the weighted average duration of a portfolio will change in response to a change
in interest rates, whereas weighted average maturity may not. Duration is
generally shorter than remaining time to final maturity because it gives weight
to periodic interest payments, as well as the payment of principal at maturity.
Due to factors other than interest rate changes that affect the price of a
specific security, there generally is not an exact correlation between the price
volatility of a security indicated by duration and the actual price volatility
of a security.
During
periods of rising interest rates, the portfolio managers may shorten the
portfolio’s duration in order to reduce the effect of bond price declines on the
fund’s value. When interest rates are falling and bond prices are rising, they
may lengthen the portfolio’s duration, within the three year duration
limit.
The
fund may invest in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and
certain U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities such as the Government
National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae). Ginnie Mae is supported by the full
faith and credit of the U.S. government. Securities issued or guaranteed by
other U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities, such as the Federal
National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage
Corporation (Freddie Mac), and the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) are not
guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or supported by the full faith and credit of the
U.S. government. However, they are authorized to borrow from the U.S. Treasury
to meet their obligations.
In
addition to the debt securities described above, the fund may invest in bank
loans, loan participations and loan assignments.
The
fund may invest in convertible securities, including contingent convertible
securities (sometimes referred to as CoCos or Additional Tier 1
instruments).
The
fund also may invest in derivative instruments provided that such investments
are in keeping with the fund’s investment objectives. Such derivatives may
include options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, and swaps
(including credit default swaps). The fund may use foreign currency exchange
contracts to shift investment exposure from one currency into another for
hedging purposes or to enhance returns.
In
the event of adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, the fund
may take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with the fund’s
principal investment strategies. To the extent the fund assumes a defensive
position, it may not achieve its investment objective.
The
portfolio managers select securities using an approach that integrates
macroeconomic inputs, technical analysis of the relative value among various
sectors, and fundamental research on individual securities. The macroeconomic
framework provides interest rate and duration guidelines for the fund by
analyzing economic activity, inflation, and monetary policy. Portfolio managers
select individual securities using in-depth fundamental analysis designed to
provide a detailed understanding of the credit worthiness of a security and its
related market. As the market environment and investment opportunities change,
sector exposures shift to those sectors that the process identifies as offering
better relative yield and capital appreciation potential. The portfolio managers
utilize the process on an ongoing basis to buy securities that fit the fund’s
evolving sector allocations and credit quality standards and sell those
securities that do not.
A
description of the policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the
fund’s portfolio securities is available in the statement of additional
information.
What
are the principal risks of investing in the fund?
When
interest rates change, the fund’s share value will be affected. Generally, when
interest rates rise, the fund’s share value will decline. The opposite is true
when interest rates decline. The degree to which interest rate changes affect
the fund’s performance varies and is related to the weighted average maturity of
the fund. For example, when interest rates rise, you can expect the share value
of a long-term bond fund to fall more than that of a short-term bond fund. When
rates fall, the opposite is true. Even though the fund’s shorter-weighted
average duration is designed to lessen interest rate risk, the fund is still
susceptible to interest rate changes, and it is generally riskier than funds
that have even shorter-weighted average durations, such as money market funds. A
period of rising interest rates may negatively affect the fund’s
performance.
Debt
securities, even investment-grade debt securities, are subject to credit risk.
Credit risk is the risk that the inability or perceived inability of the issuer
to make interest and principal payments will cause the value of the securities
to decrease. As a result the fund’s share price could also decrease. A high
credit rating indicates a high degree of confidence by the rating organization
that the issuer will be able to withstand adverse business, financial or
economic conditions and make interest and principal payments on time. A lower
credit rating indicates a greater risk of non-payment. Changes in the credit
rating of a debt security held by the fund could have a similar effect. The
fund’s credit quality restrictions apply at the time of purchase; the fund will
not necessarily sell securities if they are downgraded by a rating
agency.
Most
of the securities purchased by the fund are quality debt securities at the time
of purchase. The fund, however, may invest part of its assets in securities
rated in the lowest investment-grade category, and up to 35% of its assets in
high-yield debt securities, including so-called junk bonds. As a result, the
fund may have increased credit risk. Although their securities are considered
investment-grade, issuers of securities rated in the lowest investment-grade
category (and securities of similar quality) are more likely to have problems
making interest and principal payments than issuers of higher-rated securities.
Issuers of high-yield securities (and securities of similar quality) are even
more vulnerable to real or perceived economic changes (such as an economic
downturn or a prolonged period of rising interest rates), political changes or
adverse developments specific to the issuer. In addition, lower-rated securities
may be unsecured or subordinated to other obligations of the issuer. These
factors may be more likely to cause an issuer of low-quality debt securities to
default on its obligation to pay the interest and principal due under its
securities.
The
chance that a fund will have difficulty selling its debt securities is called
liquidity risk. During periods of market turbulence or unusually low trading
activity, to meet redemptions it may be necessary for the fund to sell
securities at prices that could have an adverse effect on the fund’s share
price. The market for lower-quality debt securities is generally even less
liquid than the market for higher-quality securities. Adverse publicity and
investor perceptions, as well as new and proposed laws, also may have a greater
negative impact on the market for lower-quality securities. Changing regulatory
and market conditions, including increases in interest rates and credit spreads
may adversely affect the liquidity of the fund’s investments.
The
fund may invest in debt securities backed by mortgages or assets such as auto
loan, home equity loan or student loan receivables. These underlying obligations
may be prepaid, as when a homeowner refinances a mortgage to take advantage of
declining interest rates. If so, the fund must reinvest prepayments at current
rates, which may be less than the rate of the prepaid mortgage. Because of this
prepayment risk, the fund may benefit less from declining interest rates than
funds of similar duration that invest less heavily in mortgage- and asset-backed
securities. Conversely, an issuer may exercise its right to pay principal on an
obligation held by the fund later than expected (extend the obligation)
especially in periods of rising interest rates. These events may lengthen the
duration (i.e. interest rate sensitivity) and potentially reduce the value of
these securities.
In
addition, to the extent the fund invests in bank loans, loan participations and
loan assignments, it may be exposed to restrictions on transfer, the inability
or unwillingness of assignor(s) on whom it relies to demand and receive loan
payments, the risks of being a lender, and the general risks of investing in
debt securities.
Collateralized
debt obligations (CDOs), collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and
collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) are subject to credit, interest rate,
valuation, prepayment and extension risks. These securities also are subject to
risk of default on the underlying asset, particularly during periods of economic
downturn. The risks of an investment in a CDO depend largely on the type of the
collateral securities and the class of the debt obligation in which the fund
invests. The market value of CLO securities may be affected by, among other
things, changes in the market value of the underlying assets held by the CLO,
changes in the distributions on the underlying assets, defaults and recoveries
on the underlying assets, capital gains and losses on the underlying assets,
prepayments on underlying assets and the availability, and prices and interest
rates of underlying assets. Lower rated tranches of such debt are subject to a
higher risk of total loss and deferral or nonpayment of interest than the more
senior tranches to which they are subordinated. Some of the collateralized
obligations in which the fund invests may be covenant-lite loans. Covenant-lite
loans contain fewer or less restrictive constraints on the borrower. Generally,
the lender is not allowed to monitor the borrower’s performance, declare
default, or force borrowers into bankruptcy. In this type of loan, lenders rely
on restrictive covenants to prevent a company from engaging in specified actions
such as taking on additional debt. Generally, such covenants are precipitated
only by an affirmative breach by the borrower, as opposed to a decline in the
borrower’s financial condition. Thus, the fund may have fewer rights against a
borrower and an accompanying greater risk of loss when it invests in
covenant-lite loans.
The
fund may invest in the securities of foreign companies, which are generally
riskier than U.S. securities. As a result, the fund may be subject to foreign
risk, meaning that political events (such as civil unrest, national elections
and imposition of exchange controls), social and economic events (such as labor
strikes and rising inflation), natural disasters and public health emergencies
occurring in a country where the fund invests could cause the fund’s investments
in that country to experience losses. In addition, foreign securities can have
reduced availability of public information, and the lack of uniform financial
reporting and regulatory practices similar to those that apply to U.S. issuers.
For these and other reasons, securities of foreign companies are often more
volatile, less liquid and harder to value than those of U.S.
issuers.
In
addition, investments in foreign countries are subject to currency risk, meaning
that because a portion of the fund’s investments may be denominated in foreign
currencies, the fund could experience gains or losses based solely on changes in
the exchange rate between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar.
Investing
in securities of companies located in emerging market countries generally is
also riskier than investing in securities of companies located in foreign
developed countries. Emerging market countries may have unstable governments
and/or economies that are subject to sudden change. These changes may be
magnified by the countries’ emergent financial markets, resulting in significant
volatility to investments in these countries. These countries also may lack the
legal, business and social framework to support securities markets.
The
use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater
than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other
traditional instruments. Derivatives are subject to a number of risks, including
liquidity, interest rate, market, and credit risk. They also involve the risk of
mispricing or improper valuation, the risk that changes in the value of the
derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index,
and the risk of default or bankruptcy of the other party to the instrument.
Gains or losses involving some futures, options, and other derivatives may be
substantial – in part because a relatively small price movement in these
securities may result in an immediate and substantial gain or loss for the
fund.
Futures
contracts may experience potentially dramatic price changes (losses) and
imperfect correlations between the price of the contract and the underlying
security, index or currency which will increase the volatility of the fund and
may involve a small investment of cash relative to the magnitude of the risk
assumed.
Swap
agreements are agreements to exchange the return generated by one instrument for
the return generated by another instrument (or index). Swap agreements subject a
fund to the risk that the counterparty to the transaction may not meet its
obligations. The fund also bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be
received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a
counterparty. Interest rate swaps could result in losses if interest rate
changes are not correctly anticipated by the fund. Credit default swaps could
result in losses if the fund does not correctly evaluate the creditworthiness of
the issuer on which the credit default swap is based.
The
value of convertible securities may rise and fall with the market value of the
underlying stock or, like a debt security, vary with changes in interest rates
and the credit quality of the issuer. A convertible security tends to perform
more like a stock when the underlying stock price is high relative to the
conversion price and more like a debt security when the underlying stock price
is low relative to the conversion price. Contingent convertible securities
(sometimes referred to as CoCos or Additional Tier 1 Instruments) are subject to
additional risks. Under certain circumstances, CoCos may be subject to automatic
write-down of the principal amount or value of the securities, sometimes to
zero, thereby cancelling the securities. If such an event occurs, the fund may
not have any rights to repayment of the principal amount of the securities that
has not become due. Additionally, the fund may not be able to collect interest
payments or dividends on such securities.
Investments
in bank loans, loans made by banks or other financial intermediaries to
borrowers, require the fund to depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the
borrower for payment of principal and interest, exposing the fund to the credit
risk of both the financial institution and the underlying borrower. The market
for bank loans may not be highly liquid and the fund may have difficulty selling
them. In connection with purchasing participations, the fund generally will have
no right to enforce compliance by the borrower with the terms of the loan
agreement, nor any rights with respect to any funds acquired by other lenders
through set-off against the borrower, and the fund may not directly benefit from
any collateral supporting the loan in which it has purchased the participation.
In addition, transactions in bank loans may take more than seven days to settle.
As a result, the proceeds from the sale of bank loans may not be readily
available to make additional investments or to meet the fund’s redemption
obligations. Some bank loan interests may not be considered securities or
registered under the Securities Act of 1933 and therefore not afforded the
protections of the federal securities laws.
The
value of securities owned by the fund may go up and down, sometimes rapidly or
unpredictably, due to factors affecting securities markets generally, particular
industries, real or perceived adverse economic conditions or investor sentiment
generally. Market risks, including political, regulatory, economic and social
developments, can affect the value of the fund’s investments. Natural disasters,
public health emergencies, war, terrorism and other unforeseeable events may
lead to increased market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on
world economies and markets generally.
The
fund may need to sell securities at times it would not otherwise do so in order
to meet shareholder redemption requests. The fund could experience a loss when
selling securities, particularly if the redemption requests are unusually large
or frequent, occur in times of overall market turmoil or declining pricing for
the securities sold or when the securities the fund wishes to sell are illiquid.
Selling securities to meet such redemption requests also may increase
transaction costs or have tax consequences. To the extent that a large
shareholder (including a fund of funds or 529 college savings plan) invests in
the fund, the fund may experience relatively large redemptions as such
shareholder reallocates its assets. Although the advisor seeks to minimize the
impact of such transactions where possible, the fund’s performance may be
adversely affected.
The
fund’s share value will fluctuate, and at any given time your shares may be
worth less than the price you paid for them. As a result, it is possible to lose
money by investing in the fund. In general, funds that have higher potential
income have higher potential loss.
Who
manages the fund?
The
Board of Trustees, investment advisor and fund management team play key roles in
the management of the fund.
The
Board of Trustees
The
Board of Trustees is responsible for overseeing the advisor’s management and
operations of the fund pursuant to the management agreement. In performing their
duties, Board members receive detailed information about the fund and its
advisor regularly throughout the year, and meet at least quarterly with
management of the advisor to review reports about fund operations. The trustees’
role is to provide oversight and not to provide day-to-day management. More than
three-fourths of the trustees are independent of the fund’s advisor. They are
not employees, directors or officers of, and have no financial interest in, the
advisor or any of its affiliated companies (other than as shareholders of
American Century Investments funds), and they do not have any other
affiliations, positions or relationships that would cause them to be considered
“interested persons” under the Investment Company Act of
1940.
The
Investment Advisor
The
fund’s investment advisor is American Century Investment Management, Inc. (the
advisor). The advisor has been managing mutual funds since 1958 and is
headquartered at 4500 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri
64111.
The
advisor is responsible for managing the investment portfolio of the fund and
directing the purchase and sale of its investment securities. The advisor also
arranges for transfer agency, custody and all other services necessary for the
fund to operate.
For
the services it provides to the classes of the fund other than G Class, the
advisor receives a unified management fee based on a percentage of the daily net
assets of each class of shares of the fund. The management fee is calculated
daily and paid monthly in arrears. Out of the fund’s fee, the advisor pays all
expenses of managing and operating the fund except brokerage expenses, taxes,
interest, fees and expenses of the independent trustees (including legal counsel
fees), extraordinary expenses, and expenses incurred in connection with the
provision of shareholder services and distribution services under a plan adopted
pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The difference
in unified management fees among the classes is a result of their separate
arrangements for non-Rule 12b-1 shareholder services. It is not the result of
any difference in advisory or custodial fees or other expenses related to the
management of the fund’s assets, which do not vary by class. For all classes
other than the R6 and G Classes, the advisor may pay unaffiliated third parties
who provide recordkeeping and administrative services that would otherwise be
performed by an affiliate of the advisor.
