American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund®
Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America®
The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America®
American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund®
The American Funds Tax-Exempt Series IISM
(The Tax-Exempt Fund of California®)
American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York®

Part B
Statement of Additional Information

October 1, 2022

This document is not a prospectus but should be read in conjunction with the current prospectus of American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund (“STEX”), Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (“LTEX”), The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (“TEBF”), American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund (“AHIM”), The American Funds Tax-Exempt Series II – The Tax-Exempt Fund of California (“TEFCA”), and American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York (“TEFNY”), dated October 1, 2022, and, where applicable, the Class R-6 prospectus for STEX, LTEX, TEBF and AHIM, dated October 1, 2022. Except where the context indicates otherwise, all references herein to the “fund” apply to each of the funds listed below. The prospectus may be obtained from your financial professional, by calling American Funds Service Company® at (800) 421-4225 or by writing to the funds at the following addresses:


Attention: Secretary

   

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund

 

Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America

 

The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America

 

American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund

 

The American Funds Tax-Exempt Series II

 

(The Tax-Exempt Fund of California)

American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York

333 South Hope Street

6455 Irvine Center Drive

Los Angeles, California 90071

Irvine, California 92618

               
 

Class A

Class C

Class T

Class F-1

Class F-2

Class F-3

Class R-6

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund

ASTEX

N/A

TAFSX

FSTTX

ASTFX

SFTEX

N/A

Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America

LTEBX

LTXCX

TLTTX

LTXFX

LTEFX

FLTEX

N/A

The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America

AFTEX

TEBCX

TLLLX

AFTFX

TEAFX

TFEBX

N/A

American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund

AMHIX

AHICX

TAHHX

ABHFX

AHMFX

HIMFX

N/A

The Tax-Exempt Fund of California

TAFTX

TECCX

TTCAX

TECFX

TEFEX

EXCAX

N/A

American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York

NYAAX

NYACX

TATEX

NYAEX

NYAFX

TFNYX

N/A

 

 

Table of Contents

   

Item

Page no.

   

Certain investment limitations and guidelines

2

Description of certain securities, investment techniques and risks

5

Fund policies

23

Management of the fund

25

Execution of portfolio transactions

71

Disclosure of portfolio holdings

74

Price of shares

76

Taxes and distributions

79

Purchase and exchange of shares

83

Sales charges

88

Sales charge reductions and waivers

91

Selling shares

95

Shareholder account services and privileges

96

General information

99

Appendix

112

Investment portfolio
Financial statements

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 1

Certain investment limitations and guidelines

The following limitations and guidelines are considered at the time of purchase, under normal circumstances, and are based on a percentage of each fund’s net assets unless otherwise noted. This summary is not intended to reflect all of the funds’ investment limitations.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund

· The fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in, or derive at least 80% of its income from, securities exempt from regular federal income tax and that do not subject shareholders to federal alternative minimum tax.

· The fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in securities that may subject fund shareholders to federal alternative minimum tax.

· The fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in bonds (for purposes of this limit, bonds include any debt instrument and cash equivalents, and may include certain preferred securities).

· The fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in debt securities rated in the A rating category (by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (“NRSROs”) designated by the fund’s investment adviser) or unrated but determined by the fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. The fund currently intends to look to the ratings from Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services and Fitch Ratings. If rating agencies differ, securities will be considered to have received the highest of these ratings, consistent with the fund's investment policies.

· The fund may invest up to 5% of its assets in debt securities rated in the BBB rating category (by NRSROs designated by the fund’s investment adviser) or unrated but determined by the fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. The fund currently intends to look to the ratings from Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and Fitch Ratings. If rating agencies differ, securities will be considered to have received the highest of these ratings, consistent with the fund's investment policies.

· The fund’s dollar-weighted average effective maturity will be no greater than three years.

Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America

· The fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in, or derive at least 80% of its income from, securities exempt from regular federal income tax and that do not subject fund shareholders to alternative minimum tax.

· The fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in securities that may subject fund shareholders to federal alternative minimum tax.

· The fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in bonds (for purposes of this limit, bonds include any debt instrument and cash equivalents, and may include certain preferred securities).

· The fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in debt securities in the rating category of BBB and the rating category of Baa (by NRSROs designated by the fund’s investment adviser) or unrated but determined by the fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. The fund currently intends to look to the ratings from Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s Ratings

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 2

Services and Fitch Ratings. If rating agencies differ, securities will be considered to have received the highest of these ratings, consistent with the fund's investment policies.

· The fund will not purchase debt securities rated BB+ or below and Ba1 or below (by NRSROs designated by the fund’s investment adviser) or unrated but determined by the fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality.

· The dollar-weighted average effective maturity of the fund’s portfolio will be between three and 10 years.

The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America

· The fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in, or derive at least 80% of its income from, securities exempt from regular federal income tax.

· The fund will not invest in securities that subject fund shareholders to federal alternative minimum tax.

· The fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in bonds (for purposes of this limit, bonds include any debt instrument and cash equivalents, and may include certain preferred securities).

· The fund will invest at least 65% of its assets in debt securities rated A- or better or A3 or better (by NRSROs designated by the fund’s investment adviser) or unrated but determined by the fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality, including cash and money market instruments. The fund currently intends to look to the ratings from Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services and Fitch Ratings. If rating agencies differ, securities will be considered to have received the highest of these ratings, consistent with the fund's investment policies.

· The fund may invest up to 35% of its assets in debt securities rated BBB+ or below and Baa1 or below (by NRSROs designated by the fund’s investment adviser) or unrated but determined by the fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality.

· The fund may invest up to 10% of its assets in debt securities rated BB+ or below and Ba1 or below (by NRSROs designated by the fund’s investment adviser) or unrated but determined by the fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality.

American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund

· The fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in, or derive at least 80% of its income from, securities exempt from regular federal income tax (including securities subject to alternative minimum tax).

· The fund may invest, without limitation, in securities that may subject fund shareholders to federal alternative minimum tax.

· The fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in bonds (for purposes of this limit, bonds include any debt instrument and cash equivalents, and may include certain preferred securities).

· The fund will invest at least 65% of its assets in debt securities rated A+ or below or A1 or below (by NRSROs designated by the fund’s investment adviser) or unrated but determined by the fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. The fund currently intends to look to

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 3

the ratings from Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services and Fitch Ratings. If rating agencies differ, securities will be considered to have received the lowest of these ratings, consistent with the fund’s investment policies.

· The fund will invest at least 50% of its assets in debt securities rated BBB+ or below or Baa1 or below (by NRSROs designated by the fund’s investment adviser) or unrated but determined by the fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality.

The Tax-Exempt Fund of California

· The fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in, or derive at least 80% of its income from, securities that are exempt from both regular federal and California income taxes and that do not subject fund shareholders to alternative minimum tax.

· The fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in securities that may subject fund shareholders to federal alternative minimum tax.

· The fund may invest up to 10% of its assets in debt securities rated BB+ or below and Ba1 or below (by NRSROs designated by the fund’s investment adviser) or unrated but determined by the fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. The fund currently intends to look to the ratings from Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services and Fitch Ratings. If rating agencies differ, securities will be considered to have received the highest of these ratings, consistent with the fund's investment policies.

American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York

· The fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in, or derive at least 80% of its income from, securities that are exempt from regular federal, New York State and New York City income taxes and that do not subject fund shareholders to alternative minimum tax.

· The fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in securities that may subject fund shareholders to alternative minimum tax.

· The fund may invest up to 10% of its assets in debt securities rated BB+ or below and Ba1 or below (by NRSROs designated by the fund’s investment adviser) or unrated but determined by the fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. The fund currently intends to look to the ratings from Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services and Fitch Ratings. If rating agencies differ, securities will be considered to have received the highest of these ratings, consistent with the fund's investment policies.

* * * * * *

The fund may experience difficulty liquidating certain portfolio securities during significant market declines or periods of heavy redemptions.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 4

Description of certain securities, investment techniques and risks

The descriptions below are intended to supplement the material in the prospectus under “Investment objectives, strategies and risks.”

Market conditions – The value of, and the income generated by, the securities in which the fund invests may decline, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, due to factors affecting certain issuers, particular industries or sectors, or the overall markets. Rapid or unexpected changes in market conditions could cause the fund to liquidate its holdings at inopportune times or at a loss or depressed value. The value of a particular holding may decrease due to developments related to that issuer, but also due to general market conditions, including real or perceived economic developments such as changes in interest rates, credit quality, inflation, or currency rates, or generally adverse investor sentiment. The value of a holding may also decline due to factors that negatively affect a particular industry or sector, such as labor shortages, increased production costs, or competitive conditions.

Global economies and financial markets are highly interconnected, and conditions and events in one country, region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. Furthermore, local, regional and global events such as war, acts of terrorism, social unrest, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health threats could also adversely impact issuers, markets and economies, including in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen. The fund could be negatively impacted if the value of a portfolio holding were harmed by such conditions or events.

Significant market disruptions, such as those caused by pandemics, natural or environmental disasters, war, acts of terrorism, or other events, can adversely affect local and global markets and normal market operations. Market disruptions may exacerbate political, social, and economic risks. Additionally, market disruptions may result in increased market volatility; regulatory trading halts; closure of domestic or foreign exchanges, markets, or governments; or market participants operating pursuant to business continuity plans for indeterminate periods of time. Such events can be highly disruptive to economies and markets and significantly impact individual companies, sectors, industries, markets, currencies, interest and inflation rates, credit ratings, investor sentiment, and other factors affecting the value of the fund’s investments and operation of the fund. These events could disrupt businesses that are integral to the fund’s operations or impair the ability of employees of fund service providers to perform essential tasks on behalf of the fund.

Governmental and quasi-governmental authorities may take a number of actions designed to support local and global economies and the financial markets in response to economic disruptions. Such actions may include a variety of significant fiscal and monetary policy changes, including, for example, direct capital infusions into companies, new monetary programs and significantly lower interest rates. These actions may result in significant expansion of public debt and may result in greater market risk. Additionally, an unexpected or quick reversal of these policies, or the ineffectiveness of these policies, could negatively impact overall investor sentiment and further increase volatility in securities markets.

Debt instruments — Debt securities, also known as “fixed income securities,” are used by issuers to borrow money. Bonds, notes, debentures, asset-backed securities (including those backed by mortgages), and loan participations and assignments are common types of debt securities. Generally, issuers pay investors periodic interest and repay the amount borrowed either periodically during the life of the security and/or at maturity. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay current interest, but are purchased at a discount from their face values and their values accrete over time to face value at maturity. Some debt securities bear interest at rates that are not fixed, but that vary with changes in specified market rates or indices. The market prices of debt securities fluctuate depending on such factors as interest rates, credit quality and maturity. In general, market prices of debt securities decline when interest rates rise and increase when interest rates fall. These fluctuations

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 5

will generally be greater for longer-term debt securities than for shorter-term debt securities. Prices of these securities can also be affected by financial contracts held by the issuer or third parties (such as derivatives) relating to the security or other assets or indices. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or they may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of countries, particularly developing countries, also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.

Lower rated debt securities, rated Ba1/BB+ or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations, are described by the rating agencies as speculative and involve greater risk of default or price changes due to changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness than higher rated debt securities, or they may already be in default. Such securities are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds” or high yield bonds. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate more than higher quality securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. It may be more difficult to dispose of, and to determine the value of, lower rated debt securities. Investment grade bonds in the ratings categories A or Baa/BBB also may be more susceptible to changes in market or economic conditions than bonds rated in the highest rating categories.

Certain additional risk factors relating to debt securities are discussed below:

Sensitivity to interest rate and economic changes — Debt securities may be sensitive to economic changes, political and corporate developments, and interest rate changes. In addition, during an economic downturn or a period of rising interest rates, issuers that are highly leveraged may experience increased financial stress that could adversely affect their ability to meet projected business goals, to obtain additional financing and to service their principal and interest payment obligations. Periods of economic change and uncertainty also can be expected to result in increased volatility of market prices and yields of certain debt securities and derivative instruments. As discussed under “Market conditions” above in this statement of additional information, governments and quasi-governmental authorities may take actions to support local and global economies and financial markets during periods of economic crisis, including direct capital infusions into companies, new monetary programs and significantly lower interest rates. Such actions may expose fixed income markets to heightened volatility and may reduce liquidity for certain investments, which could cause the value of the fund’s portfolio to decline.

Payment expectations — Debt securities may contain redemption or call provisions. If an issuer exercises these provisions in a lower interest rate market, the fund may have to replace the security with a lower yielding security, resulting in decreased income to investors. If the issuer of a debt security defaults on its obligations to pay interest or principal or is the subject of bankruptcy proceedings, the fund may incur losses or expenses in seeking recovery of amounts owed to it.

Liquidity and valuation — There may be little trading in the secondary market for particular debt securities, which may affect adversely the fund’s ability to value accurately or dispose of such debt securities. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the value and/or liquidity of debt securities.

Credit ratings for debt securities provided by rating agencies reflect an evaluation of the safety of principal and interest payments, not market value risk. The rating of an issuer is a rating agency’s view of past and future potential developments related to the issuer and may not necessarily reflect actual outcomes. There can be a lag between the time of developments relating to an issuer and the time a rating is assigned and updated. The investment adviser considers these ratings of securities as one of many criteria in making its investment decisions.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 6

Bond rating agencies may assign modifiers (such as +/–) to ratings categories to signify the relative position of a credit within the rating category. Investment policies that are based on ratings categories should be read to include any security within that category, without giving consideration to the modifier except where otherwise provided. See the Appendix to this statement of additional information for more information about credit ratings.

Municipal bonds — Municipal bonds are debt obligations that are exempt from federal, state and/or local income taxes. Opinions relating to the validity of municipal bonds, exclusion of municipal bond interest from an investor’s gross income for federal income tax purposes and, where applicable, state and local income tax, are rendered by bond counsel to the issuing authorities at the time of issuance.