The
percentage rate used to calculate the management fee for each class of shares of
the fund is determined daily using a two-component formula that takes into
account (i) the daily net assets of certain accounts managed by the advisor that
are in the same broad investment category as the fund (the Category Fee) and
(ii) the assets of all funds in the American Century Investments family of funds
that have the same investment advisor and distributor as the fund (the Complex
Fee). For purposes of determining the Category Fee and Complex Fee, the assets
of funds managed by the advisor that invest exclusively in the shares of other
funds (funds of funds) are not included. The statement of additional information
contains detailed information about the calculation of the management
fee.
The
G Class is subject to a contractual management fee that the advisor waives in
its entirety. However, the advisor does receive a management fee from funds or
client advisory accounts that invest in the G Class.
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Management
Fees Paid by the Fund to the Advisor as a Percentage of Average Net Assets
for the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2024 |
Investor Class |
I Class |
A Class |
C Class |
R Class |
R5 Class |
R6 Class |
G Class |
Short
Duration |
0.56% |
0.46% |
0.56% |
0.56% |
0.56% |
0.36% |
0.31% |
0.00% |
A
discussion regarding the basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of the fund’s
investment advisory agreement with the advisor is available in the fund’s
semiannual report to shareholders dated September 30, 2023.
The
Fund Management Team
The
advisor uses teams of portfolio managers and analysts, organized by broad
investment categories such as money markets, corporate bonds, government bonds
and municipal bonds, in its management of fixed-income funds. Designated
portfolio managers serve on the firm’s Global Fixed Income Investment Committee,
which is responsible for periodically adjusting the fund’s dynamic investment
parameters based on economic and market conditions. All portfolio managers
listed below are responsible for security selection and portfolio construction
for the fund within these parameters, as well as compliance with stated
investment objectives and cash flow monitoring. Other members of the investment
team provide research and analytical support but generally do not make
day-to-day investment decisions for the fund.
The
individuals listed below are jointly and primarily responsible for the
day-to-day management of the fund described in this prospectus.
Robert
V. Gahagan (Global Fixed Income Investment Committee
Representative)
Mr.
Gahagan, Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, has served on teams
managing fixed-income investments since joining the advisor in 1983. He has a
bachelor’s degree in economics and an MBA from the University of Missouri –
Kansas City.
Paul
Norris (Global Fixed Income Investment Committee Representative)
Paul
Norris, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, has been a member of the
team that manages the fund since joining American Century Investments in 2023.
Prior to joining American Century, Mr. Norris was the Managing Director and Head
of Structured Products at Conning Asset Management. He has a bachelor’s of
science in business administration from Towson University and an MBA in finance
from The University of Maryland.
James
E. Platz
Mr.
Platz, Vice President and Portfolio Manager, has served on teams managing
fixed-income investments since joining the advisor in 2003. He has a bachelor’s
degree in history and political economies of industrial societies from the
University of California – Berkeley, and an MBA from the University of Southern
California. He is a CFA charterholder.
Charles
Tan (Global Fixed Income Investment Committee Representative)
Mr.
Tan, Senior Vice President and Co-Chief Investment Officer, Global Fixed Income,
has served on teams managing fixed-income investments since joining the advisor
in 2018. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics from University of
International Business and Economics, Beijing and an MBA from Bucknell
University.
The
statement of additional information provides additional information about the
accounts managed by the portfolio managers, the structure of their compensation,
and their ownership of fund securities.
Fundamental
Investment Policies
Shareholders
must approve any change to the fundamental investment policies contained in the
statement of additional information, as well as any change to the investment
objective of the fund. The Board of Trustees and/or the advisor may change any
other policies or investment strategies described in this prospectus or
otherwise used in the operation of the fund at any time, subject to applicable
notice provisions.
Services
Automatically Available to You
Most
accounts automatically have access to the services listed under Ways
to Manage Your Account
when the account is opened. If you have questions about the services that apply
to your account type, please call us.
Generally,
once your account is established, any registered owner (including those on
jointly owned accounts) or any trustee (including those on trust accounts with
multiple trustees), or any authorized signer on business accounts with multiple
authorized signers, may transact business by any of the methods described below.
American Century reserves the right to require all owners or trustees or
authorized signers to act together, at our discretion.
Account
Maintenance Fee
If
you hold Investor Class shares of any American Century Investments mutual fund,
or I Class shares of the American Century Diversified Bond Fund, in an American
Century Investments account (i.e., not through a financial intermediary or
employer-sponsored retirement plan account), we may charge you a $25 annual
account maintenance fee if the value of those shares is less than $25,000. We
will determine the amount of your total eligible investments once per year,
generally the last Friday in October. If the value of those investments is less
than $25,000 at that time, we will automatically redeem shares in one of your
accounts to pay the $25 fee as soon as administratively possible. Please note
that you may incur tax liability as a result of the redemption. In determining
your total eligible investment amount, we will include your investments in all
personal accounts registered under your Social Security number (including
directly held American Century Investments mutual fund accounts, as well as
certain retirement, American Century Brokerage, American Century Private Client
Group, American Century Digital Advice, and Learning Quest 529
accounts).
The
account maintenance fee is automatically waived for any accounts for which the
shareholder has elected to receive electronic delivery of all of the following:
account statements, transaction confirmations, prospectuses, and shareholder
reports. Paper copies of fund documents remain available, free of charge, to any
such shareholder upon request.
American
Century Investments reserves the right to authorize additional waivers for other
types of accounts or to modify the conditions for assessment of the account
maintenance fee.
Wire
Purchases
Current
Investors: If
you would like to make a wire purchase into an existing account, your bank will
need the following information. (To invest in a new fund, please call us first
to set up the new account.)
•American
Century Investments bank information: Commerce Bank N.A., Routing No.
101000019, Account No. 2804918
•Your
American Century Investments account number and fund name
•Your
name
•The
contribution year (for IRAs only)
•Dollar
amount
New
Investors: To
make a wire purchase into a new account, please complete an application or call
us prior to wiring money.
Ways
to Manage Your Account
ONLINE
americancentury.com
Open
an account:
If you are a current or new investor, you can open an account by completing and
submitting our online application. Current investors also can open an account by
exchanging shares from another American Century Investments account with an
identical registration.
Exchange
shares:
Exchange shares from another American Century Investments account with a shared
owner (restrictions apply).
Make
additional investments:
Make an additional investment into an established American Century Investments
account. If we do not have your bank information, you can add it.
Sell
shares*:
Redeem shares and choose whether the proceeds are electronically transferred to
your authorized bank account or sent by check to your address of
record.
*
Online redemptions up to $25,000 per day per account.
IN
PERSON
If
you prefer to handle your transactions in person, visit one of our Investor
Centers and a representative can help you open an account, make additional
investments, and sell or exchange shares.
•4400
Main Street, Kansas City, MO — 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday – Friday
•4917
Town Center Drive, Leawood, KS — 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday – Friday
BY
TELEPHONE
Investor
Services Representative:
1-800-345-2021
Business,
Not-For-Profit and Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans:
1-800-345-3533
Automated
Information Line:
1-800-345-8765
Open
an account:
If you are a current investor, you can open an account by exchanging shares from
another American Century Investments account with an identical
registration.
Exchange
shares:
Call a representative or use our Automated Information Line to exchange your
shares from one American Century Investments account to another with a shared
owner (restrictions apply) (available only to Investor Class
shareholders).
Make
additional investments:
Call a representative or use our Automated Information Line if you have
authorized us to invest from your bank account. The Automated Information Line
is available only to Investor Class shareholders.
Sell
shares:
Call a representative or use our Automated Information Line (if your account is
under an employer-sponsored retirement plan, you may be required to complete a
form). The Automated Information Line redemptions are up to $25,000 per day
per account and are available for Investor Class shareholders only.
BY
MAIL OR FAX
Mail
Address:
P.O. Box 419200, Kansas City, MO 64141-6200 — Fax:
1-888-327-1998
Open
an account:
Send a signed, completed application and check or money order payable to
American Century Investments.
Exchange
shares:
Send written instructions to exchange your shares from one American Century
Investments account to another with a shared owner (restrictions
apply).
Make
additional investments:
Send your check or money order for at least $50 with an investment slip. If you
don’t have an investment slip, include your name, address and account number on
your check or money order.
Sell
shares:
Complete the appropriate redemption form to sell shares. Forms are available at
americancentury.com/forms or call a representative to request a
form.
AUTOMATICALLY
Open
an account:
Not available.
Exchange
shares:
Send written instructions to set up an automatic exchange of your shares from
one American Century Investments account to another with a shared owner
(restrictions apply).
Make
additional investments:
With the automatic investment service, you can purchase shares on a regular
basis by drafting your bank account. You must invest at least $50 per
account.
Sell
shares:
You may sell shares automatically by establishing a systematic redemption
plan.
See
Additional
Policies Affecting Your Investment
for more information about investing with us.
The
fund may be purchased by participants in employer-sponsored retirement plans or
through financial
intermediaries
that provide various administrative and distribution services.
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Financial
intermediaries
include
banks, broker-dealers, insurance companies, plan sponsors and financial
professionals. |
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Although
each class of the fund’s shares represents an interest in the same fund, each
has a different cost structure, as described below. Which class is right for you
depends on many factors, including how long you plan to hold the shares, how
much you plan to invest, the fee structure of each class, and how you wish to
compensate your financial professional for the services provided to you. Your
financial professional can help you choose the option that is most
appropriate.
Investor
Class
Investor
Class shares are available for purchase without sales charges or commissions but
may be subject to account or transaction fees if purchased through financial
intermediaries. These shares are available to investors in retail brokerage
accounts, broker-dealer-sponsored fee-based advisory accounts, other advisory
accounts where fees are charged, and employer-sponsored retirement
plans.
I
Class
I
Class shares are available for purchase without sales charges or commissions by
endowments, foundations, large institutional investors and financial
intermediaries.
A
Class
A
Class shares are available for purchase through broker-dealers and other
financial intermediaries. These shares carry an initial sales charge and an
ongoing distribution and service (12b-1) fee that is used to compensate your
financial professional. See Calculation
of Sales Charges
below for commission amounts received by financial professionals on the purchase
of A Class shares. The sales charge decreases with the size of the purchase, and
may be reduced or eliminated in certain situations. See Reductions
and Waivers of Sales Charges for A Class
and CDSC
Waivers
below for a full description of the breakpoints, reductions and waivers that may
be available through financial intermediaries in certain types of accounts or
products.
C
Class
C
Class shares are available for purchase through broker-dealers and other
financial intermediaries. These shares do not have an initial sales charge but
carry an ongoing distribution and service (12b-1) fee. Except as noted below,
the commission paid to your financial professional for purchases of C Class
shares is 1.00% of the amount invested, and the shares have a contingent
deferred sales charge (CDSC) when redeemed within one year of purchase. Your
financial professional does not receive the distribution and service (12b-1) fee
until the CDSC period has expired (it is retained by the distributor). See
CDSC
Waivers
below for a full description of the waivers that may be available. C Class
shares automatically convert to A Class shares 8 years after
purchase.
R
Class
R
Class shares do not carry a sales charge or commission, but they have an ongoing
distribution and service (12b-1) fee. R Class shares are available for purchase
through certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. R Class shares also may be
available for certain other accounts through financial intermediaries who have
an agreement with us to offer R Class in certain products. Additionally, IRA
accounts in R Class shares established through financial intermediaries prior to
August 1, 2006, may make additional purchases. With respect to purchases through
financial intermediaries, R Class shares are not available in the following
types of employer-sponsored retirement plans: SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs,
except that investors in such plans with accounts in R Class shares established
prior to March 1, 2009, may make additional purchases, and certain
intermediaries may have agreements with us to offer R Class shares in such plans
as described above.
R5
and R6 Class
R5
and R6 Class shares are available for purchase without sales charges or
commissions by participants in certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. R5
and R6 Class shares may be purchased or redeemed only through employer-sponsored
retirement plans where a financial intermediary provides retirement
recordkeeping services to plan participants. Accounts in R5 Class shares opened
prior to April 10, 2017 remain eligible for the R5 Class.
Calculation
of Sales Charges
The
information regarding sales charges provided herein is included free of charge
and in a clear and prominent format at americancentury.com in the Investors
Using Advisors
and Investment
Professionals
portions of the website. From the description of A or C Class shares, a
hyperlink will take you directly to this disclosure.
The
availability of the sales charge reductions and waivers discussed below will
depend upon whether you purchase your shares directly from the fund or through a
financial intermediary. Intermediaries may have different policies and
procedures regarding the availability of these reductions or waivers. Please
refer to Appendix
A
for information provided by certain financial intermediaries regarding their
sales charge waiver or discount policies that are applicable to investors
transacting in fund shares through such financial intermediary.
A
Class
A
Class shares are sold at their offering price, which is net asset value plus an
initial sales charge. This sales charge varies depending on the amount of your
investment, and is deducted from your purchase before it is invested. The sales
charges and the amounts paid to your financial professional
are:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Purchase
Amount |
Sales
Charge as a
%
of Offering Price |
Sales
Charge as a %
of
Net Amount Invested |
Dealer
Commission as a % of Offering Price |
Less
than $100,000 |
2.25% |
2.30% |
2.00% |
$100,000
- $249,999 |
1.75% |
1.78% |
1.50% |
$250,000
- $499,999 |
1.50% |
1.52% |
1.25% |
$500,000
- $3,999,999 |
0.00% |
0.00% |
0.75% |
$4,000,000
- $9,999,999 |
0.00% |
0.00% |
0.50% |
$10,000,000
or more |
0.00% |
0.00% |
0.25% |
There
is no front-end sales charge for purchases of $500,000 or more, but if you
redeem your shares within one year of purchase you will pay a deferred sales
charge of 1.00% of the lower of the original purchase price or the current
market value at redemption, subject to the exceptions listed below. No sales
charge applies to reinvested dividends. No dealer commission will be paid to
your financial professional for purchases by certain employer-sponsored
retirement plans. For this purpose, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not
include SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs.