The two principal classifications of municipal bonds are general obligation bonds and limited obligation or revenue bonds. General obligation bonds are secured by the issuer’s pledge of its full faith and credit including, if available, its taxing power for the payment of principal and interest. Issuers of general obligation bonds include states, counties, cities, towns and various regional or special districts. The proceeds of these obligations are used to fund a wide range of public facilities, such as the construction or improvement of schools, highways and roads, water and sewer systems and facilities for a variety of other public purposes. Lease revenue bonds or certificates of participation in leases are payable from annual lease rental payments from a state or locality. Annual rental payments are payable to the extent such rental payments are appropriated annually.

Typically, the only security for a limited obligation or revenue bond is the net revenue derived from a particular facility or class of facilities financed thereby or, in some cases, from the proceeds of a special tax or other special revenues. Revenue bonds have been issued to fund a wide variety of revenue-producing public capital projects including: electric, gas, water and sewer systems; highways, bridges and tunnels; port and airport facilities; colleges and universities; hospitals; and convention, recreational, tribal gaming and housing facilities. Although the security behind these bonds varies widely, many provide additional security in the form of a debt service reserve fund which may also be used to make principal and interest payments on the issuer's obligations. In addition, some revenue obligations (as well as general obligations) are insured by a bond insurance company or backed by a letter of credit issued by a banking institution.

Revenue bonds also include, for example, pollution control, health care and housing bonds, which, although nominally issued by municipal authorities, are generally not secured by the taxing power of the municipality but by the revenues of the authority derived from payments by the private entity which owns or operates the facility financed with the proceeds of the bonds. Obligations of housing finance authorities have a wide range of security features, including reserve funds and insured or subsidized mortgages, as well as the net revenues from housing or other public projects. Many of these bonds do not generally constitute the pledge of the credit of the issuer of such bonds. The credit quality of such revenue bonds is usually directly related to the credit standing of the user of the facility being financed or of an institution which provides a guarantee, letter of credit or other credit enhancement for the bond issue.

Municipal inflation-indexed bonds — The fund may invest in inflation-indexed bonds issued by municipalities. Interest payments are made to bondholders semi-annually and are made up of two components: a fixed “real coupon” or spread, and a variable coupon linked to an inflation index. Accordingly, payments will increase or decrease each period as a result of changes in the inflation index. In a period of deflation payments may decrease to zero, but in any event will not be less than zero.

Insured municipal bonds — The fund may invest in municipal bonds that are insured generally as to the timely payment of interest and repayment of principal. The insurance for such bonds may be purchased by the bond issuer, the fund or any other party, and is usually purchased from private, non-

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 7

governmental insurance companies. Insurance that covers a municipal bond is expected to protect the fund against losses caused by a bond issuer’s failure to make interest or principal payments. However, insurance does not guarantee the market value of the bond or the prices of the fund‘s shares. Also, the investment adviser cannot be certain that the insurance company will make payments it guarantees. The market value of the bond could drop if a bond's insurer fails to fulfill its obligations. Market conditions or changes to ratings criteria could adversely impact the ratings of municipal bond insurers. When rating agencies lower or withdraw the credit rating of the insurer, the insurance may be providing little or no enhancement of credit or resale value to the municipal bond.

U.S. Territories and Commonwealth obligations — The fund may invest in obligations of the territories and Commonwealths of the United States, such as Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and their agencies and authorities (“territories and Commonwealth”), to the extent such obligations are exempt from federal income taxes. Adverse political and economic conditions and developments affecting any territory or Commonwealth may, in turn, negatively affect the value of the fund’s holdings in such obligations. Territories and Commonwealths face significant fiscal challenges, including persistent government deficits, underfunded retirement systems, sizable debt service obligations and a high unemployment rate. A restructuring of some or all of the debt or a decline in market prices of the territories’ and Commonwealths’ debt obligations, may affect the fund’s investment in these securities. If the economic situation in the territories and Commonwealths persists or worsens, the volatility, credit quality and performance of the fund could be adversely affected.

Zero coupon bonds — Municipalities may issue zero coupon securities which are debt obligations that do not entitle the holder to any periodic payments of interest prior to maturity or a specified date when the securities begin paying current interest. They are issued and traded at a discount from their face amount or par value, which discount varies depending on the time remaining until cash payments begin, prevailing interest rates, liquidity of the security, and the perceived credit quality of the issuer.

Pre-refunded/Escrowed to maturity bonds — From time to time, a municipality may refund a bond that it has already issued prior to, or in the case of escrowed to maturity bonds on, the original bond’s call or maturity date by issuing a second bond, the proceeds of which are typically used to purchase securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities). The U.S. government securities are placed in an escrow account. The original bonds then become "pre-refunded" or "escrowed to maturity" and while the security is still tax-exempt, the proceeds of the escrow account act as collateral and the original bonds are considered high-quality in nature as a result. The principal and interest payments on the escrowed securities are then used to pay off the original bondholders on the call or maturity date. The escrow account securities do not guarantee the price movement of the bond before maturity. Investment in pre-refunded and escrowed to maturity bonds held by the fund may subject the fund to interest rate risk, market risk and credit risk. For purposes of diversification, pre-refunded and escrowed to maturity bonds will be treated as U.S. governmental issues.

Cash and cash equivalents — The fund may hold cash and invest in cash equivalents. Cash equivalents include, but are not limited to: (a) shares of money market or similar funds managed by the investment adviser or its affiliates; (b) shares of other money market funds; (c) tax-exempt commercial paper (e.g., short-term notes obligations issued by municipalities that mature, or that may be redeemed in 270 days or less); (d) municipal notes (e.g., bond anticipation notes, revenue anticipation notes, and tax anticipation notes issued by municipalities that mature, or that may be redeemed in one year or less); (e) municipal obligations backed by letters of credit issued by banks or other financial institutions or government agencies that mature, or that may be redeemed in one year or less; (f) tax-exempt variable rate debt issued by municipal conduits for corporate obligors; and (g) securities of the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities that mature, or that may be redeemed in one year or less.

Commercial paper — The fund may purchase tax-exempt and/or taxable commercial paper. Commercial paper refers to short-term promissory notes issued by a municipality or corporation to

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 8

finance its current operations. Such securities normally have maturities of thirteen months or less and, though commercial paper is often unsecured, commercial paper may be supported by letters of credit, surety bonds or other forms of collateral. Maturing commercial paper issuances are usually repaid by the issuer from the proceeds of new commercial paper issuances. As a result, investment in commercial paper is subject to rollover risk, or the risk that the issuer cannot issue enough new commercial paper to satisfy its outstanding commercial paper. Like all fixed income securities, commercial paper prices are susceptible to fluctuations in interest rates. If interest rates rise, commercial paper prices will decline and vice versa. However, the short-term nature of a commercial paper investment makes it less susceptible to volatility than many other fixed income securities because interest rate risk typically increases as maturity lengths increase. Commercial paper tends to yield smaller returns than longer-term corporate debt because securities with shorter maturities typically have lower effective yields than those with longer maturities. As with all fixed income securities, there is a chance that the issuer will default on its commercial paper obligations and commercial paper may become illiquid or suffer from reduced liquidity in these or other situations.

Commercial paper in which the fund may invest includes commercial paper issued in reliance on the exemption from registration afforded by Section 4(a)(2) of the 1933 Act. Section 4(a)(2) commercial paper has substantially the same price and liquidity characteristics as commercial paper generally, except that the resale of Section 4(a)(2) commercial paper is limited to institutional investors who agree that they are purchasing the paper for investment purposes and not with a view to public distribution. Technically, such a restriction on resale renders Section 4(a)(2) commercial paper a restricted security under the 1933 Act. In practice, however, Section 4(a)(2) commercial paper typically can be resold as easily as any other unrestricted security held by the fund. Accordingly, Section 4(a)(2) commercial paper has been generally determined to be liquid under procedures adopted by the fund’s board of trustees.

Temporary investments — The fund may invest in short-term municipal obligations of up to one year in maturity when temporary defensive strategies are used as a result of abnormal market conditions, or when such investments are considered advisable for liquidity. Generally, the income from such short-term municipal obligations is exempt from federal income tax. Further, a portion of the fund’s assets may be held in cash or invested in high-quality taxable short-term securities of up to one year in maturity. Such investments may include: (a) obligations of the U.S. Treasury; (b) obligations of agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. government; (c) money market instruments, such as certificates of deposit issued by domestic banks, corporate commercial paper, and bankers' acceptances; and (d) repurchase agreements.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 9

Forward commitment, when issued and delayed delivery transactions — The fund may enter into commitments to purchase or sell securities at a future date. When the fund agrees to purchase such securities, it assumes the risk of any decline in value of the security from the date of the agreement. If the other party to such a transaction fails to deliver or pay for the securities, the fund could miss a favorable price or yield opportunity, or could experience a loss.

The fund will not use these transactions for the purpose of leveraging. Although these transactions will not be entered into for leveraging purposes, the fund temporarily could be in a leveraged position (because it may have an amount greater than its net assets subject to market risk). Should market values of the fund’s portfolio securities decline while the fund is in a leveraged position, greater depreciation of its net assets would likely occur than if it were not in such a position. The fund will not borrow money to settle these transactions and, therefore, will liquidate other portfolio securities in advance of settlement if necessary to generate additional cash to meet its obligations. After a transaction is entered into, the fund may still dispose of or renegotiate the transaction. Additionally, prior to receiving delivery of securities as part of a transaction, the fund may sell such securities.

Under the SEC's rule applicable to the fund's use of derivatives, when issued, forward-settling and nonstandard settlement cycle securities will be treated as derivatives unless the fund intends to physically settle these transactions and the transactions will settle within 35 days of their respective trade dates.

Unfunded commitment agreements — The fund may enter into unfunded commitment agreements to make certain investments, including unsettled bank loan purchase transactions. Under the SEC’s rule applicable to the fund’s use of derivatives, unfunded commitment agreements are not derivatives transactions. The fund will only enter into such unfunded commitment agreements if the fund reasonably believes, at the time it enters into such agreement, that it will have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to meet its obligations with respect to all of its unfunded commitment agreements as they come due.

Derivatives — In pursuing its investment objective, the fund may invest in derivative instruments. A derivative is a financial instrument, the value of which depends on, or is otherwise derived from, another underlying variable. Most often, the variable underlying a derivative is the price of a traded asset, such as a traditional cash security (e.g., a stock or bond), a currency or a commodity; however, the value of a derivative can be dependent on almost any variable, from the level of an index or a specified rate to the occurrence (or non-occurrence) of a credit event with respect to a specified reference asset. The fund may take positions in futures contracts and swaps, each of which is a derivative instrument described in greater detail below.

Derivative instruments may be distinguished by the manner in which they trade: some are standardized instruments that trade on an organized exchange while others are individually negotiated and traded in the over-the-counter (OTC) market. Derivatives also range broadly in complexity, from simple derivatives to more complex instruments. As a general matter, however, all derivatives — regardless of the manner in which they trade or their relative complexities — entail certain risks, some of which are different from, and potentially greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in traditional cash securities.

As is the case with traditional cash securities, derivative instruments are generally subject to counterparty credit risk; however, in some cases, derivatives may pose counterparty risks greater than those posed by cash securities. The use of derivatives involves the risk that a loss may be sustained by the fund as a result of the failure of the fund’s counterparty to make required payments or otherwise to comply with its contractual obligations. For some derivatives, though, the value of — and, in effect, the return on — the instrument may be dependent on both the individual credit of the fund’s counterparty and on the credit of one or more issuers of any underlying assets. If the fund does not correctly

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 10

evaluate the creditworthiness of its counterparty and, where applicable, of issuers of any underlying reference assets, the fund’s investment in a derivative instrument may result in losses. Further, if a fund’s counterparty were to default on its obligations, the fund’s contractual remedies against such counterparty may be subject to applicable bankruptcy and insolvency laws, which could affect the fund’s rights as a creditor and delay or impede the fund’s ability to receive the net amount of payments that it is contractually entitled to receive. Derivative instruments are subject to additional risks, including operational risk (such as documentation issues, settlement issues and systems failures) and legal risk (such as insufficient documentation, insufficient capacity or authority of a counterparty, and issues with the legality or enforceability of a contract).

The value of some derivative instruments in which the fund invests may be particularly sensitive to changes in prevailing interest rates, currency exchange rates or other market conditions. Like the fund’s other investments, the ability of the fund to successfully utilize such derivative instruments may depend in part upon the ability of the fund’s investment adviser to accurately forecast interest rates and other economic factors. The success of the fund’s derivative investment strategy will also depend on the investment adviser’s ability to assess and predict the impact of market or economic developments on the derivative instruments in which the fund invests, in some cases without having had the benefit of observing the performance of a derivative under all possible market conditions. If the investment adviser incorrectly forecasts such factors and has taken positions in derivative instruments contrary to prevailing market trends, or if the investment adviser incorrectly predicts the impact of developments on a derivative instrument, the fund could be exposed to the risk of loss.

Certain derivatives may also be subject to liquidity and valuation risks. The potential lack of a liquid secondary market for a derivative (and, particularly, for an OTC derivative) may cause difficulty in valuing or selling the instrument. If a derivative transaction is particularly large or if the relevant market is illiquid, as is often the case with many privately-negotiated OTC derivatives, the fund may not be able to initiate a transaction or to liquidate a position at an advantageous time or price. Particularly when there is no liquid secondary market for the fund’s derivative positions, the fund may encounter difficulty in valuing such illiquid positions. The value of a derivative instrument does not always correlate perfectly with its underlying asset, rate or index, and many derivatives, and OTC derivatives in particular, are complex and often valued subjectively. Improper valuations can result in increased cash payment requirements to counterparties or a loss of value to the fund.

Because certain derivative instruments may obligate the fund to make one or more potential future payments, which could significantly exceed the value of the fund’s initial investments in such instruments, derivative instruments may also have a leveraging effect on the fund’s portfolio. Certain derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, irrespective of the size of the fund’s investment in the instrument. When a fund leverages its portfolio, investments in that fund will tend to be more volatile, resulting in larger gains or losses in response to market changes.