Reductions
and Waivers of Sales Charges for A Class
You
may qualify for a reduction or waiver of certain sales charges, but you or your
financial professional must provide certain information, including the account
numbers of any accounts to be aggregated, to American Century Investments at the
time of purchase in order to take advantage of such reduction or waiver. If you
hold assets among multiple intermediaries, it is your responsibility to inform
your intermediary and/or American Century Investments at the time of purchase,
of any accounts to be aggregated.
You
and your immediate family (which includes your spouse or domestic partner and
children, step-children, parents or step-parents of you, your spouse or domestic
partner) may combine investments in any share class of any American Century
Investments mutual fund (excluding certain assets in money market accounts, but
including account assets invested in Qualified Tuition Programs under Section
529) to reduce your A Class sales charge in the following ways:
Account
Aggregation.
Investments made by you and your immediate family may be aggregated at each
account’s current market value if made for your own account(s) and/or certain
other accounts, such as:
•Certain
trust accounts
•Solely
controlled business accounts
•Single-participant
retirement plans
•Endowments
or foundations established and controlled by you or an immediate family
member
For
purposes of aggregation, only investments made through individual-level accounts
may be combined. Assets held in multiple participant employer-sponsored
retirement plans may be aggregated at a plan level.
Concurrent
Purchases.
You may combine simultaneous purchases in any share class of any American
Century Investments fund to qualify for a reduced A Class sales
charge.
Rights
of Accumulation.
You may take into account the current value of your existing holdings, less any
commissionable shares in the money market funds, in any share class of any
American Century Investments mutual fund to qualify for a reduced A Class sales
charge. An investor who purchases fund shares through a financial intermediary
may be subject to different rights of accumulation policies of such financial
intermediary. Please consult with your financial professional for further
details.
Letter
of Intent.
A Letter of Intent allows you to combine all purchases of any share class of any
American Century Investments mutual fund you intend to make over a 13-month
period to determine the applicable sales charge, except for purchases in the A
or C Class money market funds. At your request, existing holdings may be
combined with new purchases and sales charge amounts may be adjusted for
purchases made within 90 days prior to our receipt of the Letter of Intent.
Capital appreciation, capital gains and reinvested dividends earned during the
Letter of Intent period do not apply toward its completion. A portion of your
account will be held in escrow to cover additional A Class sales charges that
will be due if your total investments over the 13-month period do not qualify
for the applicable sales charge reduction.
Waivers
for Certain Investors.
The sales charge on A Class shares may be waived for:
•Purchases
by registered representatives and other employees of certain financial
intermediaries (and their immediate family members, which includes their spouse
or domestic partner and children, step-children, parents or step-parents of
them, their spouse or domestic partner) having selling agreements with the
advisor or distributor
•Broker-dealer
sponsored wrap program accounts and/or fee-based accounts maintained for clients
of certain financial intermediaries who have entered into selling agreements
with American Century Investments
•Purchases
in accounts of financial intermediaries that have entered into a selling
agreement with American Century Investments that allows for the waiver of the
sales charge in brokerage accounts that may or may not charge a transaction
fee
•Current
officers, directors and employees of American Century Investments
•Certain
group employer-sponsored retirement plans, where plan level or omnibus accounts
are held with the fund, or shares are purchased by certain retirement plans that
are part of a retirement plan or platform offered by banks, broker-dealers,
financial advisors or insurance companies, or serviced by retirement
recordkeepers. For purposes of this waiver, employer-sponsored retirement plans
do not include SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs. However, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA or
SARSEP retirement plans that (i) held shares of an A Class fund prior to March
1, 2009 that received sales charge waivers or (ii) held shares of an Advisor
Class fund that was renamed A Class on March 1, 2010, may permit additional
purchases by new and existing participants in A Class shares without an initial
sales charge. Refer to Buying
and Selling Fund Shares in
the statement of additional information
•Purchases
of additional shares in accounts that held shares of an Advisor Class fund
that was renamed A Class on either September 4, 2007, December 3, 2007
or March 1, 2010. However, if you close your account or if you transfer
your account to another financial intermediary, future purchases of A Class
shares of a fund may not receive a sales charge waiver.
An
investor who receives a sales charge waiver for purchases of fund shares through
a financial intermediary may become ineligible to receive such waiver if the
nature of the investor’s relationship with and/or the services it receives from
the financial intermediary changes. Please consult with your financial
professional for further details.
C
Class
C
Class shares are sold at their net asset value without an initial sales charge.
If you purchase shares through a financial intermediary who receives a
commission from the fund’s distributor on the purchase and redeem your shares
within 12 months of purchase, you will pay a CDSC of 1.00% of the original
purchase price or the current market value at redemption, whichever is less. The
purpose of the CDSC is to permit the fund’s distributor to recoup all or a
portion of the up-front payment made to your financial professional. There is no
CDSC on shares acquired through reinvestment of dividends or capital
gains.
American
Century Investments generally limits purchases of C Class shares to investors
whose aggregate investments in American Century Investments mutual funds are
less than $1,000,000. However, it is your responsibility to inform your
financial intermediary and/or American Century Investments at the time of
purchase of any accounts to be aggregated, including investments in any share
class of any American Century Investments mutual fund (excluding certain assets
in money market accounts, but including account assets invested in Qualified
Tuition Programs under Section 529) in accounts held by you and your immediate
family members (which includes your spouse or domestic partner and children,
step-children, parents or step-parents of you, your spouse or domestic partner).
Once you reach this limit, you should work with your financial intermediary to
determine what share class is most appropriate for additional
purchases.
C
Class shares automatically convert to A Class shares after being held for 8
years. The automatic conversion will be executed in the month following the
8-year anniversary of the purchase date for such C Class shares without any
sales charge, fee or other charges. The conversion from C Class shares is not
considered a taxable event for Federal income tax purposes. After the
conversion, shares will be subject to all features and expenses of A Class
shares.
Calculation
of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (CDSC)
To
minimize the amount of the CDSC you may pay when you redeem shares, the fund
will first redeem shares acquired through reinvested dividends and capital gain
distributions, which are not subject to a CDSC. Shares that have been in your
account long enough that they are not subject to a CDSC are redeemed next. For
any remaining redemption amount, shares will be sold in the order they were
purchased (earliest to latest).
CDSC
Waivers
Any
applicable CDSC for A or C Classes may be waived in the following
cases:
•redemptions
through systematic withdrawal plans not exceeding annually12% of the lesser of
the original purchase cost or current market value
•redemptions
through employer-sponsored retirement plans. For this purpose,
employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or
SARSEPs
•distributions
from IRAs due to attainment of age 59½
•required
minimum distributions from retirement accounts due to the shareholder reaching
the qualified age based on applicable IRS regulations
•tax-free
returns of excess contributions to IRAs
•redemptions
due to death or post-purchase disability
•exchanges,
unless the shares acquired by exchange are redeemed within the original CDSC
period
•IRA
Rollovers from any American Century Investments mutual fund held in an
employer-sponsored retirement plan, for A Class shares only
•if
no dealer commission was paid to the financial intermediary on the purchase for
any other reason
Reinstatement
Privilege
Within
90 days of a redemption, dividend payment or capital gains distribution of any A
Class shares, you may reinvest all or a portion of the proceeds in A Class
shares of any American Century Investments mutual fund at the then-current net
asset value without paying an initial sales charge. At your request, any CDSC
you paid on an A Class redemption that you are reinvesting will be credited to
your account. You may use the privilege only once per account. This privilege
may only be invoked by the original account owner to reinvest shares in an
account with the same registration as the account from which the redemption or
distribution originated. This privilege does not apply to systematic or
automatic transactions, including, for example, automatic purchases, withdrawals
and payroll deductions. If you wish to use this reinvestment privilege, you or
your financial professional must provide written notice to American Century
Investments.
Employer-Sponsored
Retirement Plans
Certain
group employer-sponsored retirement plans that hold a single account for all
plan participants with the fund, or that are part of a retirement plan or
platform offered by banks, broker-dealers, financial advisors or insurance
companies, or serviced by retirement recordkeepers are eligible to purchase
Investor, A, C, R, R5 and R6 Class shares. Employer-sponsored retirement plans
are not eligible to purchase I Class shares. For more information regarding
employer-sponsored retirement plan types, please refer to Buying
and Selling Fund Shares
in the statement of additional information. A and C Class purchases are
available at net asset value with no dealer commission paid to the financial
professional, and do not incur a CDSC. A, C and R Class shares purchased in
employer-sponsored retirement plans are subject to applicable distribution and
service (12b-1) fees, which the financial intermediary begins receiving
immediately at the time of purchase. American Century does not impose minimum
initial investment amount, plan size or participant number requirements by class
for employer-sponsored retirement plans; however, financial intermediaries or
plan recordkeepers may require plans to meet different
requirements.
Exchanging
Shares
You
may exchange shares of the fund for shares of the same class of another American
Century Investments mutual fund without a sales charge if you meet the following
criteria:
•The
exchange is for a minimum of $100
•For
an exchange that opens a new account, the amount of the exchange must meet or
exceed the minimum account size requirement for the fund receiving the
exchange
For
purposes of computing any applicable CDSC on shares that have been exchanged,
the holding period will begin as of the date of purchase of the original fund
owned. Exchanges from a money market fund are subject to a sales charge on the
fund being purchased, unless the money market fund shares were acquired by
exchange from a fund with a sales charge or by reinvestment of dividends or
capital gains distributions.
Moving
Between Share Classes and Accounts
You
may move your investment between share classes (within the same fund or between
different funds) in certain circumstances deemed appropriate by American Century
Investments. You also may move investments held in certain accounts to a
different type of account if you meet certain criteria. Please contact your
financial professional for more information about moving between share classes
or account types.
Buying
and Selling Shares Through a Financial Intermediary
Your
ability to purchase, exchange, redeem and transfer shares will be affected by
the policies of the financial intermediary through which you do business. Some
policy differences may include
•minimum
investment requirements
•exchange
policies
•fund
choices
•cutoff
time for investments
•trading
restrictions
In
addition, your financial intermediary may charge a transaction fee for the
purchase or sale of fund shares. Those charges are retained by the financial
intermediary and are not shared with American Century Investments or the fund.
Please contact your financial intermediary or plan sponsor for a complete
description of its policies. Copies of the fund’s annual report, semiannual
report and statement of additional information are available from your financial
intermediary or plan sponsor.
The
fund has authorized certain financial intermediaries to accept orders on the
fund’s behalf. American Century Investments has selling agreements with these
financial intermediaries requiring them to track the time investment orders are
received and to comply with procedures relating to the transmission of orders.
Orders must be received by the financial intermediary on the fund’s behalf
before the time the net asset value is determined in order to receive that day’s
share price. If those orders are transmitted to American Century Investments and
paid for in accordance with the selling agreement, they will be priced at the
net asset value next determined after your request is received in the form
required by the financial intermediary.
If
you submit a transaction request through a financial intermediary that does not
have a selling agreement with us, or if the financial intermediary’s selling
agreement does not cover the type of account or share class requested, we may
reject or cancel the transaction without prior notice to you or the
intermediary.
Investor
and I Class shares may also be available on brokerage platforms of financial
intermediaries that have agreements with American Century Investments to offer
such shares solely when acting as an agent for the shareholder. A
shareholder transacting in Investor or I Class shares in these programs may be
required to pay a commission and/or other forms of compensation to the broker.
Shares of the fund are available in other share classes that have different fees
and expenses.
See
Additional
Policies Affecting Your Investment
for more information about investing with us.
Eligibility
for Investor Class Shares
The
fund’s Investor Class shares are available for purchase directly from American
Century Investments and through the following types of products, programs or
accounts offered by financial intermediaries:
•self-directed
accounts on transaction-based platforms that may or may not charge a transaction
fee
•employer-sponsored
retirement plans
•broker-dealer
sponsored fee-based wrap programs or other fee-based advisory
accounts
•insurance
products and bank/trust products where fees are being charged
The
fund reserves the right, when in the judgment of American Century Investments it
is not adverse to the fund’s interest, to permit all or only certain types of
investors to open new accounts in the fund, to impose further restrictions, or
to close the fund to any additional investments, all without
notice.
Minimum
Initial Investment Amounts for Investor, A, C and R Classes
Unless
otherwise specified below, the minimum initial investment amount to open an
account is $2,500. However, American Century Investments will waive the fund
minimum if you make an initial investment of at least $500 and continue to make
automatic investments of at least $100 a month until reaching the fund
minimum.
Investors
opening accounts through financial intermediaries may open an account with $250,
but the financial intermediaries may require their clients to meet different
investment minimums. See Investing
Through a Financial Intermediary
for more information.
|
|
|
|
| |
Broker-dealer
sponsored wrap program accounts and/or fee-based advisory
accounts |
No
minimum |
Coverdell
Education Savings Account (CESA) and IRAs |
$1,0001,
2 |
Employer-sponsored
retirement plans |
No
minimum |
1 American
Century Investments will waive the minimum if you make an initial investment of
at least $500 and continue to make automatic investments of at least $100 a
month until reaching the fund minimum.
2 The
minimum initial investment for shareholders investing through financial
intermediaries is $250. Financial intermediaries may have different minimums for
their clients.
Subsequent
Purchases
There
is a $50 minimum for subsequent purchases. See Ways
to Manage Your Account
for more information about making additional investments directly with American
Century Investments. However, there is no subsequent purchase minimum for
financial intermediaries or employer-sponsored retirement plans, but financial
intermediaries may require their clients to meet different subsequent purchase
requirements.
Eligibility
for I Class Shares
The
I Class shares are made available for purchase by individuals and large
institutional shareholders such as bank trust departments, corporations,
endowments, foundations and financial advisors that meet the fund’s minimum
investment requirements.
Minimum
Initial Investment Amounts for I Class
The
minimum initial investment amount is generally $5 million ($3 million for
endowments and foundations) per fund. If you invest with us through a financial
intermediary, this requirement may be met if your financial intermediary
aggregates your investments with those of other clients into a single group, or
omnibus, account that meets the minimum. The minimum investment requirement may
be waived if you have an aggregate investment in the American Century family of
funds of $10 million or more ($5 million for endowments and foundations). This
includes accounts held directly with American Century and those held through a
financial intermediary. American Century Investments also may waive the minimum
initial investment in other situations it deems appropriate.