The fund’s compliance with the SEC’s rule applicable to the fund’s use of derivatives may limit the ability of the fund to use derivatives as part of its investment strategy. The rule deems a fund that uses derivatives only in a limited manner as a limited derivatives user and requires that such fund adopt and implement written policies and procedures reasonably designed to manage the fund’s derivatives risks. The rule also requires that a fund that uses derivatives in more than a limited manner adopt a derivatives risk management program, appoint a derivatives risk manager and comply with an outer limit on leverage based on value at risk, or “VaR”. VaR is an estimate of an instrument’s or portfolio’s potential losses over a given time horizon (i.e., 20 trading days) and at a specified confidence level (i.e., 99%). VaR will not provide, and is not intended to provide, an estimate of an instrument’s or portfolio’s maximum potential loss amount. For example, a VaR of 5% with a specified confidence level of 99% would mean that a VaR model estimates that 99% of the time a fund would not be expected to lose more than 5% of its total assets over the given time period. However, 1% of the time, the fund would be expected to lose more than 5% of its total assets, and in such a scenario the VaR model does not provide an estimate of the extent of this potential loss. The derivatives rule may not be effective in

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limiting the fund’s risk of loss, as measurements of VaR rely on historical data and may not accurately measure the degree of risk reflected in the fund’s derivatives or other investments. A fund is generally required to satisfy the rule’s outer limit on leverage by limiting the fund’s VaR to 200% of the VaR of a designated reference portfolio that does not utilize derivatives each business day. If a fund does not have an appropriate designated reference portfolio in light of the fund’s investments, investment objectives and strategy, a fund must satisfy the rule’s outer limit on leverage by limiting the fund’s VaR to 20% of the value of the fund’s net assets each business day.

Futures — The fund may enter into futures contracts to seek to manage the fund’s interest rate sensitivity by increasing or decreasing the duration of the fund or a portion of the fund’s portfolio. A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell a security or other financial instrument (the “reference asset”) for a set price on a future date. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts, and, when a futures contract is bought or sold, the fund will incur brokerage fees and will be required to maintain margin deposits.

Unlike when the fund purchases or sells a security, such as a stock or bond, no price is paid or received by the fund upon the purchase or sale of a futures contract. When the fund enters into a futures contract, the fund is required to deposit with its futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), a specified amount of liquid assets in a segregated account in the name of the FCM at the applicable derivatives clearinghouse or exchange. This amount, known as initial margin, is set by the futures exchange on which the contract is traded and may be significantly modified during the term of the contract. The initial margin is in the nature of a performance bond or good faith deposit on the futures contract, which is returned to the fund upon termination of the contract, assuming all contractual obligations have been satisfied. Additionally, on a daily basis, the fund pays or receives cash, or variation margin, equal to the daily change in value of the futures contract. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by the fund but is instead a settlement between the fund and the FCM of the amount one party would owe the other if the futures contract expired. In computing daily net asset value, the fund will mark-to-market its open futures positions. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of the fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM’s other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. An event of bankruptcy or insolvency at a clearinghouse or exchange holding initial margin could also result in losses for the fund.

When the fund invests in futures contracts and deposits margin with an FCM, the fund becomes subject to so-called “fellow customer” risk – that is, the risk that one or more customers of the FCM will default on their obligations and that the resulting losses will be so great that the FCM will default on its obligations and margin posted by one customer, such as the fund, will be used to cover a loss caused by a different defaulting customer. Applicable rules generally prohibit the use of one customer’s funds to meet the obligations of another customer and limit the ability of an FCM to use margin posed by non-defaulting customers to satisfy losses caused by defaulting customers. As a general matter, an FCM is required to use its own funds to meet a defaulting customer’s obligations. While a customer’s loss would likely need to be substantial before non-defaulting customers would be exposed to loss on account of fellow customer risk, applicable rules nevertheless permit the commingling of margin and do not limit the mutualization of customer losses from investment losses, custodial failures, fraud or other causes. If the loss is so great that, notwithstanding the application of an FCM’s own funds, there is a shortfall in the amount of customer funds required to be held in segregation, the FCM could default and be placed into bankruptcy. Under these circumstances, bankruptcy law provides that non-defaulting customers will share pro rata in any shortfall. A shortfall in customer segregated funds may also make the transfer of the accounts of non-defaulting customers to another FCM more difficult.

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Although certain futures contracts, by their terms, require actual future delivery of and payment for the reference asset, in practice, most futures contracts are usually closed out before the delivery date by offsetting purchases or sales of matching futures contracts. Closing out an open futures contract purchase or sale is effected by entering into an offsetting futures contract sale or purchase, respectively, for the same aggregate amount of the identical reference asset and the same delivery date with the same FCM. If the offsetting purchase price is less than the original sale price (in each case taking into account transaction costs, including brokerage fees), the fund realizes a gain; if it is more, the fund realizes a loss. Conversely, if the offsetting sale price is more than the original purchase price (in each case taking into account transaction costs, including brokerage fees), the fund realizes a gain; if it is less, the fund realizes a loss.

The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying reference asset. Purchasing futures contracts will, therefore, tend to increase the fund’s exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the reference asset, much as if the fund had purchased the reference asset directly. When the fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the reference asset. Accordingly, selling futures contracts will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the reference asset had been sold.

There is no assurance that a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Futures exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts and may halt trading if a contract’s price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days, when the price fluctuation limit is reached and a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a futures contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, the fund may be prevented from promptly liquidating unfavorable futures positions and the fund could be required to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value, potentially subjecting the fund to substantial losses. Additionally, the fund may not be able to take other actions or enter into other transactions to limit or reduce its exposure to the position. Under such circumstances, the fund would remain obligated to meet margin requirements until the position is cleared. As a result, the fund’s access to other assets posted as margin for its futures positions could also be impaired.

Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement and margin procedures that are different than those followed by futures exchanges in the United States. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may not involve a clearing mechanism or related guarantees and may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to the fund. Margin requirements on foreign futures exchanges may be different than those of futures exchanges in the United States, and, because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuations.

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Swaps — The fund may enter into swaps, which are two-party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors for a specified time period. In a typical swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns earned or realized from one or more underlying assets or rates of return.

Swaps can be traded on a swap execution facility (SEF) and cleared through a central clearinghouse (cleared), traded over-the-counter (OTC) and cleared, or traded bilaterally and not cleared. For example, standardized interest rate swaps and credit default swap indices are traded on SEFs and cleared. Other forms of swaps, such as total return swaps, are entered into on a bilateral basis. Because clearing interposes a central clearinghouse as the ultimate counterparty to each participant’s swap, and margin is required to be exchanged under the rules of the clearinghouse, central clearing is intended to decrease (but not eliminate) counterparty risk relative to uncleared bilateral swaps. To the extent the fund enters into bilaterally negotiated swap transactions, the fund will enter into swaps only with counterparties that meet certain credit standards and subject to agreed collateralization procedures; however, if the counterparty’s creditworthiness deteriorates rapidly and the counterparty defaults on its obligations under the swap or declares bankruptcy, the fund may lose any amount it expected to receive from the counterparty. In addition, bilateral swaps are subject to certain regulatory margin requirements that mandate the posting and collection of minimum margin amounts, which may result in the fund and its counterparties posting higher margin amounts for bilateral swaps than would otherwise be the case.

The term of a swap can be days, months or years and certain swaps may be less liquid than others. If a swap transaction is particularly large or if the relevant market is illiquid, it may not be possible to initiate a transaction or liquidate a position at an advantageous time or price, which may result in significant losses.

Swaps can take different forms. The fund may enter into the following types of swaps:

Interest rate swaps — The fund may enter into interest rate swaps to seek to manage the interest rate sensitivity of the fund by increasing or decreasing the duration of the fund or a portion of the fund’s portfolio. An interest rate swap is an agreement between two parties to exchange or swap payments based on changes in an interest rate or rates. Typically, one interest rate is fixed and the other is variable based on a designated short-term interest rate such as the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), prime rate or other benchmark, or on an inflation index such as the Consumer Price Index (which is a measure that examines the weighted average of prices of a basket of consumer goods and services and measures changes in the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar and the rate of inflation). In other types of interest rate swaps, known as basis swaps, the parties agree to swap variable interest rates based on different designated short-term interest rates. Interest rate swaps generally do not involve the delivery of securities or other principal amounts. Rather, cash payments are exchanged by the parties based on the application of the designated interest rates to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade upon which payment obligations are computed. Accordingly, the fund’s current obligation or right under the swap is generally equal to the net amount to be paid or received under the swap based on the relative value of the position held by each party.

In addition to the risks of entering into swaps discussed above, the use of interest rate swaps involves the risk of losses if interest rates change.

Credit default swap indices — In order to assume exposure to a diversified portfolio of credits or to hedge against existing credit risks, the fund may invest in credit default

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swap indices, including CDX and iTraxx indices (collectively referred to as “CDSIs”). A CDSI is based on a portfolio of credit default swaps with similar characteristics, such as credit default swaps on high-yield bonds. In a typical CDSI transaction, one party — the protection buyer — is obligated to pay the other party — the protection seller — a stream of periodic payments over the term of the contract. If a credit event, such as a default or restructuring, occurs with respect to any of the underlying reference obligations, the protection seller must pay the protection buyer the loss on those credits. Also, if a restructuring credit event occurs in an iTraxx index, the fund as protection buyer may receive a single name credit default swap (CDS) contract representing the relevant constituent.

The fund may enter into a CDSI transaction as either protection buyer or protection seller. If the fund is a protection buyer, it would pay the counterparty a periodic stream of payments over the term of the contract and would not recover any of those payments if no credit events were to occur with respect to any of the underlying reference obligations. However, if a credit event did occur, the fund, as a protection buyer, would have the right to deliver the referenced debt obligations or a specified amount of cash, depending on the terms of the applicable agreement, and to receive the par value of such debt obligations from the counterparty protection seller. As a protection seller, the fund would receive fixed payments throughout the term of the contract if no credit events were to occur with respect to any of the underlying reference obligations. If a credit event were to occur, however, the value of any deliverable obligation received by the fund, coupled with the periodic payments previously received by the fund, may be less than the full notional value that the fund, as a protection seller, pays to the counterparty protection buyer, effectively resulting in a loss of value to the fund. Furthermore, as a protection seller, the fund would effectively add leverage to its portfolio because it would have investment exposure to the notional amount of the swap transaction.

The use of CDSI, like all other swaps, is subject to certain risks, including the risk that the fund’s counterparty will default on its obligations. If such a default were to occur, any contractual remedies that the fund might have may be subject to applicable bankruptcy laws, which could delay or limit the fund’s recovery. Thus, if the fund’s counterparty to a CDSI transaction defaults on its obligation to make payments thereunder, the fund may lose such payments altogether or collect only a portion thereof, which collection could involve substantial costs or delays.

Additionally, when the fund invests in a CDSI as a protection seller, the fund will be indirectly exposed to the creditworthiness of issuers of the underlying reference obligations in the index. If the investment adviser to the fund does not correctly evaluate the creditworthiness of issuers of the underlying instruments on which the CDSI is based, the investment could result in losses to the fund.

Variable and floating rate obligations — The interest rates payable on certain securities and other instruments in which the fund may invest may not be fixed but may fluctuate based upon changes in market interest rates or credit ratings. Variable and floating rate obligations bear coupon rates that are adjusted at designated intervals, based on the then current market interest rates or credit ratings. The rate adjustment features tend to limit the extent to which the market value of the obligations will fluctuate. When the fund holds variable or floating rate securities, a decrease in market interest rates will adversely affect the income received from such securities and the net asset value of the fund’s shares.

The London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) is one of the most widely used interest rate benchmarks and is intended to represent the rate at which contributing banks may obtain short-term borrowings

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from each other in the London interbank market. On July 27, 2017, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), which regulates LIBOR, announced that the FCA will no longer persuade or compel banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR after 2021. On March 5, 2021, the FCA and ICE Benchmark Administration, Limited (IBA), the administrator of LIBOR, announced that the publication of the one-week and two-month USD LIBOR maturities and non-USD LIBOR maturities will cease immediately after December 31, 2021, with the remaining USD LIBOR maturities ceasing immediately after June 30, 2023. As a result, LIBOR may no longer be available or may no longer be deemed an appropriate reference rate upon which to determine the interest rate on certain loans, bonds, derivatives and other instruments in the fund’s portfolio.

Public and private sector industry initiatives have been underway to identify new or alternative reference rates to be used in place of LIBOR. In the US, the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARCC), a group of market participants convened to help ensure a successful transition away from USD LIBOR, has identified the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”), which is intended to be a broad measure of secured overnight U.S. Treasury repo rates, as its preferred alternative rate. Working groups and regulators in other countries have suggested other alternative rates for their markets. There is no assurance that the composition or characteristics of any such alternative reference rate will be similar to or produce the same value or economic equivalence as LIBOR or that instruments using an alternative rate will have the same volume or liquidity. This, in turn, may affect the value or return on certain of the fund’s investments, result in costs incurred in connection with closing out positions and entering into new trades and reduce the effectiveness of related fund transactions such as hedges. Relatedly, there are outstanding contracts governing bonds and other instruments which reference LIBOR that are due to mature beyond the LIBOR cessation date. These “legacy contracts” will need to be transitioned to an alternative reference rate, and a failure to do so may adversely impact the security (for example, under existing contract language the instrument could fall back to a fixed rate or have no fallback rate) and create contractual uncertainty, as well as market and litigation risk. Although there are ongoing efforts among certain government entities and other organizations to address these uncertainties, the ultimate effectiveness of such efforts is not yet known. These risks may also apply with respect to potential changes in connection with other interbank offering rates (e.g., Euribor) and other indices, rates and values that may be used as “benchmarks” and are the subject of recent regulatory reform.

Issue classification — Securities with the same general quality rating and maturity characteristics, but which vary according to the purpose for which they were issued, often tend to trade at different yields. Correspondingly, securities issued for similar purposes and with the same general maturity characteristics, but which vary according to the creditworthiness of their respective issuers, tend to trade at different yields. These yield differentials tend to fluctuate in response to political and economic developments, as well as temporary imbalances in normal supply/demand relationships. The investment adviser monitors these fluctuations closely, and will attempt to adjust portfolio concentrations in various issue classifications according to the value disparities brought about by these yield relationship fluctuations.