American
Century Investments may permit an intermediary to waive the initial minimum per
shareholder as provided in Buying
and Selling Fund Shares
in the statement of additional information.
Eligibility
for R5 and R6 Class Shares
The
fund’s R5 and R6 Class shares are generally available only through
employer-sponsored retirement plans where a financial intermediary provides
retirement recordkeeping services to plan participants. To be eligible, plan
level or omnibus accounts must be held on the books of the fund. R6 Class shares
also are available to funds of funds advised by American Century and
unaffiliated funds of funds sold primarily to the employer-sponsored retirement
plan market.
R5
and R6 Class shares are not available to retail accounts, traditional or Roth
IRAs, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, SARSEPs or Coverdell education savings accounts.
However, accounts in R5 Class shares opened prior to April 10, 2017, remain
eligible for the R5 Class.
Minimum
Initial Investment Amounts for R5 and R6 Class
There
is no minimum initial amount or subsequent investment amount for R5 and R6 Class
shares, but financial intermediaries or plan recordkeepers may require plans to
meet different investment minimums.
Eligibility
and Minimum Initial Investment Amounts for G Class
G
Class shares are available for purchase by other funds offered by American
Century Investments for which it charges a management fee. In its sole
discretion, American Century Investments may also make G Class shares available
for purchase by other institutional clients for which American Century
Investments provides investment management services for a fee pursuant to an
investment advisory agreement. Currently, eligible clients are limited to
commingled investment trusts or other pooled investment vehicles that utilize a
target date or other asset allocation investment strategy for which American
Century Investments provides asset allocation or glide path investment
management services for a fee. G Class shares do not have a minimum purchase
amount.
Redemptions
Your
redemption proceeds will be calculated using the net asset value (NAV) next
determined after we receive your transaction request in good order. If you sell
C or, in certain cases, A Class shares, you may pay a sales charge, depending on
how long you have held your shares, as described above. Your redemption proceeds
will be calculated using the net asset value (NAV) next determined after we
receive your transaction request in good order.
Generally,
we expect to remit your redemption proceeds to you one business day after we
process your transaction. However, we reserve the right to delay delivery of
redemption proceeds for up to seven days. For example, each time you make an
investment with American Century Investments, there is a seven-day holding
period before we will release redemption proceeds from those shares, unless you
provide us with satisfactory proof that your purchase funds have cleared. If you
have CheckWriting privileges, we will not honor checks written against shares
subject to this seven-day holding period. Investments by wire generally require
only a one-day holding period. If you change your address, we may require that
any redemption request made within seven days be submitted in writing and be
signed by all authorized signers with their signatures guaranteed. We may also
require a signature guarantee for redemptions in other situations, as described
below. If you change your bank information, we may impose a seven-day holding
period before we will transfer or wire redemption proceeds to your bank. Please
remember, if you request redemptions by wire, $10 will be deducted from the
amount redeemed. Your bank also may charge a fee.
Additionally,
if you are age 65 or older, or if we have reason to believe you have a mental or
physical impairment that renders you unable to protect your own interest, we may
temporarily delay the disbursement of redemption proceeds from your account if
we believe that you have been the victim of actual or attempted financial
exploitation. This temporary delay will be for an initial period of no more than
15 business days while we conduct an internal review of the facts and
circumstances of the suspected financial exploitation. If our internal review
supports our belief that actual or attempted financial exploitation has occurred
or is occurring, we may extend the hold for up to 10 additional business days.
At the expiration of the additional hold time, if we have not confirmed that
exploitation has occurred, the proceeds will be released to you.
Under
normal market conditions, the fund generally meets redemption requests through
its holdings of cash or cash equivalents or by selling portfolio securities.
However, we reserve the right to honor certain redemptions with securities,
rather than cash, as described in the next section. Additionally, the fund may
consider interfund lending to meet redemption requests. The fund is more likely
to use these other methods to meet large redemption requests or during times of
market stress.
Special
Requirements for Large Redemptions
If,
during any 90-day period, you redeem fund shares worth more than $250,000 (or 1%
of the value of a fund’s assets if that amount is less than $250,000), we
reserve the right to pay part or all of the redemption proceeds in excess of
this amount in readily marketable securities instead of in cash. To the extent
practicable, these securities will represent your pro rata share of the fund’s
securities.
We
will value these securities in the same manner as we do in computing the fund’s
net asset value. We may provide these securities in lieu of cash without prior
notice. Also, if payment is made in securities, you may have to pay brokerage or
other transaction costs to convert the securities to cash. These securities
remain subject to market risk until sold, and you may incur capital gains and/or
losses when you sell the securities.
If
your redemption would exceed this limit and you would like to avoid being paid
in securities, please provide us with an unconditional instruction to redeem at
least 15 days prior to the date on which the redemption transaction is to occur.
The instruction must specify the dollar amount or number of shares to be
redeemed and the date of the transaction. This minimizes the effect of the
redemption on a fund and its remaining investors.
Redemption
of Shares in Accounts Below Minimum
If
your account balance falls below the minimum initial investment amount for any
reason, or if you cancel your automatic monthly investment plan prior to
reaching the fund minimum, American Century Investments reserves the right to
redeem the shares in the account and send the proceeds to your address of
record. Prior to doing so, we will notify you and give you 60 days to meet the
minimum or reinstate your automatic monthly investment plan. Please note that
shares redeemed in this manner may be subject to a sales charge if held less
than the applicable time period. You also may incur tax liability as a result of
the redemption. For I Class shares, we reserve the right to convert your shares
to Investor Class shares of the same fund. The Investor Class shares have a
unified management fee that is 0.10 percentage points higher than the I
Class.
Small
Distributions and Uncashed Distribution Checks
Generally,
dividends and distributions cannot be paid by check for an amount less than $50.
Any such amount will be automatically reinvested in additional shares. The fund
reserves the right to reinvest any dividend or distribution amount you elect to
receive by check if your check is returned as undeliverable or if you do not
cash your check within six months. Interest will not accrue on the amount of
your uncashed check. We will reinvest your check into your account at the NAV on
the day of reinvestment. When reinvested, those amounts are subject to the risk
of loss like any other fund investment. We also reserve the right to change your
election to receive dividends and distributions in cash after a check is
returned undeliverable or uncashed for the six month period, and we may
automatically reinvest all future dividends and distributions at the NAV on the
date of the payment.
Signature
Guarantees
A
signature guarantee—which is different from a notarized signature—is a warranty
that the signature presented is genuine. We may require a signature guarantee
for the following transactions:
•Your
redemption or distribution check or automatic redemption is made payable to
someone other than the account owners;
•Your
redemption proceeds or distribution amount is sent by EFT (ACH or wire) to a
destination other than your personal bank account;
•You
are transferring ownership of an account over $100,000;
•You
change your address and request a redemption over $100,000 within seven
days;
•You
request proceeds from redemptions, dividends, or distributions be sent to an
address or financial institution differing from those on record; or
•You
make a redemption or other transaction request via telephone, and we are unable
to verify your identity.
We
reserve the right to require a signature guarantee for other transactions, or we
may employ other security measures, such as signature comparison or notarized
signature, at our discretion.
Canceling
a Transaction
American
Century Investments will use its best efforts to honor your request to revoke a
transaction instruction if your revocation request is received prior to the
close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) (generally 4 p.m. Eastern
time) on the trade date of the transaction. Once processing has begun, or
the NYSE has closed on the trade date, the transaction can no longer be
canceled. Each fund reserves the right to suspend the offering of shares for a
period of time and to reject any specific investment (including a purchase by
exchange). Additionally, we may refuse a purchase if, in our judgment, it is of
a size that would disrupt the management of a fund.
Frequent
Trading Practices
Frequent
trading and other abusive trading practices may disrupt portfolio management
strategies and harm fund performance. If the cumulative amount of frequent
trading activity is significant relative to a fund’s net assets, the fund may
incur trading costs that are higher than necessary as securities are first
purchased then quickly sold to meet the redemption request. In such case, the
fund’s performance could be negatively impacted by the increased trading costs
created by frequent trading if the additional trading costs are
significant.
Because
of the potentially harmful effects of abusive trading practices, the fund’s
Board of Trustees has approved American Century Investments’ abusive trading
policies and procedures, which are designed to reduce the frequency and effect
of these activities in our funds. These policies and procedures include
monitoring trading activity, imposing trading restrictions on certain accounts,
and using fair value pricing when current market prices are not readily
available. Although these efforts are designed to discourage abusive trading
practices, they cannot eliminate the possibility that such activity will occur.
American Century Investments seeks to exercise its judgment in implementing
these tools to the best of its ability in a manner that it believes is
consistent with shareholder interests.
American
Century Investments uses a variety of techniques to monitor for and detect
frequent trading practices. These techniques may vary depending on the type of
fund, the class of shares or whether the shares are held directly or indirectly
with American Century Investments. They may change from time to time as
determined by American Century Investments in its sole discretion. To minimize
harm to the funds and their shareholders, we reserve the right to reject any
purchase order (including exchanges) from any shareholder we believe has a
history of frequent trading or whose trading, in our judgment, has been or may
be disruptive to the funds. In making this judgment, we may consider trading
done in multiple accounts under common ownership or control.
Currently,
for shares held directly with American Century Investments, we may deem the sale
of all or a substantial portion of a shareholder’s purchase of fund shares to be
frequent trading if the sale is made:
•within
seven days of the purchase, or
•within
30 days of the purchase, if it happens more than once per year.
To
the extent practicable, we try to use the same approach for defining frequent
trading for shares held through financial intermediaries. American Century
Investments reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to identify other
trading practices as abusive and to modify its monitoring and other practices as
necessary to deal with novel or unique abusive trading
practices.
The
frequent trading limitations do not apply to the following types of
transactions:
•purchases
of shares through reinvested distributions (dividends and capital
gains);
•redemption
of shares to pay fund or account fees;
•CheckWriting
redemptions;
•redemptions
requested following the death of a registered shareholder;
•transactions
through automatic purchase or redemption plans;
•transfers
and re-registrations of shares within the same fund;
•shares
exchanged from one share class to another within the same fund;
•transactions
by 529 college savings plans and funds of funds (however shareholders of
American Century’s funds of funds are subject to the limitations);
and
•reallocation
or rebalancing transactions in broker-dealer sponsored fee-based wrap and
advisory programs.
For
shares held in employer-sponsored retirement plans, generally only
participant-directed exchange transactions are subject to the frequent trading
restrictions. For this purpose, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not
include SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, or SARSEPs.
In
addition, American Century Investments reserves the right to accept purchases
and exchanges in excess of the trading restrictions discussed above if it
believes that such transactions would not be inconsistent with the best
interests of fund shareholders or this policy.
American
Century Investments’ policies do not permit us to enter into arrangements with
fund shareholders that permit such shareholders to engage in frequent purchases
and redemptions of fund shares. Due to the complexity and subjectivity involved
in identifying abusive trading activity and the volume of shareholder
transactions American Century Investments handles, there can be no assurance
that American Century Investments’ efforts will identify all trades or trading
practices that may be considered abusive. American Century Investments monitors
aggregate trades placed in omnibus accounts and works with financial
intermediaries to identify shareholders engaging in abusive trading practices
and impose restrictions to discourage such practices. Because American Century
Investments relies on financial intermediaries to provide information and impose
restrictions, our ability to monitor and discourage abusive trading practices in
omnibus accounts may be dependent upon the intermediaries’ timely performance of
such duties and restrictions may not be applied uniformly in all
cases.
Your
Responsibility for Unauthorized Transactions
American
Century Investments and its affiliated companies use procedures reasonably
designed to confirm that telephone, electronic and other instructions are
genuine. These procedures include recording telephone calls, requesting
additional identifying information, requiring personalized security codes or
other information online, and sending confirmation of transactions. If we follow
these procedures, we are not responsible for any losses that may occur due to
unauthorized instructions. For transactions conducted over the Internet, we
recommend the use of a secure Internet browser. In addition, you should verify
the accuracy of your confirmation statements immediately after you receive
them.
A
Note About Mailings to Shareholders
To
reduce the amount of mail you receive from us, we generally deliver a single
copy of fund documents (like shareholder reports, proxies and prospectuses) to
investors who share an address, even if their accounts are registered under
different names. Investors who share an address may also receive
account-specific documents (like statements) in a single envelope. If you prefer
to receive your documents addressed individually, please call us or your
financial professional. For American Century Investments brokerage accounts,
please call 1-888-345-2071.
Right
to Change Policies
We
reserve the right to change any stated investment requirement, including those
that relate to purchases, exchanges and redemptions. In accordance with
applicable law, we also may alter, add or discontinue any service or privilege.
Changes may affect all investors or only those in certain classes or groups. In
addition, from time to time we may waive a policy on a case-by-case basis, as
the advisor deems appropriate.
Share
Price
American
Century Investments will price the fund shares you purchase, exchange or redeem
based on the net
asset value
(NAV) next determined after your order is received in good order by the fund’s
transfer agent, or other financial intermediary with the authority to accept
orders on the fund’s behalf. We determine the NAV of the fund as of the close of
regular trading (usually 4 p.m. Eastern time) on the New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE) on each day the NYSE is open. On days when the NYSE is closed (including
certain U.S. national holidays), we do not calculate the NAV.
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The
net
asset value,
or NAV, of each class of the fund is the current value of the class’s
assets minus any liabilities, divided by the number of shares of the class
outstanding. |
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The
value of the securities and other assets and liabilities held by the fund are
determined by the advisor, as the valuation designee, pursuant to its valuation
policies and procedures. The fund’s Board of Trustees oversees the valuation
designee and at least annually reviews its valuation policies and procedures.
Valuations are determined in accordance with applicable federal securities laws
and accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.
Portfolio
securities for which market quotations are readily available are valued at their
market price. If the valuation designee determines that the market price for a
portfolio security is not readily available or is believed by the valuation
designee to be unreliable, such security is valued at fair value as determined
in good faith by the valuation designee, in accordance with its policies and
procedures.