The investment adviser believes that, in general, the market for municipal bonds is less liquid than that for taxable fixed income securities. Accordingly, the ability of the fund to make purchases and sales of securities in the foregoing manner may, at any particular time and with respect to any particular securities, be limited or non-existent.

Private placements — Generally, municipal securities acquired in private placements are subject to contractual restrictions on resale. Accordingly, all private placements will be considered illiquid unless they have been specifically determined to be liquid, taking into account factors such as the frequency and volume of trading and the commitment of dealers to make markets under procedures adopted by each fund’s board of trustees.

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Restricted or illiquid securities — The fund may purchase securities subject to restrictions on resale. Difficulty in selling such securities may result in a loss or be costly to the fund. Some fund holdings (including some restricted securities) may be deemed illiquid if the fund expects that a reasonable portion of the holding cannot be sold in seven calendar days or less without the sale significantly changing the market value of the investment. The determination of whether a holding is considered illiquid is made by the fund’s adviser under a liquidity risk management program adopted by the fund’s board and administered by the fund’s adviser. The fund may incur significant additional costs in disposing of illiquid securities.

Investing in similar municipal bonds — The fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in municipal obligations of issuers located in the same state or in municipal obligations of the same type that may pay interest on their obligations with revenue from similar projects. This may make a fund more susceptible to economic, political, or regulatory occurrences that affect such issuers, obligation types and projects, such as changes in healthcare regulations, environmental considerations, construction cost increases and labor problems, failure of healthcare facilities to maintain adequate occupancy levels, and inflation. As the similarity in issuers of municipal obligations held by a fund increases, the fund has greater risk of volatility, and greater risk of loss, from these investments.

Tax-exempt securities — While the fund seeks to purchase securities which bear interest that is exempt from federal income taxes – and in the case of TEFCA and TEFNY, also seeks to purchase securities which bear interest that is exempt from (1) California income taxes and (2) New York City and New York state taxes, respectively – there are risks that such interest may be reclassified as taxable by the Internal Revenue Service, or a state tax authority. Actions by the issuer or future legislative, administrative or court actions also could adversely affect the tax-exempt status of interest paid by such securities. Such reclassifications or actions could cause interest from a security to become includable in the gross income of the holder of the security, possibly retroactively, subjecting fund shareholders to increased tax liability. In addition, such reclassifications or actions could cause the value of a security, and therefore the value of the fund’s shares, to decline.

Securities subject to alternative minimum tax — The fund (other than TEBF) may invest in tax-exempt securities believed to pay interest constituting an item of tax preference subject to alternative minimum tax. Therefore, while the fund’s distributions from tax-exempt securities are not subject to regular federal income tax, a portion or all may be included in determining a shareholder's federal alternative minimum tax.

Maturity — In calculating the effective maturity or average life of a particular debt security, a put, call, sinking fund or other feature will be considered to the extent it results in a security whose market characteristics indicate an effective maturity or average life that is shorter than its nominal or stated maturity. The investment adviser will consider the impact on effective maturity of potential changes in the financial condition of issuers and in market interest rates in making investment selections for the fund.

Adjustment of maturities — The investment adviser seeks to anticipate movements in interest rates and may adjust the maturity distribution of the fund’s portfolio accordingly, keeping in mind the fund’s objectives.

Risk factors relating to California debt obligations — Because TEFCA invests in securities issued by the State of California, its agencies and municipalities, the fund is more susceptible to developments adversely affecting issuers of California securities than a municipal bond fund that does not concentrate its investments in a single state. The information below constitutes only a brief summary and does not purport to be a complete description of risk factors relating to California debt obligations. Certain information is drawn from official statements relating to securities offerings of the State of California and various local agencies in California available as of the date of this statement of

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additional information and is subject to change. The fund assumes no obligation to independently verify or update this information.

Many factors including both state and national economic, political, regulatory, social and environmental policies and conditions, which are not within the control of the issuers of state related bonds, could have an adverse impact on the financial condition of the state, its various agencies and political subdivisions, as well as other municipal issuers in California. A variety of events, such as, tax base erosion, state constitutional limits on tax increases, budget deficits and other financial difficulties, and changes in the credit ratings assigned to California’s municipal issuers may have an adverse impact on the fund. In addition, natural disasters, such as earthquakes and droughts, may have an adverse effect on the state’s economy.

California’s economy and general financial condition affect the ability of state and local governments to raise revenues to make timely payments on their obligations. Events such as budgetary problems at the state level, fiscal weakness or an overall slowdown in the California economy could adversely impact the fund. Such events can negatively impact the state’s credit rating, make it more expensive for the state to borrow money, and impact municipal issuers’ ability to pay their obligations. Such events could also heighten the risk that prices of debt obligations purchased by the fund, and the fund’s net asset value, will experience greater volatility.

California is the most populous state in the nation and has a diverse economy. Major employers include the agriculture, manufacturing, high technology, services, trade, entertainment and construction sectors. However, certain of California’s significant industries are sensitive to economic disruptions in their export markets. The state’s rate of economic growth, therefore, could be adversely affected by any such disruption. A significant downturn in the housing market or U.S. stock market prices could adversely affect California’s economy by reducing household spending and business investment, particularly in the high technology sector. Moreover, a large and increasing share of the State of California’s General Fund revenue in the form of income and capital gains taxes is directly related to, and would be adversely affected by a significant downturn in the performance of, the stock markets.

Future California constitutional amendments, legislative measures, executive orders, administrative regulations, court decisions and voter initiatives could have an adverse effect on the debt obligations of California issuers. The initiative process is used quite often in California, resulting in numerous initiative items on the ballot for most state and many local elections, any of which could affect the ability of municipal issuers to pay their obligations. For example, revenue and expenditure limitations adopted by California voters, such as Propositions 13 (limiting ad valorem taxes on real property and restricting local taxing entities’ ability to raise real property taxes) and 218 (limiting local governments' ability to impose “property related” fees, assessments and taxes) have constrained local governments’ ability to raise revenue, consequently raising concerns about whether municipalities have sufficient revenue to pay their debt obligations.

While the fund’s portfolio managers try to reduce risks by investing in a diversified portfolio of securities, including state related bonds, it is not possible to predict the extent to which any or all of the factors described above will affect the ability of the state or other municipal issuers to pay interest or principal on their bonds or the ability of such bonds to maintain market value or marketability.

Risk factors relating to New York debt obligations — Because TEFNY invests in securities issued by the State of New York, its agencies and municipalities, the fund is more susceptible to developments adversely affecting issuers of New York securities than a municipal bond fund that does not concentrate its investments in a single state. The information below constitutes only a brief summary and does not purport to be a complete description of risk factors relating to New York debt obligations. Certain information is drawn from official statements relating to securities offerings of the

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State of New York and various local agencies in New York available as of the date of this statement of additional information and is subject to change. The fund assumes no obligation to independently verify or update this information.

Many factors including both state and national economic, political, regulatory, social and environmental policies and conditions, which are not within the control of the issuers of state related bonds, could have an adverse impact on the financial condition of the state, its various agencies and political subdivisions, as well as other municipal issuers in New York. New York’s economy and general financial condition affect the ability of state and local governments to raise revenues to make timely payments on their obligations. A variety of events, such as, tax base erosion, state constitutional limits on tax increases, budget deficits and other financial difficulties, changes in the credit ratings assigned to New York’s municipal issuers and natural disasters may have an adverse impact on the fund. Such events can negatively impact the state’s credit rating, make it more expensive for the state to borrow money, and impact issuers’ ability to pay their obligations. Such events could also heighten the risk that prices of debt obligations purchased by the fund, and the fund’s net asset value, will experience greater volatility.

In addition, New York State and New York City represent a large portion of the municipal bond market in New York. Therefore, fiscal and economic challenges facing these entities may have an adverse impact on the overall New York municipal bond market.

The ability of some New York issuers to make principal and interest payments depends in large part on their ability to raise revenues, primarily through taxes, and to control spending. Many factors can affect the state’s revenues including the rate of population growth, unemployment rates, personal income growth, federal aid, and the ability to attract and keep successful businesses. A number of factors can also affect the state’s spending including the need for infrastructure improvements, increased costs for education and other services, current debt levels, and the existence of accumulated budget deficits.

While New York State’s economy is diverse, it has a comparatively large share of the nation’s financial activities, information, education and health services employment, and a very small share of the nation’s farming and mining activity. Travel and tourism constitute an important part of the economy. Like the rest of the nation, the state has a declining proportion of its workforce engaged in manufacturing and an increasing proportion engaged in service industries.

The services sector, which includes professional and business services, private education and healthcare, leisure and hospitality services, among others, is the state’s leading economic sector. New York State is more likely to be affected by a recession that is concentrated in the services sector than other states. Additionally, New York State and New York City’s heavy reliance on the financial services sector makes it vulnerable to an economic slowdown and volatility in the financial services sector.

Future New York constitutional amendments, legislative measures, executive orders, administrative regulations, court decisions and voter initiatives could have an adverse effect on the debt obligations of New York issuers. In addition, if constitutional challenges to state laws or other court actions are brought against the state or its agencies and municipalities relating to financing, or the amount and use of taxes, these actions could adversely affect the ability of the state and its political subdivisions to meet their debt obligations, and may require extraordinary appropriations, expenditure reductions, or both.

While the fund’s portfolio managers try to reduce risks by investing in a diversified portfolio of securities, including state related bonds, it is not possible to predict the extent to which any or all of the factors described above will affect the ability of the state or other municipal issuers to pay interest or principal on their bonds or the ability of such bonds to maintain market value or marketability.

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Risk of non-compliance with certain federal requirements — The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”) imposes limitations on the use and investment of the proceeds of state and local governmental bonds and of other funds of the issuers of such bonds. These limitations must be satisfied on a continuing basis to maintain the exclusion from gross income of interest on such bonds. The investment adviser relies on the opinion of bond counsel. Bond counsel qualify their opinions as to the federal tax status of new issues of bonds by making such opinions contingent on the issuer’s future compliance with these limitations. Any failure on the part of an issuer to comply could cause the interest on its bonds to become taxable to investors retroactive to the date the bonds were issued. These restrictions in the Code also may affect the availability of certain municipal securities.

Cybersecurity risks — With the increased use of technologies such as the Internet to conduct business, the fund has become potentially more susceptible to operational and information security risks through breaches in cybersecurity. In general, a breach in cybersecurity can result from either a deliberate attack or an unintentional event. Cybersecurity breaches may involve, among other things, “ransomware” attacks, injection of computer viruses or malicious software code, or the use of vulnerabilities in code to gain unauthorized access to digital information systems, networks or devices that are used directly or indirectly by the fund or its service providers through “hacking” or other means. Cybersecurity risks also include the risk of losses of service resulting from external attacks that do not require unauthorized access to the fund’s systems, networks or devices. For example, denial-of-service attacks on the investment adviser’s or an affiliate’s website could effectively render the fund’s network services unavailable to fund shareholders and other intended end-users. Any such cybersecurity breaches or losses of service may, among other things, cause the fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity, or may result in the misappropriation, unauthorized release or other misuse of the fund’s assets or sensitive information (including shareholder personal information or other confidential information), the inability of fund shareholders to transact business, or the destruction of the fund’s physical infrastructure, equipment or operating systems. These, in turn, could cause the fund to violate applicable privacy and other laws and incur or suffer regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional costs (including compliance costs) associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. While the fund and its investment adviser have established business continuity plans and risk management systems designed to prevent or reduce the impact of cybersecurity attacks, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems due in part to the ever-changing nature of technology and cybersecurity attack tactics, and there is a possibility that certain risks have not been adequately identified or prepared for.

In addition, cybersecurity failures by or breaches of the fund’s third-party service providers (including, but not limited to, the fund’s investment adviser, transfer agent, custodian, administrators and other financial intermediaries) may disrupt the business operations of the service providers and of the fund, potentially resulting in financial losses, the inability of fund shareholders to transact business with the fund and of the fund to process transactions, the inability of the fund to calculate its net asset value, violations of applicable privacy and other laws, rules and regulations, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensatory costs and/or additional compliance costs associated with implementation of any corrective measures. The fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result of any such cybersecurity breaches, and there can be no assurance that the fund will not suffer losses relating to cybersecurity attacks or other informational security breaches affecting the fund’s third-party service providers in the future, particularly as the fund cannot control any cybersecurity plans or systems implemented by such service providers.

Cybersecurity risks may also impact issuers of securities in which the fund invests, which may cause the fund’s investments in such issuers to lose value.

Inflation/Deflation risk — The fund may be subject to inflation and deflation risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the present value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the fund‘s assets can decline. Deflation risk is the risk that prices throughout the economy decline over time. Deflation may have an

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 20

adverse effect on the creditworthiness of issuers and may make issuer default more likely, which may result in a decline in the value of the fund‘s assets.

Interfund borrowing and lending — Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by Capital Research and Management Company or its affiliates. The fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. The fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. The fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.

Affiliated investment companies — The fund may purchase shares of another investment company managed by the investment adviser or its affiliates. The risks of owning another investment company are similar to the risks of investing directly in the securities in which that investment company invests. When investing in another investment company managed by the investment adviser or its affiliates, the fund bears its proportionate share of the expenses of any such investment company in which it invests but will not bear additional management fees through its investment in such investment company. Investments in other investment companies could allow the fund to obtain the benefits of a more diversified portfolio than might otherwise be available through direct investments in a particular asset class, and will subject the fund to the risks associated with the particular asset class or asset classes in which an underlying fund invests. However, an investment company may not achieve its investment objective or execute its investment strategy effectively, which may adversely affect the fund’s performance. Any investment in another investment company will be consistent with the fund’s objective(s) and applicable regulatory limitations.