Fixed
income securities are generally valued using prices obtained from approved
independent pricing services approved by the valuation designee or market
quotations provided by dealers. Pricing services will generally provide
evaluated prices based on accepted industry conventions, which may require the
service to use its own discretion. Evaluated prices are commonly derived through
utilization of market models that take into consideration various market
factors, assumptions and security characteristics including, but not limited to:
trade data, quotations from broker-dealers and active market makers, relevant
yield curve and spread data, related sector levels, creditworthiness, trade data
or market information on comparable securities and other relevant
security-specific information. The use of different models or inputs may result
in different pricing services determining a different price for the same
security. The methods used by the pricing services and the valuations so
established are reviewed by the valuation designee under the oversight of the
Board of Trustees.
Debt
obligations with 60 days or less remaining until maturity may be valued at
amortized cost.
If
the valuation designee determines that the valuation methods mentioned above do
not reflect the security’s fair value, the valuation designee will use other
valuation methodologies to value a security if the fair valuation would
materially impact the fund’s NAV. While fair value determinations involve
judgments that are inherently subjective, these determinations are made in good
faith in accordance with the valuation designee’s valuation policies and
procedures.
The
effect of using fair value determinations is that the fund’s NAV will be based,
to some degree, on security valuations that the valuation designee reasonably
believes are fair rather than being solely determined by the
market.
With
respect to any portion of the fund’s assets that are invested in other mutual
funds, the fund’s NAV will be calculated based upon the NAVs of such mutual
funds. These mutual funds are required to explain the circumstances under which
they will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing in
their prospectuses.
Trading
of securities in foreign markets may not take place every day the NYSE is open.
Also, trading in some foreign markets and on some electronic trading networks
may take place on weekends or holidays when the fund’s NAV is not calculated.
So, the value of the fund’s portfolio may be affected on days when you will not
be able to purchase, exchange or redeem fund shares.
Distributions
Federal
tax laws require the fund to make distributions to its shareholders in order to
qualify as a regulated investment company. Qualification as a regulated
investment company means that the fund should not be subject to state or federal
income tax on amounts distributed. The distributions generally consist of
dividends and interest received by the fund, as well as capital
gains
realized by the fund on the sale of its investment securities. The fund
generally expects to declare distributions from net income, if any, daily. These
distributions are paid on the last business day of each month. The fund
generally pays distributions from realized capital gains, if any, once a year
usually in December. The fund may make more frequent distributions, if
necessary, to comply with Internal Revenue Code provisions.
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Capital
gains
are
increases in the values of capital assets, such as stocks or bonds, from
the time the assets are purchased. |
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You
will participate in fund distributions when they are declared, starting the next
business day after your purchase is effective. For example, if you purchase
shares on a day that a distribution is declared, you will not receive that
distribution. If you redeem shares, you will receive any distribution declared
on the day you redeem. If you redeem all shares, we will include any
distributions received with your redemption proceeds.
Generally,
participants in tax-deferred retirement plans reinvest all distributions. For
investors investing through taxable accounts, we will reinvest distributions
unless you elect to have dividends and/or capital gains sent to another American
Century Investments account, to your bank electronically, or to your home
address or to another person or address by check.
Some
of the tax consequences of owning shares of a fund will vary depending on
whether you own them through a taxable or tax-deferred account. Distributions by
a fund of dividend and interest income, capital gains and other income it has
generated through its investment activities will generally be taxable to
shareholders who hold shares in a taxable account. Tax consequences also may
result when investors sell fund shares after the net asset value has increased
or decreased.
Tax-Deferred
Accounts
If
you purchase fund shares through a tax-deferred account, such as an IRA or
employer-sponsored retirement or savings plan, income and capital gains
distributions usually will not be subject to current taxation but will
accumulate in your account under the plan on a tax-deferred basis. Likewise,
moving from one fund to another fund within a plan or tax-deferred account
generally will not cause you to be taxed. For information about the tax
consequences of making purchases or withdrawals through a tax-deferred account,
please consult your plan administrator, your summary plan description or a tax
advisor.
Taxable
Accounts
If
you own fund shares through a taxable account, you may be taxed on your
investments if the fund makes distributions or if you sell your fund
shares.
Taxability
of Distributions
Fund
distributions may consist of income, such as dividends and interest earned by
the fund from its investments, or capital gains generated by the fund from the
sale of its investment securities. Distributions of income are taxed as ordinary
income, unless they are designated as qualified
dividend income
and you meet a minimum required holding period with respect to your shares of
the fund, in which case they are taxed at the same rates as long-term capital
gains.
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Qualified
dividend income
is
a dividend received by a fund from the stock of a domestic or qualifying
foreign corporation, provided that the fund has held the stock for a
required holding period and the stock was not on loan at the time of the
dividend. |
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The
fund does not expect a significant portion of its distributions to be derived
from qualified dividend income. The tax character of any distributions from
capital gains is determined by how long the fund held the underlying security
that was sold, not by how long you have been invested in the fund or whether you
reinvest your distributions or take them in cash. Short-term (one year or less)
capital gains are taxable as ordinary income. Gains on securities held for more
than one year are taxed at the lower rates applicable to long-term capital
gains.
If
a fund’s distributions exceed current and accumulated earning and profits, such
excess will generally be considered a return of capital. A return of capital
distribution is generally not subject to tax, but will reduce your cost basis in
the fund and result in higher realized capital gains (or lower realized capital
losses) upon the sale of fund shares.
For
taxable accounts, American Century Investments or your financial intermediary
will inform you of the tax character of fund distributions for each calendar
year in an annual tax mailing.
If
you meet specified income levels, you will also be subject to a 3.8% Medicare
contribution tax which is imposed on net investment income, including interest,
dividends and capital gains. Distributions also may be subject to state and
local taxes. Because everyone’s tax situation is unique, you may want to consult
your tax professional about federal, state and local tax
consequences.
Taxes
on Transactions
Your
redemptions—including exchanges to other American Century Investments mutual
funds—are subject to capital gains tax. Short-term capital gains are gains on
fund shares you held for 12 months or less. Long-term capital gains are gains on
fund shares you held for more than 12 months. If your shares decrease in value,
their sale or exchange will result in a long-term or short-term capital loss.
However, you should note that loss realized upon the sale or exchange of shares
held for six months or less will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the
extent of any distribution of long-term capital gain to you with respect to
those shares. If a loss is realized on the redemption of fund shares, the
reinvestment in additional fund shares within 30 days before or after the
redemption may be subject to the wash sale rules of the Internal Revenue Code.
This may result in a postponement of the recognition of such loss for federal
income tax purposes.
If
you have not certified to us that your Social Security number or tax
identification number is correct and that you are not subject to withholding, we
are required to withhold and pay to the IRS the applicable federal withholding
tax rate on taxable dividends, capital gains distributions and redemption
proceeds.
Buying
a Dividend
Purchasing
fund shares in a taxable account shortly before a distribution is sometimes
known as buying a dividend. In taxable accounts, you must pay income taxes on
the distribution whether you reinvest the distribution or take it in cash. In
addition, you will have to pay taxes on the distribution whether the value of
your investment decreased, increased or remained the same after you bought the
fund shares.
The
risk in buying a dividend is that the fund’s portfolio may build up taxable
income and gains throughout the period covered by a distribution, as income is
earned and securities are sold at a profit. The fund distributes the income and
gains to you, after subtracting any losses, even if you did not own the shares
when the income was earned or the gains occurred.
If
you buy a dividend, you incur the full tax liability of the distribution period,
but you may not enjoy the full benefit of the income earned or the gains
realized in the fund’s portfolio.
The
fund offers multiple classes of shares. The classes have different fees,
expenses, eligibility requirements and/or minimum investment requirements.
Different fees and expenses will affect performance.
Except
as described below, all classes of shares of the fund have identical voting,
dividend, liquidation and other rights, preferences, terms and conditions. The
only differences among the classes are (a) each class may be subject to
different expenses specific to that class; (b) each class has a different
identifying designation or name; (c) each class has exclusive voting rights with
respect to matters solely affecting such class; (d) each class may have
different exchange privileges; (e) the I Class may provide for conversion from
that class into shares of the Investor Class of the same fund; and (f) the C
Class provides for automatic conversion from that class into shares of the A
Class of the same fund after 8 years.
Service,
Distribution and Administrative Fees
Investment
Company Act Rule 12b-1 permits mutual funds that adopt a written plan to pay
certain expenses associated with the distribution of their shares out of fund
assets. The A, C and R Classes each have a 12b-1 plan. The plans provide for the
fund to pay annual fees of 0.25% for A Class, 1.00% for C Class and 0.50% for R
Class to the distributor for distribution and individual shareholder services,
including past distribution services. The distributor pays all or a portion of
such fees to the financial intermediaries that make the classes available.
Because these fees may be used to pay for services that are not related to
prospective sales of the fund, each class will continue to make payments under
its plan even if it is closed to new investors. Because these fees are paid out
of the fund’s assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the
cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales
charges. The higher fees for C Class shares may cost you more over time than
paying the initial sales charge for A Class shares. For additional information
about the plans and their terms, see Multiple
Class Structure
in the statement of additional information.
Certain
financial intermediaries perform recordkeeping and administrative services for
their clients that would otherwise be performed by American Century Investments’
transfer agent. In some circumstances, the advisor will pay such service
providers a fee for performing those services. Also, the advisor and the fund’s
distributor may make payments to intermediaries for various additional services,
other expenses and/or the intermediaries’ distribution of the fund out of their
profits or other available sources. Such payments may be made for one or more of
the following: (1) distribution, which may include expenses incurred by
intermediaries for their sales activities with respect to the fund, such as
preparing, printing and distributing sales literature and advertising materials
and compensating registered representatives or other employees of such financial
intermediaries for their sales activities, as well as the opportunity for the
fund to be made available by such intermediaries; (2) shareholder services, such
as providing individual and custom investment advisory services to clients of
the financial intermediaries; and (3) marketing and promotional services,
including business planning assistance, educating personnel about the fund, and
sponsorship of sales meetings, which may include covering costs of providing
speakers, meals and other entertainment. The distributor may pay partnership
and/or sponsorship fees to support seminars, conferences, and other programs
designed to educate intermediaries about the fund and may cover the expenses
associated with attendance at such meetings, including travel costs. The
distributor also may pay fees related to obtaining data regarding intermediary
or financial advisor activities to assist American Century Investments with
sales reporting, business intelligence, and training and education
opportunities. These payments and activities are intended to provide an
incentive to intermediaries to sell the fund by educating them about the fund
and helping defray the costs associated with offering the fund. These payments
may create a conflict of interest by influencing the intermediary to recommend
the fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial
intermediary’s website for more information. The amount of any payments
described by this paragraph is determined by the advisor or the distributor, and
all such amounts are paid out of their available assets, and not paid by you or
the fund. As a result, the total expense ratio of the fund will not be affected
by any such payments.
American
Century Investments does not pay any fees to financial intermediaries on R6
Class or G Class shares.
Understanding
the Financial Highlights
The
table on the next few pages itemizes what contributed to the changes in share
price during the most recently ended fiscal year. It also shows the changes in
share price for this period in comparison to changes over the last five fiscal
years (or a shorter period if the share class is not five years
old).
On
a per-share basis, the table includes as appropriate
•share
price at the beginning of the period
•investment
income and capital gains or losses
•distributions
of income and capital gains paid to investors
•share
price at the end of the period
The
table also includes some key statistics for the period as
appropriate
•Total
Return –
the overall percentage of return of the fund, assuming the reinvestment of all
distributions
•Expense
Ratio –
the operating expenses of the fund as a percentage of average net
assets
•Net
Income Ratio –
the net investment income of the fund as a percentage of average net
assets
•Portfolio
Turnover –
the percentage of the fund’s investment portfolio that is replaced during the
period
The
Financial Highlights that follow for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, have
been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP. The Report of Independent Registered
Public Accounting Firm and the financial statements and financial highlights are
included in the fund’s annual report, which is available upon
request.
Short
Duration Fund
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For
a Share Outstanding Throughout the Years Ended March 31 (except as
noted) |
Per-Share
Data |
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| Ratios
and Supplemental Data |
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| Income
From Investment Operations*: |
Distributions
From: |
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Ratio
to Average Net Assets of†: |
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| Net
Asset Value, Beginning of Period |
Net
Investment
Income
(Loss)(1) |
Net
Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) |
Total
From Investment Operations |
Net Investment Income |
Net
Realized Gains |
Total
Distributions |
Net
Asset Value, End of Period |
Total
Return(2) |
Operating Expenses |
Operating Expenses (before expense waiver) |
Net Investment Income (Loss) |
Net Investment Income (Loss) (before expense waiver) |
Portfolio Turnover Rate |
Net Assets, End
of Period (in thousands) |
Investor
Class |
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2024 |
$9.80 |
0.41 |
(0.07) |
0.34 |
(0.41) |
— |
(0.41) |
$9.73 |
3.58% |
0.57% |
0.58% |
4.23% |
4.22% |
310% |
$364,613 |
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2023 |
$10.06 |
0.27 |
(0.27) |
— |
(0.26) |
— |
(0.26) |
$9.80 |
0.00% |
0.58% |
0.59% |
2.68% |
2.67% |
187% |
$353,985 |
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2022 |
$10.47 |
0.14 |
(0.36) |
(0.22) |
(0.15) |
(0.04) |
(0.19) |
$10.06 |
(2.13)% |
0.58% |
0.58% |
1.31% |
1.31% |
178% |
$388,521 |
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2021 |
$10.05 |
0.11 |
0.45 |
0.56 |
(0.14) |
— |
(0.14) |
$10.47 |
5.62% |
0.59% |
0.59% |
1.03% |
1.03% |
183% |
$383,653 |
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2020 |
$10.15 |
0.20 |
(0.07) |
0.13 |
(0.23) |
— |
(0.23) |
$10.05 |
1.31% |
0.59% |
0.59% |
1.98% |
1.98% |
156% |
$155,169 |
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I
Class |
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2024 |
$9.80 |
0.42 |
(0.07) |
0.35 |
(0.42) |
— |
(0.42) |
$9.73 |
3.68% |
0.47% |
0.48% |
4.33% |
4.32% |
310% |
$167,986 |
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2023 |
$10.06 |
0.28 |
(0.27) |
0.01 |
(0.27) |
— |
(0.27) |
$9.80 |
0.10% |
0.48% |
0.49% |
2.78% |
2.77% |
187% |
$215,665 |
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2022 |
$10.47 |
0.15 |
(0.36) |
(0.21) |
(0.16) |
(0.04) |
(0.20) |
$10.06 |
(2.03)% |
0.48% |
0.48% |
1.41% |
1.41% |
178% |
$242,736 |
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2021 |
$10.05 |
0.13 |
0.44 |
0.57 |
(0.15) |
— |
(0.15) |
$10.47 |
5.73% |
0.49% |
0.49% |
1.13% |
1.13% |
183% |
$172,271 |
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2020 |
$10.15 |
0.21 |
(0.07) |
0.14 |
(0.24) |
— |
(0.24) |
$10.05 |
1.41% |
0.49% |
0.49% |
2.08% |
2.08% |
156% |
$127,684 |
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A
Class |
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2024 |
$9.80 |
0.39 |
(0.08) |
0.31 |
(0.39) |
— |
(0.39) |
$9.72 |
3.22% |
0.82% |
0.83% |
3.98% |
3.97% |
310% |
$20,676 |
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2023 |
$10.05 |
0.24 |
(0.26) |
(0.02) |
(0.23) |
— |
(0.23) |
$9.80 |
(0.15)% |
0.83% |
0.84% |
2.43% |
2.42% |
187% |
$20,055 |
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2022 |
$10.46 |
0.11 |
(0.35) |
(0.24) |
(0.13) |
(0.04) |
(0.17) |
$10.05 |
(2.38)% |
0.83% |
0.83% |
1.06% |
1.06% |
178% |
$21,270 |
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2021 |
$10.05 |
0.09 |
0.44 |
0.53 |
(0.12) |
— |
(0.12) |
$10.46 |
5.26% |
0.84% |
0.84% |
0.78% |
0.78% |
183% |
$23,393 |
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2020 |
$10.15 |
0.18 |
(0.07) |
0.11 |
(0.21) |
— |
(0.21) |
$10.05 |
1.05% |
0.84% |
0.84% |
1.73% |
1.73% |
156% |
$16,411 |
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C
Class |
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2024 |
$9.81 |
0.31 |
(0.08) |
0.23 |
(0.31) |
— |
(0.31) |
$9.73 |
2.44% |
1.57% |
1.58% |
3.23% |
3.22% |
310% |
$1,576 |
|
2023 |
$10.06 |
0.16 |
(0.25) |
(0.09) |
(0.16) |
— |
(0.16) |
$9.81 |
(0.89)% |
1.58% |
1.59% |
1.68% |
1.67% |
187% |
$2,704 |
|
2022 |
$10.47 |
0.03 |
(0.35) |
(0.32) |
(0.05) |
(0.04) |
(0.09) |
$10.06 |
(3.10)% |
1.58% |
1.58% |
0.31% |
0.31% |
178% |
$5,099 |
|
2021 |
$10.05 |
0.02 |
0.44 |
0.46 |
(0.04) |
— |
(0.04) |
$10.47 |
4.57% |
1.59% |
1.59% |
0.03% |
0.03% |
183% |
$4,514 |
|
2020 |
$10.15 |
0.10 |
(0.07) |
0.03 |
(0.13) |
— |
(0.13) |
$10.05 |
0.30% |
1.59% |
1.59% |
0.98% |
0.98% |
156% |
$6,163 |
|
R
Class |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
2024 |
$9.81 |
0.36 |
(0.08) |
0.28 |
(0.36) |
— |
(0.36) |
$9.73 |
2.95% |
1.07% |
1.08% |
3.73% |
3.72% |
310% |
$686 |
|
2023 |
$10.06 |
0.22 |
(0.26) |
(0.04) |
(0.21) |
— |
(0.21) |
$9.81 |
(0.39)% |
1.08% |
1.09% |
2.18% |
2.17% |
187% |
$669 |
|
2022 |
$10.47 |
0.08 |
(0.35) |
(0.27) |
(0.10) |
(0.04) |
(0.14) |
$10.06 |
(2.62)% |
1.08% |
1.08% |
0.81% |
0.81% |
178% |
$667 |
|
2021 |
$10.06 |
0.07 |
0.43 |
0.50 |
(0.09) |
— |
(0.09) |
$10.47 |
4.99% |
1.09% |
1.09% |
0.53% |
0.53% |
183% |
$937 |
|
2020 |
$10.15 |
0.15 |
(0.06) |
0.09 |
(0.18) |
— |
(0.18) |
$10.06 |
0.90% |
1.09% |
1.09% |
1.48% |
1.48% |
156% |
$764 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
For
a Share Outstanding Throughout the Years Ended March 31 (except as
noted) |
Per-Share
Data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Ratios
and Supplemental Data |
| |
|
| Income
From Investment Operations*: |
Distributions
From: |
|
|
Ratio
to Average Net Assets of†: |
|
| Net
Asset Value, Beginning of Period |
Net
Investment
Income
(Loss)(1) |
Net
Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) |
Total
From Investment Operations |
Net Investment Income |
Net
Realized Gains |
Total
Distributions |
Net
Asset Value, End of Period |
Total
Return(2) |
Operating Expenses |
Operating Expenses (before expense waiver) |
Net Investment Income (Loss) |
Net Investment Income (Loss) (before expense waiver) |
Portfolio Turnover Rate |
Net Assets, End
of Period (in thousands) |
R5
Class |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
2024 |
$9.80 |
0.43 |
(0.07) |
0.36 |
(0.43) |
— |
(0.43) |
$9.73 |
3.78% |
0.37% |
0.38% |
4.43% |
4.42% |
310% |
$11,660 |
|
2023 |
$10.06 |
0.29 |
(0.27) |
0.02 |
(0.28) |
— |
(0.28) |
$9.80 |
0.20% |
0.38% |
0.39% |
2.88% |
2.87% |
187% |
$11,061 |
|
2022 |
$10.47 |
0.16 |
(0.36) |
(0.20) |
(0.17) |
(0.04) |
(0.21) |
$10.06 |
(1.93)% |
0.38% |
0.38% |
1.51% |
1.51% |
178% |
$16,327 |
|
2021 |
$10.05 |
0.14 |
0.44 |
0.58 |
(0.16) |
— |
(0.16) |
$10.47 |
5.83% |
0.39% |
0.39% |
1.23% |
1.23% |
183% |
$23,320 |
|
2020 |
$10.15 |
0.22 |
(0.07) |
0.15 |
(0.25) |
— |
(0.25) |
$10.05 |
1.51% |
0.39% |
0.39% |
2.18% |
2.18% |
156% |
$23,612 |
|
R6
Class |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
2024 |
$9.79 |
0.44 |
(0.07) |
0.37 |
(0.44) |
— |
(0.44) |
$9.72 |
3.84% |
0.32% |
0.33% |
4.48% |
4.47% |
310% |
$72,563 |
|
2023 |
$10.05 |
0.29 |
(0.27) |
0.02 |
(0.28) |
— |
(0.28) |
$9.79 |
0.25% |
0.33% |
0.34% |
2.93% |
2.92% |
187% |
$58,650 |
|
2022 |
$10.46 |
0.16 |
(0.35) |
(0.19) |
(0.18) |
(0.04) |
(0.22) |
$10.05 |
(1.89)% |
0.33% |
0.33% |
1.56% |
1.56% |
178% |
$52,851 |
|
2021 |
$10.04 |
0.15 |
0.44 |
0.59 |
(0.17) |
— |
(0.17) |
$10.46 |
5.89% |
0.34% |
0.34% |
1.28% |
1.28% |
183% |
$85,404 |
|
2020 |
$10.14 |
0.23 |
(0.07) |
0.16 |
(0.26) |
— |
(0.26) |
$10.04 |
1.56% |
0.34% |
0.34% |
2.23% |
2.23% |
156% |
$63,905 |
|
G
Class |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
2024 |
$9.79 |
0.46 |
(0.06) |
0.40 |
(0.47) |
— |
(0.47) |
$9.72 |
4.16% |
0.01% |
0.33% |
4.79% |
4.47% |
310% |
$718,931 |
|
2023 |
$10.05 |
0.32 |
(0.27) |
0.05 |
(0.31) |
— |
(0.31) |
$9.79 |
0.57% |
0.01% |
0.34% |
3.25% |
2.92% |
187% |
$704,692 |
|
2022 |
$10.46 |
0.20 |
(0.36) |
(0.16) |
(0.21) |
(0.04) |
(0.25) |
$10.05 |
(1.57)% |
0.01% |
0.33% |
1.88% |
1.56% |
178% |
$916,720 |
|
2021(3) |
$10.37 |
0.06 |
0.10 |
0.16 |
(0.07) |
— |
(0.07) |
$10.46 |
1.57% |
0.01% |
0.34% |
1.48% |
1.15% |
183%(4) |
$990,271 |
|
|
| |
Notes
to Financial Highlights |
(1)Computed
using average shares outstanding throughout the period.
(2)Total
returns are calculated based on the net asset value of the last business day and
do not reflect applicable sales charges, if any. Total returns for periods less
than one year are not annualized.
(3)November
4, 2020 (commencement of sale) through March 31, 2021.
(4)Portfolio
turnover is calculated at the fund level. Percentage indicated was calculated
for the year ended March 31, 2021.
* The
amount shown for a share outstanding throughout the period may not correlate
with the Statement(s) of Operations or precisely reflect the class expense
differentials due to the timing of transactions in shares of a fund in relation
to income earned and/or fluctuations in the fair value of a fund's
investments.
†Ratios
for periods less than one year are annualized. Zero balances may reflect amounts
less than 0.005%.
The
information in this Appendix is part of, and incorporated into, the fund’s
prospectus.
Financial
Intermediary Sales Charge Reduction and Waiver Information
The
availability of certain sales charge waivers and discounts will depend on
whether you purchase your shares directly from the fund or through a financial
intermediary. Intermediaries may have different policies and procedures
regarding the availability of front-end sales load waivers or contingent
deferred (back-end) sales load (CDSC) waivers, which are set forth below. In all
instances, it is the investor’s responsibility to notify the fund or the
applicable financial intermediary at the time of purchase of any relationship or
other facts qualifying the investor for sales charge waivers or discounts.
For
waivers and discounts not available through a particular intermediary,
shareholders will have to purchase fund shares directly from the fund or through
another intermediary to receive these waivers or discounts.
Sales
Charge Reductions and Waivers Available through Ameriprise
Financial
The
following information applies to A Class shares purchases if you have an account
with or otherwise purchase fund shares through Ameriprise
Financial.
Shareholders
purchasing fund shares through an Ameriprise Financial brokerage account are
eligible for the following front-end sales charge waivers, which may differ from
those disclosed elsewhere in this fund’s prospectus or SAI:
•Employer-sponsored
retirement plans (e.g.,
401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit sharing and
money purchase pension plans and defined benefit plans). For purposes of this
provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, Simple
IRAs or SAR-SEPs.
•Shares
purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend
reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same fund (but not any other fund
within the same fund family).
•Shares
exchanged from C Class shares of the same fund in the month of or following the
7-year anniversary of the purchase date. To the extent that this prospectus
elsewhere provides for a waiver with respect to exchanges of C Class shares or
conversion of C Class shares following a shorter holding period, that waiver
will apply.
•Employees
and registered representatives of Ameriprise Financial or its affiliates and
their immediate family members.
•Shares
purchased by or through qualified accounts (including IRAs, Coverdell Education
Savings Accounts, 401(k)s, 403(b) TSCAs subject to ERISA and defined benefit
plans) that are held by a covered family member, defined as an Ameriprise
financial advisor and/or the advisor’s spouse, advisor’s lineal ascendant
(mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, great grandmother, great
grandfather), advisor’s lineal descendant (son, step-son, daughter,
step-daughter, grandson, granddaughter, great grandson, great granddaughter) or
any spouse of a covered family member who is a lineal descendant.
•Shares
purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within the same fund family, provided
(1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the
redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were
subject to a front-end or deferred sales load (i.e.,
Rights of Reinstatement).
Sales
Charge Reductions and Waivers Available through Baird
Effective
June 15, 2020, shareholders purchasing fund shares through a Baird platform or
account will only be eligible for the following sales charge waivers (front-end
sales charge waivers and CDSC waivers) and discounts, which may differ from
those disclosed elsewhere in this prospectus or the SAI.
Front-End
Sales Charge Waivers on Investors A-shares Available at Baird
•Shares
purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend
reinvestment when purchasing share of the same fund.
•Share
purchase by employees and registered representatives of Baird or its affiliate
and their family members as designated by Baird.
•Shares
purchase from the proceeds of redemptions from another American Century
Investments fund, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following
the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same accounts, and
(3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales charge (known
as rights of reinstatement).
•A
shareholder in the funds’ Investor C Shares will have their share converted at
net asset value to Investor A shares of the fund if the shares are no longer
subject to CDSC and the conversion is in line with the policies and procedures
of Baird.
•Employer-sponsored
retirement plans or charitable accounts in a transactional brokerage account at
Baird, including 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans,
profit sharing and money purchase pension plans and defined benefit plans. For
purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include
SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs or SAR-SEPs.
CDSC
Waivers on Investor A and C shares Available at Baird
•Shares
sold due to death or disability of the shareholder.
•Shares
sold as part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the fund’s
prospectus.
•Shares
bought due to returns of excess contributions from an IRA Account.
•Shares
sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts
due to the shareholder reaching the qualified age based on applicable IRS
regulations as described in the prospectus.
•Shares
sold to pay Baird fees but only if the transaction is initiated by
Baird.
•Shares
acquired through a right of reinstatement.
Front-End
Sales Charge Discounts Available at Baird: Breakpoints and/or Rights of
Accumulations
•Breakpoints
as described in this prospectus.
•Rights
of accumulations which entitles shareholders to breakpoint discounts will be
automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of American Century
Investments assets held by accounts within the purchaser’s household at Baird.
Eligible American Century Investments assets not held at Baird may be included
in the rights of accumulations calculation only if the shareholder notifies his
or her financial advisor about such assets.
•Letters
of Intent (LOI) allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases of
American Century Investments funds through Baird, over a 13-month period of
time.