Tax risk — Income from securities held by the fund could also be declared taxable because of changes in tax laws or interpretations by taxing authorities, as a result of noncompliant conduct of a municipal issuer. Investments in taxable bonds and certain derivatives utilized by the fund may cause the fund to have taxable investment income. In addition, the fund may recognize taxable ordinary income from market discount. The fund may also realize capital gains on the sale of its securities. These capital gains will be taxable regardless of whether they are derived from the sale of tax-exempt bonds or taxable securities.

* * * * * *

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 21

Portfolio turnover — Portfolio changes will be made without regard to the length of time particular investments may have been held. Short-term trading profits are not the fund’s objective, and changes in its investments are generally accomplished gradually, though short-term transactions may occasionally be made. Higher portfolio turnover may involve correspondingly greater transaction costs in the form of dealer spreads or brokerage commissions. It may also result in the realization of net capital gains, which are taxable when distributed to shareholders, unless the shareholder is exempt from taxation or his or her account is tax-favored.

Fixed income securities are generally traded on a net basis and usually neither brokerage commissions nor transfer taxes are involved. Transaction costs are usually reflected in the spread between the bid and asked price.

A fund’s portfolio turnover rate would equal 100% if each security in the fund’s portfolio were replaced once per year.

     
 

Fiscal year

Portfolio turnover rate*

STEX

2022

53%

 

2021

49

LTEX

2022

47

 

2021

43

TEBF

2022

29

 

2021

21

AHIM

2022

35

 

2021

24

TEFCA

2022

27

 

2021

17

TEFNY

2022

22

 

2021

24

* Increases (or decreases) in turnover were due to increased (or decreased) trading activity during the period.

See “Financial highlights” in the fund’s prospectus for annual portfolio turnover rates for each of the last five fiscal years.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 22

Fund policies

All percentage limitations in the following fund policies are considered at the time securities are purchased and are based on the fund’s net assets unless otherwise indicated. None of the following policies involving a maximum percentage of assets will be considered violated unless the excess occurs immediately after, and is caused by, an acquisition by the fund. In managing the fund, the fund’s investment adviser may apply more restrictive policies than those listed below.

Fundamental policies — The fund has adopted the following policies, which may not be changed without approval by holders of a majority of its outstanding shares. Such majority is currently defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as the vote of the lesser of (a) 67% or more of the voting securities present at a shareholder meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities are present in person or by proxy, or (b) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities.

1. Except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder, or other successor law governing the regulation of registered investment companies, or interpretations or modifications thereof by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), SEC staff or other authority of competent jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority of competent jurisdiction, the fund may not:

a. Borrow money;

b. Issue senior securities;

c. Underwrite the securities of other issuers;

d. Purchase or sell real estate or commodities;

e. Make loans; or

f. Purchase the securities of any issuer if, as a result of such purchase, such fund’s investments would be concentrated in any particular industry.

2. The fund may not invest in companies for the purpose of exercising control or management.

3. The fund will maintain its status as a tax-exempt fund consistent with (i) the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder, or other successor law governing the regulation of registered investment companies, or interpretations or modifications thereof by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority of competent jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority of competent jurisdiction.

Nonfundamental policies — The following policy may be changed without shareholder approval and applies to STEX, LTEX, TEBF and AHIM only:

The fund may not acquire securities of open-end investment companies or unit investment trusts registered under the 1940 Act in reliance on Sections 12(d)(1)(F) or 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 23

Additional information about the fund‘s policies — The information below is not part of the fund’s fundamental or nonfundamental policies. This information is intended to provide a summary of what is currently required or permitted by the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder, or by the interpretive guidance thereof by the SEC or SEC staff, for particular fundamental policies of the funds. Information is also provided regarding the fund’s current intention with respect to certain investment practices permitted by the 1940 Act.

For purposes of fundamental policy 1a, the fund may borrow money in amounts of up to 33-1/3% of its total assets from banks for any purpose. Additionally, the fund may borrow up to 5% of its total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes (a loan is presumed to be for temporary purposes if it is repaid within 60 days and is not extended or renewed). The percentage limitations in this policy are considered at the time of borrowing and thereafter.

For purposes of fundamental policies 1a and 1e, the fund may borrow money from, or loan money to, other funds managed by Capital Research and Management Company or its affiliates to the extent permitted by applicable law and an exemptive order issued by the SEC.

For purposes of fundamental policy 1b, a senior security does not include any promissory note or evidence of indebtedness if such loan is for temporary purposes only and in an amount not exceeding 5% of the value of the total assets of the fund at the time the loan is made (a loan is presumed to be for temporary purposes if it is repaid within 60 days and is not extended or renewed). Further, the fund is permitted to enter into derivatives and certain other transactions, notwithstanding the prohibitions and restrictions on the issuance of senior securities under the 1940 Act, in accordance with current SEC rules and interpretations.

For purposes of fundamental policy 1c, the policy will not apply to the fund to the extent the fund may be deemed an underwriter within the meaning of the 1933 Act in connection with the purchase and sale of fund portfolio securities in the ordinary course of pursuing its investment objectives and strategies.

For purposes of fundamental policy 1e, the fund may not lend more than 33-1/3% of its total assets, provided that this limitation shall not apply to the fund’s purchase of debt obligations.

For purposes of fundamental policy 1f, the fund may not invest more than 25% of its total assets in the securities of issuers in a particular industry. This policy does not apply to investments in securities of the U.S. government, its agencies or government sponsored enterprises or repurchase agreements with respect thereto.

For purposes of fundamental policy 3, the fund will, under normal circumstances, invest at least 80% of its assets in, or derive at least 80% of its income from securities that are exempt from regular federal income tax and do not subject shareholders to the alternative minimum tax. Additionally, each of STEX, LTEX, TEFCA and TEFNY may only invest up to 20% of its assets in securities that are subject to the alternative minimum tax. TEBF may not invest in securities that are subject to the alternative minimum tax. AHIM may invest, without limitation, in securities that may subject fund shareholders to federal alternative minimum tax.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 24

Management of the fund

Board of trustees and officers

Independent trustees1

The fund’s nominating and governance committee and board selects independent trustees with a view toward constituting a board that, as a body, possesses the qualifications, skills, attributes and experience to appropriately oversee the actions of such fund’s service providers, decide upon matters of general policy and represent the long-term interests of fund shareholders. In doing so, they consider the qualifications, skills, attributes and experience of the current board members, with a view toward maintaining a board that is diverse in viewpoint, experience, education and skills.

The fund seeks independent trustees who have high ethical standards and the highest levels of integrity and commitment, who have inquiring and independent minds, mature judgment, good communication skills, and other complementary personal qualifications and skills that enable them to function effectively in the context of such fund’s board and committee structure and who have the ability and willingness to dedicate sufficient time to effectively fulfill their duties and responsibilities.

Each independent trustee has a significant record of accomplishments in governance, business, not-for-profit organizations, government service, academia, law, accounting or other professions. Although no single list could identify all experience upon which each fund’s independent trustees draw in connection with their service, the following table summarizes key experience for each independent trustee. These references to the qualifications, attributes and skills of the trustees are pursuant to the disclosure requirements of the SEC, and shall not be deemed to impose any greater responsibility or liability on any trustee or the board as a whole. Notwithstanding the accomplishments listed below, none of the independent trustees is considered an “expert” within the meaning of the federal securities laws with respect to information in each fund’s registration statement.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 25

         

Name, year of birth and position with fund (year first elected as a trustee2)

Principal
occupation(s)
during the
past five years

Number of
portfolios
in fund
complex
overseen
by
trustee

Other
directorships3
held by trustee
during the
past five years

Other relevant
experience

Francisco G. Cigarroa, MD, 1957
Trustee (2021)

Professor of Surgery, University of Texas Health San Antonio; Trustee, Ford Foundation; Clayton Research Scholar, Clayton Foundation for Biomedical Research

86

None

· Corporate board experience

· Service on boards of community and nonprofit organizations

· MD

James G. Ellis, 1947
Trustee (STEX–2009; LTEX–2006; TEBF–2006; AHIM–2006; TEFCA–2006; TEFNY–2010)

Former Dean and Professor of Marketing, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California

96

Advanced Merger Partners; EVe Mobility Acquisition Corp (acquisitions of companies in the electric vehicle market); J. G. Boswell (agricultural production); Mercury General Corporation

· Service as chief executive officer for multiple companies

· Corporate board experience

· Service on advisory and trustee boards for charitable, municipal and nonprofit organizations

· MBA

Nariman Farvardin, 1956
Trustee (2018)

President, Stevens Institute of Technology

91

None

· Senior management experience, educational institution

· Corporate board experience

· Professor, electrical and computer engineering

· Service on advisory boards and councils for educational, nonprofit and governmental organizations

· MS, PhD, electrical engineering

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 26

         

Name, year of birth and position with fund (year first elected as a trustee2)

Principal
occupation(s)
during the
past five years

Number of
portfolios
in fund
complex
overseen
by
trustee

Other
directorships3
held by trustee
during the
past five years

Other relevant
experience

Mary Davis Holt, 1950
Trustee (2015-2016; 2017)

Principal, Mary Davis Holt Enterprises, LLC (leadership development consulting); former Partner, Flynn Heath Holt Leadership, LLC (leadership consulting); former COO, Time Life Inc. (1993–2003)

87

None

· Service as chief operations officer, global media company

· Senior corporate management experience

· Corporate board experience

· Service on advisory and trustee boards for educational, business and nonprofit organizations

· MBA

Merit E. Janow, 1958
Trustee (2010)

Dean Emerita and Professor of Practice, International Economic Law & International Affairs, Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs

93

Aptiv (autonomous and green vehicle technology); Mastercard Incorporated

Former director of Trimble Inc. (software, hardware and services technology) (until 2021)

· Service with Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and U.S. Department of Justice

· Corporate board experience

· Service on advisory and trustee boards for charitable, educational and nonprofit organizations

· Experience as corporate lawyer

· JD

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 27

         

Name, year of birth and position with fund (year first elected as a trustee2)

Principal
occupation(s)
during the
past five years

Number of
portfolios
in fund
complex
overseen
by
trustee

Other
directorships3
held by trustee
during the
past five years

Other relevant
experience

Margaret Spellings, 1957
Chair of the Board
(Independent and Non-Executive)
(STEX–2009; LTEX–2010; TEBF–2010; AHIM–2010; TEFCA–2010; TEFNY–2010)

President and CEO, Texas 2036; former President, Margaret Spellings & Company (public policy and strategic consulting); former President, The University of North Carolina; former President, George W. Bush Presidential Center

91

Former director of ClubCorp Holdings, Inc. (until 2017)

· Former U.S. Secretary of Education, U.S. Department of Education

· Former Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, The White House

· Former senior advisor to the Governor of Texas

· Service on advisory and trustee boards for charitable and nonprofit organizations

Alexandra Trower, 1964
Trustee
(STEX–2019; LTEX–2019; TEBF–2019; AHIM–2018; TEFCA–2019; TEFNY–2018)

Former Executive Vice President, Global Communications and Corporate Officer, The Estée Lauder Companies

86

None

· Service on trustee boards for charitable and nonprofit organizations

· Senior corporate management experience

· Branding

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 28

         

Name, year of birth and position with fund (year first elected as a trustee2)

Principal
occupation(s)
during the
past five years

Number of
portfolios
in fund
complex
overseen
by
trustee

Other
directorships3
held by trustee
during the
past five years

Other relevant
experience

Paul S. Williams, 1959
Trustee
(2020)

Former Partner/Managing Director, Major, Lindsey & Africa (executive recruiting firm)

86

Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (aircraft leasing and air cargo transportation); Compass Minerals, Inc. (producer of salt and specialty fertilizers); Public Storage, Inc.; Romeo Power, Inc. (manufacturer of batteries for electric vehicles)

Former director of Bob Evans Farms, Inc. (restaurant company) (until 2017); Essendant, Inc. (business products wholesaler) (until 2019)

· Senior corporate management experience

· Corporate board experience

· Corporate governance experience

· Service on trustee boards for charitable and educational nonprofit organizations

· Securities law expertise

· JD

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 29

Interested trustee(s)4,5

Interested trustees have similar qualifications, skills and attributes as the independent trustees. Interested trustees are senior executive officers and/or directors of Capital Research and Management Company or its affiliates. Such management roles with the funds’ service providers also permit the interested trustees to make a significant contribution to the funds’ boards.

       

Name, year of birth
and position with fund
(year first elected as a
trustee/officer2)

Principal occupation(s)
during the
past five years
and positions
held with affiliated
entities or the
Principal Underwriter
of the fund

Number of
portfolios
in fund
complex
overseen
by trustee

Other directorships3
held by trustee
during the
past five years

Karl J. Zeile, 1966
President and Trustee
(TEBF-2009; TEFCA-2009)
Senior Vice President and Trustee
(TEFNY-2010)
Trustee
(AHIM-2008; LTEX-2004; STEX-2011)

Partner – Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research and Management Company

21

None

Michael C. Gitlin, 1970
Trustee (2015)

Partner – Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research and Management Company; Vice Chairman and Director, Capital Research and Management Company; Director, The Capital Group Companies, Inc.*; served as Head of Fixed Income at a large investment management firm prior to joining Capital Research and Management Company in 2015

86

None

Other officers5

   

Name, year of birth
and position with fund
(year first elected
as an officer2)

Principal occupation(s) during the past five years
and positions held with affiliated entities
or the Principal Underwriter of the funds

Mark Marinella, 1958
President (STEX and LTEX–2019);
Senior Vice President (TEFCA–2019)

Partner – Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research and Management Company

Chad M. Rach, 1972
President (AHIM–2015)
Senior Vice President (TEBF–2016)

Partner – Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research and Management Company

Jerome Solomon, 1963
President
(TEFNY–2011)
Senior Vice President
(AHIM–2017)

Partner — Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research and Management Company

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 30

   

Name, year of birth
and position with fund
(year first elected
as an officer2)

Principal occupation(s) during the past five years
and positions held with affiliated entities
or the Principal Underwriter of the funds

Kristine M. Nishiyama, 1970
Principal Executive Officer (STEX, LTEX, TEBF, AHIM and TEFCA–2003; TEFNY–2010)

Senior Vice President and Senior Counsel – Fund Business Management Group, Capital Research and Management Company; Chair, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Director, Capital Bank and Trust Company*

Michael W. Stockton, 1967
Executive Vice President (2021)

Senior Vice President – Fund Business Management Group, Capital Research and Management Company

Courtney K. Wolf, 1982
Senior Vice President
(AHIM-2021; TEBF-2020)

Partner — Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research and Management Company

Vikas Malhotra, 1983
Vice President (STEX and LTEX-2022)

Vice President - Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research and Management Company

Steven I. Koszalka, 1964
Secretary (2010)

Vice President – Fund Business Management Group, Capital Research and Management Company

Brian C. Janssen, 1972
Treasurer
(STEX, LTEX and AHIM–2015 and TEBF, TEFCA and TEFNY–2012)

Senior Vice President – Investment Operations, Capital Research and Management Company

Jane Y. Chung, 1974
Assistant Secretary (2014)

Associate – Fund Business Management Group, Capital Research and Management Company

Sandra Chuon, 1972
Assistant Treasurer (2019)

Vice President, Investment Operations, Capital Research and Management Company

Becky L. Park, 1979
Assistant Treasurer (2021)

Vice President – Investment Operations, Capital Research and Management Company

* Company affiliated with Capital Research and Management Company.

1 The term independent trustee refers to a trustee who is not an “interested person” of the funds within the meaning of the 1940 Act.

2 Trustees and officers of the funds serve until their resignation, removal or retirement.

3 This includes all directorships/trusteeships (other than those in the American Funds or other funds managed by Capital Research and Management Company or its affiliates) that are held by each trustee as a director/trustee of a public company or a registered investment company. Unless otherwise noted, all directorships/trusteeships are current.

4 The term interested trustee refers to a trustee who is an “interested person” of the funds within the meaning of the 1940 Act, on the basis of his or her affiliation with the funds’ investment adviser, Capital Research and Management Company, or affiliated entities (including the funds’ principal underwriter). The listed individual may not be a trustee of all funds listed for him or her, but rather may be an officer of one or more such funds.

5 All of the trustees and/or officers listed are officers and/or directors/trustees of one or more funds for which Capital Research and Management Company serves as investment adviser.

The address for all trustees and officers of the fund is 333 South Hope Street, 55th Floor, Los Angeles, California 90071, Attention: Secretary.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 31

Fund shares owned by trustees as of December 31, 2021:

             

Name

Dollar range1,2
of fund
shares owned

Aggregate
dollar range1
of shares
owned in
all funds
overseen
by trustee in same family of investment companies as the fund

Dollar
range1,2 of
independent
trustees
deferred compensation3 allocated
to fund

Aggregate
dollar
range1,2 of
independent
trustees
deferred
compensation3 allocated to
all funds
overseen
by trustee in same family of investment companies as the fund

Independent trustees

Francisco G. Cigarroa

STEX:

LTEX:

TEBF:

AHIM:

TEFCA:

TEFNY:

None

None

None

None

None

None

None

STEX:

LTEX:

TEBF:

AHIM:

TEFCA:

TEFNY:

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Over $100,000

James G. Ellis

STEX: None

LTEX: $10,001 – $50,000

TEBF: $10,001 – $50,000

AHIM: $10,001 – $50,000

TEFCA: None

TEFNY: None

Over $100,000

STEX:

LTEX:

TEBF:

AHIM:

TEFCA:

TEFNY:

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Nariman Farvardin

STEX:

LTEX:

TEBF:

AHIM:

TEFCA:

TEFNY:

None

None

None

None

None

None

Over $100,000

STEX:

LTEX:

TEBF:

AHIM:

TEFCA:

TEFNY:

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Over $100,000

Mary Davis Holt

STEX: None

LTEX: None

TEBF: $50,001 - $100,000

AHIM: None

TEFCA: None

TEFNY: None

Over $100,000

STEX:

LTEX:

TEBF:

AHIM:

TEFCA:

TEFNY

N/A N/A

N/A N/A

N/A N/A

N/A

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 32

               

Name

Dollar range1,2
of fund
shares owned

Aggregate
dollar range1
of shares
owned in
all funds
overseen
by trustee in same family of investment companies as the fund

Dollar
range1,2 of
independent
trustees
deferred compensation3 allocated
to fund

Aggregate
dollar
range1,2 of
independent
trustees
deferred
compensation3 allocated to
all funds
overseen
by trustee in same family of investment companies as the fund

Merit E. Janow

STEX:

LTEX:

TEBF:

AHIM:

TEFCA:

TEFNY:

None

Over $100,000

Over $100,000

None

None

Over $100,000

Over $100,000

STEX:

LTEX:

TEBF:

AHIM:

TEFCA:

TEFNY:

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

$50,001 – $100,000

Margaret Spellings

STEX: None

LTEX: None

TEBF: $10,001 – $50,000

AHIM: $10,001 – $50,000

TEFCA: None

TEFNY: None

Over $100,000

STEX:

LTEX:

TEBF:

AHIM:

TEFCA:

TEFNY:

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Over $100,000

Alexandra Trower

STEX: None

LTEX: None

TEBF: None

AHIM: $50,001 - $100,000

TEFCA: None

TEFNY: $50,001 – $100,000

Over $100,000

STEX:

LTEX:

TEBF:

AHIM:

TEFCA:

TEFNY:

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Over $100,000

Paul S. Williams

STEX: None

LTEX: None

TEBF: $10,001 – $50,000

AHIM: None

TEFCA: None

TEFNY: None

Over $100,000

STEX:

LTEX:

TEBF:

AHIM:

TEFCA:

TEFNY:

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Over $100,000

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 33

       

Name

Dollar range1,2
of fund
shares owned

Aggregate
dollar range1
of shares
owned in
all funds
overseen
by trustee in same family of investment companies as the fund

Interested trustee

Karl J. Zeile

STEX:
LTEX:
TEBF:
AHIM:
TEFCA:
TEFNY:

Over $100,000
Over $100,000
Over $100,000
Over $100,000
Over $100,000
None

Over $100,000

Michael C. Gitlin

STEX:
LTEX:
TEBF:
AHIM:
TEFCA:
TEFNY:

Over $100,000
Over $100,000
Over $100,000
Over $100,000
Over $100,000
None

Over $100,000

1 Ownership disclosure is made using the following ranges: None; $1 – $10,000; $10,001 – $50,000; $50,001 – $100,000; and Over $100,000. The amounts listed for interested trustees include shares owned through The Capital Group Companies, Inc. retirement plan and 401(k) plan.

2 N/A indicates that the listed individual, as of December 31, 2021, was not a trustee of a particular fund, did not allocate deferred compensation to the fund or did not participate in the deferred compensation plan.

3 Eligible trustees may defer their compensation under a nonqualified deferred compensation plan. Amounts deferred by the trustee accumulate at an earnings rate determined by the total return of one or more American Funds as designated by the trustee.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 34

Trustee compensation — No compensation is paid by the fund to any officer or trustee who is a director, officer or employee of the investment adviser or its affiliates. Except for the independent trustees listed in the “Board of trustees and officers — Independent trustees” table under the “Management of the fund” section in this statement of additional information, all other officers and trustees of the fund are directors, officers or employees of the investment adviser or its affiliates. The boards of funds advised by the investment adviser typically meet either individually or jointly with the boards of one or more other such funds with substantially overlapping board membership (in each case referred to as a “board cluster”). The fund typically pays each independent trustee an annual retainer fee based primarily on the total number of board clusters on which that independent trustee serves.

In addition, the fund generally pays independent trustees attendance and other fees for meetings of the board and their committees. Board and committee chairs receive additional fees for their services.

Independent trustees also receive attendance fees for certain special joint meetings and information sessions with directors and trustees of other groupings of funds advised by the investment adviser. The fund and the other funds served by each independent trustee each pay a portion of these attendance fees.

No pension or retirement benefits are accrued as part of fund expenses. Independent trustees may elect, on a voluntary basis, to defer all or a portion of their fees through a deferred compensation plan in effect for the fund. The fund also reimburses certain expenses of the independent trustees.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 35

Trustee compensation earned during the fiscal year ended July 31, 2022:

       

Name

Aggregate compensation
(including voluntarily
deferred compensation1)
from the funds

Total compensation (including
voluntarily deferred
compensation1)
from all funds managed by
Capital Research and
Management
Company or its affiliates

Francisco G. Cigarroa2

STEX

LTEX

TEBF

AHIM

TEFCA

TEFNY

825

3,458

12,754

5,012

1,459

143

317,250

James G. Ellis

STEX

LTEX

TEBF

AHIM

TEFCA

TEFNY

635

2,662

9,819

3,859

1,124

110

494,750

Nariman Farvardin2

STEX

LTEX

TEBF

AHIM

TEFCA

TEFNY

547

2,294

8,464

3,322

970

96

447,238

Mary Davis Holt

STEX

LTEX

TEBF

AHIM

TEFCA

TEFNY

618

2,590

9,553

3,754

1,094

107

383,250

R. Clark Hooper2

(retired December 31, 2021)

STEX

LTEX

TEBF

AHIM

TEFCA

TEFNY

266

1,116

4,138

1,608

481

51

209,338

Merit E. Janow2

STEX

LTEX

TEBF

AHIM

TEFCA

TEFNY

492

2,064

7,612

2,991

871

85

473,976

Margaret Spellings2

STEX

LTEX

TEBF

AHIM

TEFCA

TEFNY

677

2,838

10,472

4,110

1,201

119

523,976

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 36

       

Name

Aggregate compensation
(including voluntarily
deferred compensation1)
from the funds

Total compensation (including
voluntarily deferred
compensation1)
from all funds managed by
Capital Research and
Management
Company or its affiliates

Alexandra Trower2

STEX

LTEX

TEBF

AHIM

TEFCA

TEFNY

839

3,518

12,975

5,099

1,485

145

322,750

Paul S. Williams2

STEX

LTEX

TEBF

AHIM

TEFCA

TEFNY

826

3,461

12,764

5,016

1,461

143

317,500

1 Amounts may be deferred by eligible trustees under a nonqualified deferred compensation plan adopted by STEX, LTEX, TEBF, AHIM and TEFCA in 1993 and TEFNY in 2010. Deferred amounts accumulate at an earnings rate determined by the total return of one or more American Funds as designated by the trustees. Compensation shown in this table for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2022 does not include earnings on amounts deferred in previous fiscal years. See footnote 2 to this table for more information.

2 Since the deferred compensation plans’ adoption, the total amount of deferred compensation accrued by the funds (plus earnings thereon) through the end of the 2022 fiscal year for participating trustees is as follows:
STEX – Francisco G. Cigarroa ($545), Nariman Farvardin ($3,200), R. Clark Hooper ($1,653), Merit E. Janow ($182), Margaret Spellings ($2,088), Alexandra Trower ($2,871) and Paul S. Williams ($664);
LTEX – Francisco G. Cigarroa ($2,208), Nariman Farvardin ($12,597), R. Clark Hooper ($6,478), Merit E. Janow ($736), Margaret Spellings ($8,670), Alexandra Trower ($11,254) and Paul S. Williams ($2,626);
TEBF – Francisco G. Cigarroa ($8,428), Nariman Farvardin ($196,515), R. Clark Hooper ($27,822), Merit E. Janow ($2,815), Margaret Spellings ($31,312), Alexandra Trower ($49,350) and Paul S. Williams ($11,334);
AHIM – Francisco G. Cigarroa ($3,185), Nariman Farvardin ($19,559), R. Clark Hooper ($10,107), Merit E. Janow ($1,061), Margaret Spellings ($10,553), Alexandra Trower ($42,551) and Paul S. Williams ($4,078);
TEFCA – Francisco G. Cigarroa ($981), Nariman Farvardin ($6,700), R. Clark Hooper ($3,511), Merit E. Janow ($328), Margaret Spellings ($4,491), Alexandra Trower ($5,798) and Paul S. Williams ($1,324); and
TEFNY – Francisco G. Cigarroa ($94), Nariman Farvardin ($627), R. Clark Hooper ($329), Merit E. Janow ($31), Margaret Spellings ($385), Alexandra Trower ($1,469) and Paul S. Williams ($118).
Amounts deferred and accumulated earnings thereon are not funded and are general unsecured liabilities of the funds until paid to the trustees.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 37

Fund organization and the board of trustees — The fund is an open-end, diversified management investment company. American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund was organized as The Tax-Exempt Money Fund of America, a Massachusetts business trust, on December 5, 1988, and reorganized as a Delaware statutory trust on August 7, 2009. Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America was organized as a Massachusetts business trust on July 12, 1993 and reorganized as a Delaware statutory trust on November 1, 2010. The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America was organized as a Maryland corporation on July 20, 1979 and reorganized as a Delaware statutory trust on November 1, 2010. American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund was organized as a Maryland corporation on June 14, 1994 and reorganized as a Delaware statutory trust on November 1, 2010. The Tax-Exempt Fund of California was organized as a Massachusetts business trust on May 30, 1986 and reorganized as a Delaware statutory trust on November 1, 2010. American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on July 16, 2010. All fund operations are supervised by the fund’s boards of trustees (“board”) which meets periodically and performs duties required by applicable state and federal laws.

Delaware law charges trustees with the duty of managing the business affairs of the trust. Trustees are considered to be fiduciaries of the trust and owe duties of care and loyalty to the trust and its shareholders.

Independent board members are paid certain fees for services rendered to each fund as described above. They may elect to defer all or a portion of these fees through a deferred compensation plan in effect for each fund.

The fund has several different classes of shares. Shares of each class represent an interest in the same investment portfolio. Each class has pro rata rights as to voting, redemption, dividends and liquidation, except that each class bears different distribution expenses and may bear different transfer agent fees and other expenses properly attributable to the particular class as approved by the board of trustees and set forth in each fund’s rule 18f-3 Plan. Each class’ shareholders have exclusive voting rights with respect to the respective class’ rule 12b-1 plans adopted in connection with the distribution of shares and on other matters in which the interests of one class are different from interests in another class. Shares of all classes of the fund vote together on matters that affect all classes in substantially the same manner. Each class votes as a class on matters that affect that class alone. In addition, the trustees have the authority to establish new series and classes of shares, and to split or combine outstanding shares into a greater or lesser number, without shareholder approval.