Policies
Regarding Transactions Through Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P. (“Edward
Jones”)
The
following information has been provided by Edward Jones:
Effective
on or after January 1, 2024, the following information supersedes prior
information with respect to transactions and positions held in fund shares
through an Edward Jones system. Clients of Edward Jones (also referred to as
“shareholders”) purchasing fund shares on the Edward Jones commission and
fee-based platforms are eligible only for the following sales charge discounts
(also referred to as “breakpoints”) and waivers, which can differ from discounts
and waivers described elsewhere in the mutual fund prospectus or statement of
additional information (“SAI”) or through another broker-dealer. In all
instances, it is the shareholder’s responsibility to inform Edward Jones at the
time of purchase of any relationship, holdings of American Century, or other
facts qualifying the purchaser for discounts or waivers. Edward Jones can ask
for documentation of such circumstance. Shareholders should contact Edward Jones
if they have questions regarding their eligibility for these discounts and
waivers.
Breakpoints
•Breakpoint
pricing, otherwise known as volume pricing, at dollar thresholds as described in
the prospectus.
Rights
of Accumulation (“ROA”)
•The
applicable sales charge on a purchase of Class A shares is determined by taking
into account all share classes (except certain money market funds and any assets
held in group retirement plans) of American Century held by the shareholder or
in an account grouped by Edward Jones with other accounts for the purpose of
providing certain pricing considerations (“pricing groups”). If grouping assets
as a shareholder, this includes all share classes held on the Edward Jones
platform and/or held on another platform. The inclusion of eligible fund family
assets in the ROA calculation is dependent on the shareholder notifying Edward
Jones of such assets at the time of calculation. Money market funds are included
only if such shares were sold with a sales charge at the time of purchase or
acquired in exchange for shares purchased with a sales charge.
•The
employer maintaining a SEP IRA plan and/or SIMPLE IRA plan may elect to
establish or change ROA for the IRA accounts associated with the plan to a
plan-level grouping as opposed to including all share classes at a shareholder
or pricing group level.
•ROA
is determined by calculating the higher of cost minus redemptions or market
value (current shares x NAV).
Letter
of Intent (“LOI”)
•Through
a LOI, shareholders can receive the sales charge and breakpoint discounts for
purchases shareholders intend to make over a 13-month period from the date
Edward Jones receives the LOI. The LOI is determined by calculating the higher
of cost or market value of qualifying holdings at LOI initiation in combination
with the value that the shareholder intends to buy over a 13-month period to
calculate the front-end sales charge and any breakpoint discounts. Each purchase
the shareholder makes during that 13-month period will receive the sales charge
and breakpoint discount that applies to the total amount. The inclusion of
eligible fund family assets in the LOI calculation is dependent on the
shareholder notifying Edward Jones of such assets at the time of calculation.
Purchases made before the LOI is received by Edward Jones are not adjusted under
the LOI and will not reduce the sales charge previously paid. Sales charges will
be adjusted if LOI is not met.
•If
the employer maintaining a SEP IRA plan and/or SIMPLE IRA plan has elected to
establish or change ROA for the IRA accounts associated with the plan to a
plan-level grouping, LOIs will also be at the plan-level and may only be
established by the employer.
Sales
Charge Waivers
Sales
charges are waived for the following shareholders and in the following
situations:
•Associates
of Edward Jones and its affiliates and other accounts in the same pricing group
(as determined by Edward Jones under its policies and procedures) as the
associate. This waiver will continue for the remainder of the associate’s life
if the associate retires from Edward Jones in good-standing and remains in good
standing pursuant to Edward Jones’ policies and procedures.
•Shares
purchased in an Edward Jones fee-based program.
•Shares
purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend
reinvestment.
•Shares
purchased from the proceeds of redeemed shares of the same fund family so long
as the following conditions are met: the proceeds are from the sale of shares
within 60 days of the purchase, the sale and purchase are made from a share
class that charges a front load and one of the following:
•The
redemption and repurchase occur in the same account.
•The
redemption proceeds are used to process an: IRA contribution, excess
contributions, conversion, recharacterizing of contributions, or distribution,
and the repurchase is done in an account within the same Edward Jones grouping
for ROA.
•Shares
exchanged into Class A shares from another share class so long as the exchange
is into the same fund and was initiated at the discretion of Edward Jones.
Edward Jones is responsible for any remaining CDSC due to the fund company, if
applicable. Any future purchases are subject to the applicable sales charge as
disclosed in the prospectus.
•Exchanges
from Class C shares to Class A shares of the same fund, generally, in the 84th
month following the anniversary of the purchase date or earlier at the
discretion of Edward Jones.
•Purchases
of Class 529-A shares through a rollover from either another education savings
plan or a security used for qualified distributions.
•Purchases
of Class 529 shares made for recontribution of refunded amounts.
Contingent
Deferred Sales Charge (“CDSC”) Waivers
If
the shareholder purchases shares that are subject to a CDSC and those shares are
redeemed before the CDSC is expired, the shareholder is responsible to pay the
CDSC except in the following conditions:
•The
death or disability of the shareholder.
•Systematic
withdrawals with up to 10% per year of the account value.
•Return
of excess contributions from an Individual Retirement Account
(IRA).
•Shares
redeemed as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement
accounts if the redemption is taken in or after the year the shareholder reaches
qualified age based on applicable IRS regulations.
•Shares
redeemed to pay Edward Jones fees or costs in such cases where the transaction
is initiated by Edward Jones.
•Shares
exchanged in an Edward Jones fee-based program.
•Shares
acquired through NAV reinstatement.
•Shares
redeemed at the discretion of Edward Jones for Minimum Balances, as described
below.
Other
Important Information Regarding Transactions Through Edward Jones
Minimum
Purchase Amounts
•Initial
purchase minimum: $250
•Subsequent
purchase minimum: none
Minimum
Balances
•Edward
Jones has the right to redeem at its discretion fund holdings with a balance of
$250 or less. The following are examples of accounts that are not included in
this policy:
•A
fee-based account held on an Edward Jones platform
•A
529 account held on an Edward Jones platform
•An
account with an active systematic investment plan or LOI
Exchanging
Share Classes
•At
any time it deems necessary, Edward Jones has the authority to exchange at NAV a
shareholder’s holdings in a fund to Class A shares of the same
fund.
Sales
Charge Reductions and Waivers Available through Janney Montgomery Scott LLC
(Janney)
Effective
May 1, 2020, if you purchase fund shares through a Janney Montgomery Scott LLC
(Janney) brokerage account, you will be eligible for the following load waivers
(front-end sales charge waivers and contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC), or
back-end sales charge, waivers) and discounts, which may differ from those
disclosed elsewhere in this fund’s Prospectus or SAI.
Front-end
sales charge* waivers on A Class shares available at Janney
•Shares
purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend
reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same fund (but not any other fund
within the fund family).
•Shares
purchased by employees and registered representatives of Janney or its
affiliates and their family members as designated by Janney.
•Shares
purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within the same fund family, provided
(1) the repurchase occurs within ninety (90) days following the redemption, (2)
the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares
were subject to a front-end or deferred sales load (i.e.,
right of reinstatement).
•Employer-sponsored
retirement plans (e.g.,
401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit sharing and
money purchase pension plans and defined benefit plans). For purposes of this
provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, Simple
IRAs, SAR-SEPs or Keogh plans.
•Shares
acquired through a right of reinstatement.
•C
Class shares that are no longer subject to a contingent deferred sales charge
and are converted to A Class shares of the same fund pursuant to Janney’s
policies and procedures.
CDSC
waivers on A and C Class shares available at Janney
•Shares
sold upon the death or disability of the shareholder.
•Shares
sold as part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the fund’s
prospectus.
•Shares
purchased in connection with a return of excess contributions from an IRA
account.
•Shares
sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and other retirement
accounts if the redemption is taken in or after the year the shareholder reaches
qualified age based on applicable IRS regulations.
•Shares
sold to pay Janney fees but only if the transaction is initiated by
Janney.
•Shares
acquired through a right of reinstatement.
•Shares
exchanged into the same share class of a different fund.
Front-end
sales charge* discounts available at Janney: breakpoints, rights of
accumulation, and/or letters of intent
•Breakpoints
as described in the fund’s prospectus.
•Rights
of accumulation (ROA), which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts, will
be automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of fund family
assets held by accounts within the purchaser’s household at Janney. Eligible
fund family assets not held at Janney may be included in the ROA calculation
only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such
assets.
•Letters
of intent which allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases
within a fund family, over a 13-month time period. Eligible fund family assets
not held at Janney Montgomery Scott may be included in the calculation of
letters of intent only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor
about such assets.
*Also
referred to as an “initial sales charge.”
Sales
Charge Reductions and Waivers Available through J.P. Morgan Securities
LLC
Effective
September 29, 2023, if you purchase or hold fund shares through an applicable
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC brokerage account, you will be eligible for the
following sales charge waivers (front-end sales charge waivers and contingent
deferred sales charge (“CDSC”), or back-end sales charge, waivers), share class
conversion policy and discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere
in this fund’s prospectus or statement of additional information.
Front-end
sales charge waivers on Class A shares available at J.P. Morgan Securities
LLC
•Shares
exchanged from Class C (i.e.,
level-load) shares that are no longer subject to a CDSC and are exchanged into
Class A shares of the same fund pursuant to J.P. Morgan Securities LLC’s share
class exchange policy.
•Qualified
employer-sponsored defined contribution and defined benefit retirement plans,
nonqualified deferred compensation plans, other employee benefit plans and
trusts used to fund those plans. For purposes of this provision, such plans do
not include SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, SAR-SEPs or 501(c)(3) accounts.
•Shares
of funds purchased through J.P. Morgan Securities LLC Self-Directed Investing
accounts.
•Shares
purchased through rights of reinstatement.
•Shares
purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend
reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same fund (but not any other fund
within the fund family).
•Shares
purchased by employees and registered representatives of J.P. Morgan Securities
LLC or its affiliates and their spouse or financial dependent as defined by J.P.
Morgan Securities LLC.
Class
C to Class A share conversion
•A
shareholder in the fund’s Class C shares will have their shares converted to
Class A shares (or the appropriate share class) of the same fund if the shares
are no longer subject to a CDSC and the conversion is consistent with J.P.
Morgan Securities LLC’s policies and procedures.
CDSC
waivers on Class A and C shares available at J.P. Morgan Securities
LLC
•Shares
sold upon the death or disability of the shareholder.
•Shares
sold as part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the fund’s
prospectus.
•Shares
purchased in connection with a return of excess contributions from an IRA
account.
•Shares
sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts
pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code.
•Shares
acquired through a right of reinstatement.
Front-end
load discounts available at J.P. Morgan Securities LLC: breakpoints, rights of
accumulation & letters of intent
•Breakpoints
as described in the prospectus.
•Rights
of Accumulation (“ROA”) which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts as
described in the fund’s prospectus will be automatically calculated based on the
aggregated holding of fund family assets held by accounts within the purchaser’s
household at J.P. Morgan Securities LLC. Eligible fund family assets not held at
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (including 529 program holdings, where applicable)
may be included in the ROA calculation only if the shareholder notifies their
financial advisor about such assets.
•Letters
of Intent (LOI) which allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated
purchases within a fund family, through J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, over a
13-month period of time (if applicable).
Sales
Charge Reductions and Waivers Available through Merrill Lynch
Purchases
or sales of front-end (i.e.,
Class A) or level-load (i.e.,
Class C) mutual fund shares through a Merrill Lynch platform or account will be
eligible only for the following sales load waivers (front-end, contingent
deferred, or back-end waivers) and discounts, which differ from those disclosed
elsewhere in this fund’s prospectus. Purchasers will have to buy mutual fund
shares directly from the mutual fund company or through another intermediary to
be eligible for waivers or discounts not listed below.
It
is the client’s responsibility to notify Merrill Lynch at the time of purchase
or sale of any relationship or other facts that qualify the transaction for a
waiver or discount. A Merrill Lynch representative may ask for reasonable
documentation of such facts and Merrill Lynch may condition the granting of a
waiver or discount on the timely receipt of such documentation.
Additional
information on waivers and discounts is available in the Merrill Sales Load
Waiver and Discounts Supplement (the “Merrill SLWD Supplement”) and in the
Mutual Fund Investing at Merrill pamphlet at ml.com/funds. Clients are
encouraged to review these documents and speak with their financial advisor to
determine whether a transaction is eligible for a waiver or
discount.
Front-end
Load Waivers Available at Merrill Lynch
•Shares
of mutual funds available for purchase by employer-sponsored retirement,
deferred compensation, and employee benefit plans (including health savings
accounts) and trusts used to fund those plans provided the shares are not held
in a commission-based brokerage account and shares are held for the benefit of
the plan. For purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do
not include SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs, SAR-SEPs or Keogh plans
•Shares
purchased through a Merrill Lynch investment advisory program
•Brokerage
class shares exchanged from advisory class shares due to the holdings moving
from a Merrill Lynch investment advisory program to a Merrill Lynch brokerage
account
•Shares
purchased through the Merrill Edge Self-Directed platform
•Shares
purchased through the systematic reinvestment of capital gains distributions and
dividend reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same mutual fund in the same
account
•Shares
exchanged from level-load shares to front-end load shares of the same mutual
fund in accordance with the description in the Merrill SLWD
Supplement
•Shares
purchased by eligible employees of Merrill Lynch or its affiliates and their
family members who purchase shares in accounts within the employee’s Merrill
Household (as defined in the Merrill SLWD Supplement)
•Shares
purchased by eligible persons associated with the fund as defined in this
prospectus (e.g.,
the fund’s officers or trustees)
•Shares
purchased from the proceeds of a mutual fund redemption in front-end load shares
provided (1) the repurchase is in a mutual fund within the same fund family; (2)
the repurchase occurs within 90 calendar days from the redemption trade date,
and (3) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account (known as Rights
of Reinstatement). Automated transactions (i.e.,
systematic purchases and withdrawals) and purchases made after shares are
automatically sold to pay Merrill Lynch’s account maintenance fees are not
eligible for Rights of Reinstatement
Contingent
Deferred Sales Charge (“CDSC”) Waivers on Front-end, Back-end, and Level Load
Shares Available at Merrill Lynch
•Shares
sold due to the client’s death or disability (as defined by Internal Revenue
Code Section 22(e)(3))
•Shares
sold pursuant to a systematic withdrawal program subject to Merrill Lynch’s
maximum systematic withdrawal limits as described in the Merrill SLWD
Supplement
•Shares
sold due to return of excess contributions from an IRA account
•Shares
sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts
due to the investor reaching the qualified age based on applicable IRS
regulation
•Front-end
or level-load shares held in commission-based, non-taxable retirement brokerage
accounts (e.g.,
traditional, Roth, rollover, SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs, SAR-SEPs or Keogh plans)
that are transferred to fee-based accounts or platforms and exchanged for a
lower cost share class of the same mutual fund
Front-end
Load Discounts Available at Merrill Lynch:
Breakpoints,
Rights of Accumulation & Letters of Intent
•Breakpoint
discounts, as described in this prospectus, where the sales load is at or below
the maximum sales load that Merrill Lynch permits to be assessed to a front-end
load purchase, as described in the Merrill SLWD Supplement
•Rights
of Accumulation (ROA), as described in the Merrill SLWD Supplement, which
entitle clients to breakpoint discounts based on the aggregated holdings of
mutual fund family assets held in accounts in their Merrill
Household
•Letters
of Intent (LOI), which allow for breakpoint discounts on eligible new purchases
based on anticipated future eligible purchases within a fund family at Merrill
Lynch, in accounts within your Merrill Household, as further described in the
Merrill SLWD Supplement
Sales
Charge Reductions and Waivers available through Morgan Stanley Wealth
Management
Effective
July 1, 2018, shareholders purchasing fund shares through a Morgan Stanley
Wealth Management transactional brokerage account will be eligible only for the
following front-end sales charge waivers with respect to A Class shares, which
may differ from and may be more limited than those disclosed elsewhere in this
fund’s prospectus or SAI.
•Employer-sponsored
retirement plans (e.g.,
401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit sharing and
money purchase pension plans and defined benefit plans). For purposes of this
provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, Simple
IRAs, SAR-SEPs or Keogh plans.
•Morgan
Stanley employee and employee-related accounts according to Morgan Stanley’s
account linking rules.
•Shares
purchased through reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions when
purchasing shares of the same fund.
•Shares
purchased through a Morgan Stanley self-directed brokerage account.
•C
Class (i.e.,
level-load) shares that are no longer subject to a contingent deferred sales
charge and are converted to A Class shares of the same fund pursuant to Morgan
Stanley Wealth Management’s share class conversion program.
•Shares
purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within the American Century
Investments family of mutual funds, provided (i) the repurchase occurs within 90
days following the redemption, (ii) the redemption and purchase occur in the
same account, and (iii) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred
sales charge.
Sales
Charge Reductions and Waivers Available through Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
(OPCO)
Effective
February 26, 2020, shareholders purchasing fund shares through an OPCO platform
or account are eligible only for the following load waivers (front-end sales
charge waivers and contingent deferred, or back-end, sales charge waivers) and
discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this fund’s
prospectus or SAI.
Front-end
Sales Load Waivers on Class A Shares available at OPCO
•Employer-sponsored
retirement, deferred compensation and employee benefit plans (including health
savings accounts) and trusts used to fund those plans, provided that the shares
are not held in a commission-based brokerage account and shares are held for the
benefit of the plan.
•Shares
purchased by or through a 529 Plan.
•Shares
purchased through an OPCO affiliated investment advisory program.
•Shares
purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend
reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same fund (but not any other fund
within the fund family).
•Shares
purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within the same fund family, provided
(1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the
redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were
subject to a front-end or deferred sales load (known as Rights of
Restatement).
•A
shareholder in the fund's C Class shares will have their shares converted at net
asset value to A Class shares (or the appropriate share class) of the fund if
the shares are no longer subject to a CDSC and the conversion is in line with
the policies and procedures of OPCO.
•Employees
and registered representatives of OPCO or its affiliates and their
family members.
•Directors
or Trustees of the fund, and employees of the fund’s investment adviser or any
of its affiliates, as described in this prospectus.
CDSC
Waivers on A and C Shares available at OPCO
•Death
or disability of the shareholder.
•Shares
sold as part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the fund’s
prospectus.
•Return
of excess contributions from an IRA.
•Shares
sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts
due to the shareholder reaching the qualified age based on applicable IRS
regulations as described in the prospectus.
•Shares
sold to pay OPCO fees but only if the transaction is initiated by
OPCO.
•Shares
acquired through a right of reinstatement.
Front-end
load Discounts Available at OPCO: Breakpoints, Rights of Accumulation &
Letters of Intent
•Breakpoints
as described in this prospectus.
•Rights
of Accumulation (ROA) which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts will be
automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of fund family assets
held by accounts within the purchaser’s household at OPCO. Eligible fund family
assets not held at OPCO may be included in the ROA calculation only if the
shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such
assets.
PFS
Investments Inc. (“PFSI”) Policies Regarding Transactions Through
PFSI
The
following information supersedes all prior information with respect to
transactions and positions held in fund shares purchased through PFSI and held
on the mutual fund platform of its affiliate, Primerica Shareholder Services
(“PSS”). Clients of PFSI (also referred to as “shareholders”) purchasing fund
shares on the PSS platform are eligible only for the following share classes,
sales charge discounts (also referred to as “breakpoints”) and waivers, which
can differ from share classes, discounts and waivers described elsewhere in this
prospectus or the related statement of additional information (“SAI”) or through
another broker-dealer.
Share
Classes
Class
A shares: in non-retirement accounts, individual retirement accounts (IRA), SEP
IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, Keogh Plans, and all other account types unless expressly
provided for below. Class C shares: only in accounts with existing Class C share
holdings.
Breakpoints
Breakpoint
pricing at dollar thresholds as described in the prospectus of the fund you are
purchasing.
Rights
of Accumulation (“ROA”)
The
applicable sales charge on a purchase of Class A shares is determined by taking
into account all share classes (except any assets held in group retirement
plans) of American Century Funds held by the shareholder on the PSS
Platform.
It
is the shareholder’s responsibility to inform PFSI of all eligible fund family
assets at the time of calculation. Shares of money market funds are included
only if such shares were acquired in exchange for shares of another American
Century Fund purchased with a sales charge. No shares of American Century Funds
held by the shareholder away from the PSS platform will be granted ROA with
shares of any American Century Fund purchased on the PSS platform.
Any
SEP IRA plan, any SIMPLE IRA plan or any Payroll Deduction plan (“PDP”) on the
PSS platform will be defaulted to plan-level grouping for purposes of ROA, which
allows each participating employee ROA with all other eligible shares held in
plan accounts on the PSS platform. At any time, a participating employee may
elect to exercise a one-time option to change grouping for purposes of ROA to
shareholder- level grouping, which allows the plan account of the electing
employee ROA with her other eligible holdings on the PSS platform, but not with
all other eligible participant holdings in the plan. Eligible shares held in
plan accounts electing shareholder-level grouping will not be available for
purposes of ROA to plan accounts electing plan-level grouping.
ROA
is determined by calculating the higher of cost minus redemptions or current
market value (current shares x NAV).
Letter
of Intent (“LOI”)
By
executing a LOI, shareholders can receive the sales charge and breakpoint
discounts for purchases shareholders intend to make over a 13-month period
through PFSI, from the date PSS receives the LOI. The purchase price of the LOI
is determined by calculating the higher of cost or market value of qualifying
holdings at LOI initiation in combination with the dollar amount the shareholder
intends to invest over a 13-month period to arrive at total investment for
purposes of determining any breakpoint discount and the applicable front-end
sales charge. Each purchase the shareholder makes during that 13-month period
will receive the sales charge and breakpoint discount that applies to the
projected total investment.
Only
holdings of American Century Funds on the PSS platform are eligible for
inclusion in the LOI calculation and the shareholder must notify PFSI of all
eligible assets at the time of calculation. It is the shareholder’s
responsibility to inform PFSI at the time of a purchase of all holdings of
American Century Funds on the PSS platform, or other facts qualifying the
purchaser for this discount.
Purchases
made before the LOI is received by PSS are not adjusted under the LOI, and the
LOI will not reduce any sales charge previously paid. Sales charges will be
automatically adjusted if the total purchases required by the LOI are not met.
If
an employer maintaining a SEP IRA plan, SIMPLE IRA plan or non-IRA PDP on the
PSS platform has elected to establish or change ROA for the accounts associated
with the plan to a plan-level grouping, LOIs will also be at the plan-level and
may only be established by the employer. LOIs are not available to PDP IRA plans
on the PSS platform with plan-level grouping for purposes of ROA, but are
available to any participating employee that elects shareholder-level grouping
for purposes of ROA.
Sales
Charge Waivers
Sales
charges are waived for the following shareholders and in the following
situations:
Shares
purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend
reinvestment.
Shares
purchased with the proceeds of redeemed shares of the same fund family so long
as the following conditions are met: 1) the proceeds are from the sale of shares
within 90 days of the purchase, 2) the sale and purchase are made in the same
share class and the same account or the purchase is made in an individual
retirement account with proceeds from liquidations in a non-retirement account,
and 3) the redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales load.
Automated transactions (i.e. systematic purchases and withdrawals), full or
partial transfers or rollovers of retirement accounts, and purchases made after
shares are automatically sold to pay account maintenance fees are not eligible
for this sales charge waiver.
Shares
exchanged into Class A shares from another share class so long as the exchange
is into the same fund and was initiated at the discretion of PFSI. PFSI is
responsible for any remaining CDSC due to the fund company, if applicable. Any
future purchases are subject to the applicable sales charge as disclosed in the
prospectus.
Policies
Regarding Fund Purchases Through PFSI That Are Not Held on the PSS
Platform
Class
R shares are available through PFSI only in 401(k) plans covering a business
owner with no employees, commonly referred to as a one-participant 401(k) plan
or solo 401(k).
PFSI
may request reasonable documentation of facts qualifying the purchaser for the
discounts and waivers identified above, and condition the granting of any
discount or waiver on the timely receipt of such documents. Shareholders should
contact PSS if they have questions regarding their eligibility for these
discounts and waivers.
Raymond
James & Associates, Inc., Raymond James Financial Services & each
entity’s affiliates (Raymond James)
Effective
March 1, 2019, shareholders purchasing fund shares through a Raymond James
platform or account, or through an introducing broker-dealer or independent
registered investment adviser for which Raymond James provides trade execution,
clearance, and/or custody services, will be eligible only for the following load
waivers (front-end sales charge waivers and contingent deferred, or back-end,
sales charge waivers) and discounts, which may differ from those disclosed
elsewhere in this fund’s prospectus or SAI.
Front-end
sales load waivers on Class A shares available at Raymond James
•Shares
purchased in an investment advisory program.
•Shares
purchased within the same fund family through a systematic reinvestment of
capital gains distributions and dividend reinvestment when purchasing shares of
the same fund (but not any other fund within the American Century Investments
fund family).
•Employees
and registered representatives of Raymond James or its affiliates and their
family members as designated by Raymond James.
•Shares
purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within the American Century
Investments fund family, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days
following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same
account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales
load (known as Rights of Reinstatement).
•A
shareholder in the fund’s C Class shares will have their shares converted at net
asset value to A Class shares (or the appropriate share class) of the fund if
the shares are no longer subject to a CDSC and the conversion is in line with
the policies and procedures of Raymond James.
CDSC
waivers on A and C Class shares available at Raymond James
•Death
or disability of the shareholder.
•Shares
sold as part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the fund’s
prospectus.
•Return
of excess contributions from an IRA Account.
•Shares
sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts
due to the shareholder reaching the qualified age based on applicable IRS
regulations as described in the fund’s prospectus.
•Shares
sold to pay Raymond James fees but only if the transaction is initiated by
Raymond James.
•Shares
acquired through a right of reinstatement.
Front-end
load discounts available at Raymond James: breakpoints, rights of accumulation,
and/or letters of intent
•Breakpoints
as described in this prospectus.
•Rights
of accumulation which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts will be
automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of American Century
Investments fund family assets held by accounts within the purchaser’s household
at Raymond James. Eligible American Century Investments fund family assets not
held at Raymond James may be included in the calculation of rights of
accumulation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about
such assets.
•Letters
of intent which allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases
within a fund family, over a 13-month time period. Eligible fund family assets
not held at Raymond James may be included in the calculation of letters of
intent only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such
assets.
Sales
Charge Reductions and Waivers Available through Stifel, Nicolaus & Company,
Incorporated (Stifel)
Effective
July 1, 2020, shareholders purchasing fund shares through a Stifel platform or
account or who own shares for which Stifel or an affiliate is the broker-dealer
of record are eligible for the following additional sales charge waiver.
Front-end
Sales Load Waiver on Class A Shares
•Class
C shares that have been held for more than seven (7) years will be converted to
Class A shares of the same Fund pursuant to Stifel’s policies and
procedures
All
other sales charge waivers and reductions described elsewhere in the fund’s
prospectus or SAI still apply.
Where
to Find More Information
Annual
and Semiannual Reports
Additional
information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s annual and
semiannual reports to shareholders and in Form N-CSR. In the fund’s annual
report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment
strategies that significantly affected the fund’s performance during its last
fiscal year. In Form N-CSR, you will find the fund’s annual and semiannual
financial statements. This prospectus incorporates by reference the Report of
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm and the financial statements
included in the fund’s annual
report
to shareholders, dated March 31, 2024.
Statement
of Additional Information (SAI)
The
SAI contains a more detailed legal description of the fund’s operations,
investment restrictions, policies and practices. The SAI
is incorporated by reference into this prospectus. This means that it is legally
part of this prospectus, even if you don’t request a copy.
You
may obtain a free copy of the SAI, annual reports and semiannual reports, and
other information such as fund financial statements, and you may ask questions
about the fund or your accounts, online at americancentury.com, by contacting
American Century Investments at the addresses or telephone numbers listed below
or by contacting your financial intermediary.
The
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Reports
and other information about the fund are available on the EDGAR database on the
SEC’s website at sec.gov, and copies of this information may be obtained, after
paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following email address:
[email protected].
This
prospectus shall not constitute an offer to sell securities of the fund in any
state, territory, or other jurisdiction where the fund’s shares have not been
registered or qualified for sale, unless such registration or qualification is
not required, or under any circumstances in which such offer or solicitation
would be unlawful.
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American
Century Investments
americancentury.com |
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Retail
Investors P.O. Box 419200 Kansas City, Missouri
64141-6200 1-800-345-2021 or 816-531-5575 |
Financial
Professionals P.O. Box 419385 Kansas City, Missouri
64141-6385 1-800-345-6488 |
Investment
Company Act File No. 811-07822
CL-PRS-92471
2408