The fund does not hold annual meetings of shareholders. However, significant matters that require shareholder approval, such as certain elections of board members or a change in a fundamental investment policy, will be presented to shareholders at a meeting called for such purpose. Shareholders have one vote per share owned.

The fund’s declaration of trust and by-laws, as well as separate indemnification agreements with independent trustees, provide in effect that, subject to certain conditions, the fund will indemnify its officers and trustees against liabilities or expenses actually and reasonably incurred by them relating to their service to the fund. However, trustees are not protected from liability by reason of their willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of their office.

Removal of trustees by shareholders — At any meeting of shareholders, duly called and at which a quorum is present, shareholders of the fund may, by the affirmative vote of the holders of two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast, remove any trustee from office with the fund and may elect a successor or successors to fill any resulting vacancies for the unexpired terms of removed trustees. In addition, the trustees of the fund will promptly call a meeting of shareholders for the purpose of voting upon the

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 38

removal of any trustees of the fund when requested in writing to do so by the record holders of at least 10% of such fund’s outstanding shares.

Leadership structure — The board’s chair is currently an independent trustee who is not an “interested person” of the fund within the meaning of the 1940 Act. The board has determined that an independent chair facilitates oversight and enhances the effectiveness of the board. The independent chair’s duties include, without limitation, generally presiding at meetings of the board, approving board meeting schedules and agendas, leading meetings of the independent trustees in executive session, facilitating communication with committee chairs, and serving as the principal independent trustee contact for fund management and counsel to the independent trustees and the fund.

Risk oversight — Day-to-day management of the fund, including risk management, is the responsibility of the fund’s contractual service providers, including the fund’s investment adviser, principal underwriter/distributor and transfer agent. Each of these entities is responsible for specific portions of the fund’s operations, including the processes and associated risks relating to the fund’s investments, integrity of cash movements, financial reporting, operations and compliance. The board of trustees oversees the service providers’ discharge of their responsibilities, including the processes they use to manage relevant risks. In that regard, the board receives reports regarding the operations of the fund’s service providers, including risks. For example, the board receives reports from investment professionals regarding risks related to the fund’s investments and trading. The board also receives compliance reports from the fund’s and the investment adviser’s chief compliance officers addressing certain areas of risk.

Committees of the fund’s board, which are comprised of independent board members, none of whom is an “interested person” of the fund within the meaning of the 1940 Act, as well as joint committees of independent board members of funds managed by Capital Research and Management Company, also explore risk management procedures in particular areas and then report back to the full board. For example, the fund’s audit committee oversees the processes and certain attendant risks relating to financial reporting, valuation of fund assets, and related controls. Similarly, a joint review and advisory committee oversees certain risk controls relating to the fund's transfer agency services.

Not all risks that may affect the fund can be identified or processes and controls developed to eliminate or mitigate their effect. Moreover, it is necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment-related risks) to achieve the fund’s objectives. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, the ability of the fund’s service providers to eliminate or mitigate risks is subject to limitations.

Committees of the board of trustees — The fund has an audit committee comprised of Francisco G. Cigarroa, James G. Ellis and Paul S. Williams. The committee provides oversight regarding the funds’ accounting and financial reporting policies and practices, their internal controls and the internal controls of the funds’ principal service providers. The committee acts as a liaison between the funds’ independent registered public accounting firm and the full board of trustees. The audit committee held five meetings during the 2022 fiscal year.

The fund has a contracts committee comprised of all of its independent board members. The committee’s principal function is to request, review and consider the information deemed necessary to evaluate the terms of certain agreements between the fund and their investment adviser or the investment adviser’s affiliates, such as the Investment Advisory and Service Agreement, Principal Underwriting Agreement, Administrative Services Agreement and Plans of Distribution adopted pursuant to rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, that the fund may enter into, renew or continue, and to make its recommendations to the full board of trustees on these matters. The contracts committee held one meeting during the 2022 fiscal year.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 39

The fund has a nominating and governance committee comprised of Nariman Farvardin, Mary Davis Holt, Merit E. Janow, Margaret Spellings and Alexandra Trower. The committee periodically reviews such issues as each board’s composition, responsibilities, committees, compensation and other relevant issues, and recommends any appropriate changes to the full board of trustees. The committee also coordinates annual self-assessments of the board and evaluates, selects and nominates independent trustee candidates to the full board of trustees. While the committee normally is able to identify from its own and other resources an ample number of qualified candidates, it will consider shareholder suggestions of persons to be considered as nominees to fill future vacancies on the boards. Such suggestions must be sent in writing to the nominating and governance committee of the fund, addressed to the fund’s secretary, and must be accompanied by complete biographical and occupational data on the prospective nominee, along with a written consent of the prospective nominee for consideration of his or her name by the committee. The fund’s nominating and governance committee held two meetings during the 2022 fiscal year.

The independent board members of the fund have oversight responsibility for the fund and certain other funds managed by the investment adviser. As part of their oversight responsibility for these funds, each independent board member sits on one of three fund review committees comprised solely of independent board members. The three committees are divided by portfolio type. Each committee functions independently and is not a decision making body. The purpose of the committees is to assist the board of each fund in the oversight of the investment management services provided by the investment adviser. In addition to regularly monitoring and reviewing investment results, investment activities and strategies used to manage the fund’s assets, the committees also receive reports from the investment adviser’s Principal Investment Officers for the funds, portfolio managers and other investment personnel concerning efforts to achieve the fund’s investment objectives. Each committee reports to the full board of the fund.

Proxy voting procedures and principles — The fund’s investment adviser, in consultation with the fund’s board, has adopted Proxy Voting Procedures and Principles (the “Principles”) with respect to voting proxies of securities held by the fund and other funds advised by the investment adviser or its affiliates. The complete text of these principles is available at capitalgroup.com. Proxies are voted by a committee of the appropriate equity investment division of the investment adviser under authority delegated by the funds’ boards. The boards of American Funds have established a Joint Proxy Committee (“JPC”) composed of independent board members from each American Funds board. The JPC’s role is to facilitate appropriate oversight of the proxy voting process and provide valuable input on corporate governance and related matters.

The Principles provide an important framework for analysis and decision-making by all funds. However, they are not exhaustive and do not address all potential issues. The Principles provide a certain amount of flexibility so that all relevant facts and circumstances can be considered in connection with every vote. As a result, each proxy received is voted on a case-by-case basis considering the specific circumstances of each proposal. The voting process reflects the funds’ understanding of the company’s business, its management and its relationship with shareholders over time. In all cases, the investment objectives and policies of the funds managed by the investment adviser remain the focus.

The investment adviser seeks to vote all U.S. proxies; however, in certain circumstances it may be impracticable or impossible to do so. Proxies for companies outside the U.S. also are voted, provided there is sufficient time and information available. Certain regulators have granted investment limit relief to the investment adviser and its affiliates, conditioned upon limiting its voting power to specific voting ceilings. To comply with these voting ceilings, the investment adviser will scale back its votes across all funds and clients on a pro-rata basis based on assets.

After a proxy statement is received, the investment adviser’s stewardship and engagement team prepares a summary of the proposals contained in the proxy statement. A notation of any potential

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 40

conflicts of interest also is included in the summary (see below for a description of the investment adviser’s special review procedures).

For proxies of securities managed by a particular equity investment division of the investment adviser, the initial voting recommendation is made either by one or more of the division’s investment analysts familiar with the company and industry or, for routine matters, by a member of the investment adviser’s stewardship and engagement team and reviewed by the applicable analyst(s). Depending on the vote, a second recommendation may be made by a proxy coordinator (an investment analyst or other individual with experience in corporate governance and proxy voting matters) within the appropriate investment division, based on knowledge of these Principles and familiarity with proxy-related issues. The proxy summary and voting recommendations are made available to the proxy voting committee of the applicable investment division for a final voting decision. In cases where a fund is co-managed and a security is held by more than one of the investment adviser’s equity investment divisions, the divisions may develop different voting recommendations for individual ballot proposals. If this occurs, and if permitted by local market conventions, the fund’s position will generally be voted proportionally by divisional holding, according to their respective decisions. Otherwise, the outcome will be determined by the equity investment division or divisions with the larger position in the security as of the record date for the shareholder meeting.

In addition to its proprietary proxy voting, governance and executive compensation research, Capital Research and Management Company may utilize research provided by Institutional Shareholder Services, Glass-Lewis & Co. or other third-party advisory firms on a case-by-case basis. It does not, as a policy, follow the voting recommendations provided by these firms. It periodically assesses the information provided by the advisory firms and reports to the JPC, as appropriate.

From time to time the investment adviser may vote proxies issued by, or on proposals sponsored or publicly supported by (a) a client with substantial assets managed by the investment adviser or its affiliates, (b) an entity with a significant business relationship with The Capital Group Companies, Inc. or its affiliates, or (c) a company with a director of an American Fund on its board (each referred to as an “Interested Party”). Other persons or entities may also be deemed an Interested Party if facts or circumstances appear to give rise to a potential conflict. The investment adviser analyzes these proxies and proposals on their merits and does not consider these relationships when casting its vote.

The investment adviser has developed procedures to identify and address instances where a vote could appear to be influenced by such a relationship. Under the procedures, prior to a final vote being cast by the investment adviser, the relevant proxy committees’ voting results for proxies issued by Interested Parties are reviewed by a Special Review Committee (“SRC”) of the investment division voting the proxy if the vote was in favor of the Interested Party.

If a potential conflict is identified according to the procedure above, the SRC will be provided with a summary of any relevant communications with the Interested Party, the rationale for the voting decision, information on the organization’s relationship with the Interested Party and any other pertinent information. If the SRC determines, based on the information provided, that a conflict of interest could affect the investment adviser’s best judgement as a fiduciary, the SRC will take appropriate steps to address the conflict of interest including, if appropriate, engaging an independent, third-party fiduciary to vote the proxy. The SRC includes senior investment professionals and legal and compliance professionals.

Information regarding how the fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the 12-month period ended June 30 of each year will be available on or about September 1 of such year (a) without charge, upon request by calling American Funds Service Company at (800) 421-4225, (b) on the Capital Group website and (c) on the SEC’s website at sec.gov.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 41

The following summary sets forth the general positions of American Funds, American Funds Insurance Series and the investment adviser on various proposals. A copy of the full Principles is available upon request, free of charge, by calling American Funds Service Company or visiting the Capital Group website.

Director matters — The election of a company’s slate of nominees for director generally is supported. Votes may be withheld for some or all of the nominees if this is determined to be in the best interest of shareholders or if, in the opinion of the investment adviser, such nominee has not fulfilled his or her fiduciary duty. In making this determination, the investment adviser considers, among other things, a nominee’s potential conflicts of interest, track record in shareholder protection and value creation as well as their capacity for full engagement on board matters. The investment adviser generally supports diversity of experience among board members, and the separation of the chairman and CEO positions.

Governance provisions — Typically, proposals to declassify a board (elect all directors annually) are supported based on the belief that this increases the directors’ sense of accountability to shareholders. Proposals for cumulative voting generally are supported in order to promote management and board accountability and an opportunity for leadership change. Proposals designed to make director elections more meaningful, either by requiring a majority vote or by requiring any director receiving more withhold votes than affirmative votes to tender his or her resignation, generally are supported.

Shareholder rights — Proposals to repeal an existing poison pill generally are supported. (There may be certain circumstances, however, when a proxy voting committee of a fund or an investment division of the investment adviser believes that a company needs to maintain anti-takeover protection.) Proposals to eliminate the right of shareholders to act by written consent or to take away a shareholder’s right to call a special meeting typically are not supported.

Compensation and benefit plans — Option plans are complicated, and many factors are considered in evaluating a plan. Each plan is evaluated based on protecting shareholder interests and a knowledge of the company and its management. Considerations include the pricing (or repricing) of options awarded under the plan and the impact of dilution on existing shareholders from past and future equity awards. Compensation packages should be structured to attract, motivate and retain existing employees and qualified directors; however, they should not be excessive.

Routine matters — The ratification of auditors, procedural matters relating to the annual meeting and changes to company name are examples of items considered routine. Such items generally are voted in favor of management’s recommendations unless circumstances indicate otherwise.

“ESG” shareholder proposals — The investment adviser believes environmental and social issues present investment risks and opportunities that can shape a company’s long-term financial sustainability. Shareholder proposals, including those relating to social and environmental issues, are evaluated in terms of their materiality to the company and its ability to generate long-term value in light of the company’s specific operating context. The investment adviser generally supports transparency and standardized disclosure, particularly that which leverages existing regulatory reporting or industry best practices. With respect to environmental matters, this includes disclosures aligned with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the standards set forth by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), and sustainability reports more generally. With respect to social matters, the investment adviser expects companies to be able to articulate a strategy or plan to advance diversity and equity within the workforce, including the

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 42

company’s management and board, subject to local norms and expectations. To that end, disclosure of data relating to workforce diversity and equity that is consistent with broadly applicable standards is generally supported.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 43

Principal fund shareholders — The following tables identify those investors who own of record, or are known by the fund to own beneficially, 5% or more of any class of its shares as of the opening of business on September 1, 2022. Unless otherwise indicated, the ownership percentages below represent ownership of record rather than beneficial ownership.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund

       

NAME AND ADDRESS

OWNERSHIP

OWNERSHIP PERCENTAGE

EDWARD D JONES & CO
FOR THE BENEFIT OF CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
SAINT LOUIS MO

RECORD

CLASS A

53.02%

 

CLASS F-3

27.37

     
     

WELLS FARGO CLEARING SERVICES LLC
SPECIAL CUSTODY ACCT FOR THE
EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF CUSTOMER
SAINT LOUIS MO

RECORD

CLASS A

8.99

 

CLASS F-1

24.31

 

CLASS F-2

5.27

     

PERSHING LLC
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
JERSEY CITY NJ

RECORD

CLASS A

5.21

 

CLASS F-1

12.90

 

CLASS F-2

10.95

 

CLASS F-3

37.36

       

CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC
SPEC CUSTODY ACCT FBO
CUSTOMERS #1
SAN FRANCISCO CA

RECORD

CLASS F-1

31.84

     
     
     

TD AMERITRADE INC FOR THE
EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF OUR CLIENTS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
OMAHA NE

RECORD

CLASS F-1

15.45

     
     
     

NATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC
FOR EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF OUR CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
JERSEY CITY NJ

RECORD

CLASS F-1

7.53

 

CLASS F-2

17.39

 

CLASS F-3

11.93

     

MORGAN STANLEY SMITH BARNEY LLC
FOR THE BENEFIT OF ITS CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
NEW YORK NY

RECORD

CLASS F-2

12.40

     
     
     

INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR
NEW YORK NY

BENEFICIAL

CLASS F-2

8.18

     

RAYMOND JAMES
OMNIBUS FOR MUTUAL FUNDS
HOUSE ACCOUNT
ST PETERSBURG FL

RECORD

CLASS F-2

7.73

     
     
     

CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT #2
SAN FRANCISCO CA

RECORD

CLASS F-3

9.51

     
     

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 44

       

NAME AND ADDRESS

OWNERSHIP

OWNERSHIP PERCENTAGE

BNY MELLON N A
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
PITTSBURGH PA

RECORD

CLASS F-3

8.80

     
     

AMERICAN FUNDS TAX-EXEMPT
PRESERVATION PORTFOLIO
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
NORFOLK VA

RECORD

CLASS R-6

100.00

     
     
     

Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America

       

NAME AND ADDRESS

OWNERSHIP

OWNERSHIP PERCENTAGE

EDWARD D JONES & CO
FOR THE BENEFIT OF CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
SAINT LOUIS MO

RECORD

CLASS A

52.62%

 

CLASS C

13.97

 

CLASS F-3

29.12

     

PERSHING LLC
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
JERSEY CITY NJ

RECORD

CLASS A

6.65

 

CLASS C

14.28

 

CLASS F-1

8.33

 

CLASS F-2

14.02

 

CLASS F-3

32.68

       

WELLS FARGO CLEARING SERVICES LLC
SPECIAL CUSTODY ACCT FOR THE
EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF CUSTOMER
SAINT LOUIS MO

RECORD

CLASS A

5.99

 

CLASS C

11.35

     
     

MORGAN STANLEY SMITH BARNEY LLC
FOR THE BENEFIT OF ITS CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
NEW YORK NY

RECORD

CLASS C

14.21

 

CLASS F-2

10.66

     
     

NATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC
FOR EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF OUR CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
JERSEY CITY NJ

RECORD

CLASS C

9.33

 

CLASS F-1

28.57

 

CLASS F-2

15.32

 

CLASS F-3

12.82

       

LPL FINANCIAL
--OMNIBUS CUSTOMER ACCOUNT--
SAN DIEGO CA

RECORD

CLASS C

8.58

 

CLASS F-1

10.58

 

CLASS F-2

6.95

       

CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC
SPEC CUSTODY ACCT FBO
CUSTOMERS #1
SAN FRANCISCO CA

RECORD

CLASS F-1

19.72

     
     
     

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 45

       

NAME AND ADDRESS

OWNERSHIP

OWNERSHIP PERCENTAGE

MLPF&S FOR THE SOLE BENEFIT OF
ITS CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
JACKSONVILLE FL

RECORD

CLASS F-1

7.90

 

CLASS F-2

10.86

     
     

UBS WM USA
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
WEEHAWKEN NJ

RECORD

CLASS F-2

10.22

     
     

RAYMOND JAMES
OMNIBUS FOR MUTUAL FUNDS
HOUSE ACCOUNT
ST PETERSBURG FL

RECORD

CLASS F-2

7.30

     
     
     

CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT #2
SAN FRANCISCO CA

RECORD

CLASS F-3

9.22

     
     

BNY MELLON N A
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
PITTSBURGH PA

RECORD

CLASS F-3

7.73

     
     

AMERICAN FUNDS TAX-ADVANTAGE
INCOME PORTFOLIO
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
NORFOLK VA

RECORD

CLASS R-6

54.82

     
     
     

AMERICAN FUNDS TAX-EXEMPT
PRESERVATION PORTFOLIO
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
NORFOLK VA

RECORD

CLASS R-6

45.17

     
     
     

The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America

       

NAME AND ADDRESS

OWNERSHIP

OWNERSHIP PERCENTAGE

EDWARD D JONES & CO
FOR THE BENEFIT OF CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
SAINT LOUIS MO

RECORD

CLASS A

47.98%

 

CLASS C

19.77

 

CLASS F-3

43.13

     

PERSHING LLC
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
JERSEY CITY NJ

RECORD

CLASS A

6.60

 

CLASS C

12.21

 

CLASS F-1

9.08

 

CLASS F-2

27.70

 

CLASS F-3

6.52

       

WELLS FARGO CLEARING SERVICES LLC
SPECIAL CUSTODY ACCT FOR THE
EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF CUSTOMER
SAINT LOUIS MO

RECORD

CLASS A

6.09

 

CLASS C

9.61

 

CLASS F-1

6.20

     

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 46

       

NAME AND ADDRESS

OWNERSHIP

OWNERSHIP PERCENTAGE

MORGAN STANLEY SMITH BARNEY LLC
FOR THE BENEFIT OF ITS CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
NEW YORK NY

RECORD

CLASS C

6.56

 

CLASS F-2

12.74

     
     

LPL FINANCIAL
--OMNIBUS CUSTOMER ACCOUNT--
SAN DIEGO CA

RECORD

CLASS C

6.18

 

CLASS F-1

6.34

 

CLASS F-2

8.10

       

NATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC
FOR EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF OUR CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
JERSEY CITY NJ

RECORD

CLASS C

6.14

 

CLASS F-1

26.47

 

CLASS F-2

13.08

 

CLASS F-3

7.16

RAYMOND JAMES
OMNIBUS FOR MUTUAL FUNDS
HOUSE ACCOUNT
ST PETERSBURG FL

RECORD

CLASS C

5.62

 

CLASS F-2

6.85

     
     

CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC
SPEC CUSTODY ACCT FBO
CUSTOMERS #1
SAN FRANCISCO CA

RECORD

CLASS F-1

21.27

     
     
     

UBS WM USA
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
WEEHAWKEN NJ

RECORD

CLASS F-2

7.61

     
     

MLPF&S FOR THE SOLE BENEFIT OF
ITS CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
JACKSONVILLE FL

RECORD

CLASS F-2

5.67

     
     
     

J P MORGAN SECURITIES LLC
FOR THE EXCLUSIVE BENE OF OUR CUSTS
4 CHASE METROTECH CENTER
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
BROOKLYN NY

RECORD

CLASS F-3

23.32

     
     
     
     

CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT #2
SAN FRANCISCO CA

RECORD

CLASS F-3

10.60

     
     

AMERICAN FUNDS TAX-ADVANTAGE
INCOME PORTFOLIO
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
NORFOLK VA

RECORD

CLASS R-6

100.00

     
     
     

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 47

American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund

       

NAME AND ADDRESS

OWNERSHIP

OWNERSHIP PERCENTAGE

EDWARD D JONES & CO
FOR THE BENEFIT OF CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
SAINT LOUIS MO

RECORD

CLASS A

45.79%

 

CLASS C

10.96

 

CLASS F-3

50.32

     

PERSHING LLC
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
JERSEY CITY NJ

RECORD

CLASS A

5.64

 

CLASS C

9.83

 

CLASS F-1

7.85

 

CLASS F-2

14.91

 

CLASS F-3

20.10

       

WELLS FARGO CLEARING SERVICES LLC
SPECIAL CUSTODY ACCT FOR THE
EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF CUSTOMER
SAINT LOUIS MO

RECORD

CLASS A

5.38

 

CLASS C

9.72

 

CLASS F-1

5.23

     

NATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC
FOR EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF OUR CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
JERSEY CITY NJ

RECORD

CLASS C

8.70

 

CLASS F-1

30.32

 

CLASS F-2

19.49

 

CLASS F-3

6.94

       

RAYMOND JAMES
OMNIBUS FOR MUTUAL FUNDS
HOUSE ACCOUNT
ST PETERSBURG FL

RECORD

CLASS C

8.11

 

CLASS F-2

9.24

     
     

LPL FINANCIAL
--OMNIBUS CUSTOMER ACCOUNT--
SAN DIEGO CA

RECORD

CLASS C

5.94

 

CLASS F-1

6.30

 

CLASS F-2

5.70

       

CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC
SPEC CUSTODY ACCT FBO
CUSTOMERS #1
SAN FRANCISCO CA

RECORD

CLASS F-1

24.23

     
     
     

TD AMERITRADE INC FOR THE
EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF OUR CLIENTS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
OMAHA NE

RECORD

CLASS F-1

6.80

     
     
     

UBS WM USA
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
WEEHAWKEN NJ

RECORD

CLASS F-2

9.55

     
     

MLPF&S FOR THE SOLE BENEFIT OF
ITS CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
JACKSONVILLE FL

RECORD

CLASS F-2

8.89

     
     
     

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 48

       

NAME AND ADDRESS

OWNERSHIP

OWNERSHIP PERCENTAGE

MORGAN STANLEY SMITH BARNEY LLC
FOR THE BENEFIT OF ITS CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
NEW YORK NY

RECORD

CLASS F-2

7.72

     
     
     

CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT #2
SAN FRANCISCO CA

RECORD

CLASS F-3

12.24

     
     

AMERICAN FUNDS TAX-ADVANTAGE
INCOME PORTFOLIO
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
NORFOLK VA

RECORD

CLASS R-6

100.00

     
     
     

The Tax-Exempt Fund of California

       

NAME AND ADDRESS

OWNERSHIP

OWNERSHIP PERCENTAGE

EDWARD D JONES & CO
FOR THE BENEFIT OF CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
SAINT LOUIS MO

RECORD

CLASS A

25.93%

 

CLASS C

8.61

 

CLASS F-3

12.25

     

WELLS FARGO CLEARING SERVICES LLC
SPECIAL CUSTODY ACCT FOR THE
EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF CUSTOMER
SAINT LOUIS MO

RECORD

CLASS A

12.29

 

CLASS C

11.79

 

CLASS F-1

6.72

 

CLASS F-2

6.14

       

PERSHING LLC
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
JERSEY CITY NJ

RECORD

CLASS A

6.40

 

CLASS C

10.11

 

CLASS F-1

8.47

 

CLASS F-2

6.01

 

CLASS F-3

35.03

       

MORGAN STANLEY SMITH BARNEY LLC
FOR THE BENEFIT OF ITS CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
NEW YORK NY

RECORD

CLASS A

6.10

 

CLASS C

6.55

 

CLASS F-2

16.33

     

MLPF&S FOR THE SOLE BENEFIT OF
ITS CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
JACKSONVILLE FL

RECORD

CLASS A

5.71

 

CLASS F-2

19.35

     
     

LPL FINANCIAL
--OMNIBUS CUSTOMER ACCOUNT--
SAN DIEGO CA

RECORD

CLASS C

6.52

 

CLASS F-1

15.63

 

CLASS F-2

5.29

       

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 49

       

NAME AND ADDRESS

OWNERSHIP

OWNERSHIP PERCENTAGE

CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC
SPEC CUSTODY ACCT FBO
CUSTOMERS #1
SAN FRANCISCO CA

RECORD

CLASS F-1

24.86

     
     
     

NATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC
FOR EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF OUR CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
JERSEY CITY NJ

RECORD

CLASS F-1

18.04

 

CLASS F-2

11.11

 

CLASS F-3

13.90

     

TD AMERITRADE INC FOR THE
EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF OUR CLIENTS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
OMAHA NE

RECORD

CLASS F-1

6.01

     
     
     

UBS WM USA
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
WEEHAWKEN NJ

RECORD

CLASS F-2

5.30

     
     

CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT #2
SAN FRANCISCO CA

RECORD

CLASS F-3

25.38

     
     

BNY MELLON N A
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
PITTSBURGH PA

RECORD

CLASS F-3

6.16

     
     

American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York

       

NAME AND ADDRESS

OWNERSHIP

OWNERSHIP PERCENTAGE

EDWARD D JONES & CO
FOR THE BENEFIT OF CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
SAINT LOUIS MO

RECORD

CLASS A

15.38%

 

CLASS F-3

8.53

     
     

PERSHING LLC
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
JERSEY CITY NJ

RECORD

CLASS A

13.39

 

CLASS C

35.54

 

CLASS F-1

9.54

 

CLASS F-2

16.28

 

CLASS F-3

75.87

       

MORGAN STANLEY SMITH BARNEY LLC
FOR THE BENEFIT OF ITS CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
NEW YORK NY

RECORD

CLASS A

9.62

 

CLASS F-2

5.78

     
     

NATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC
FOR EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF OUR CUSTOMERS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
JERSEY CITY NJ

RECORD

CLASS A

8.14

 

CLASS F-1

22.67

 

CLASS F-2

17.23

     

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 50

       

NAME AND ADDRESS

OWNERSHIP

OWNERSHIP PERCENTAGE

WELLS FARGO CLEARING SERVICES LLC
SPECIAL CUSTODY ACCT FOR THE
EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF CUSTOMER
SAINT LOUIS MO

RECORD

CLASS A

6.93

 

CLASS F-2

7.88

     
     

J P MORGAN SECURITIES LLC
FOR THE EXCLUSIVE BENE OF OUR CUSTS
4 CHASE METROTECH CENTER
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
BROOKLYN NY

RECORD

CLASS A

5.17

     
     
     
     

LPL FINANCIAL
--OMNIBUS CUSTOMER ACCOUNT--
SAN DIEGO CA

RECORD

CLASS A

5.15

 

CLASS C

18.42

 

CLASS F-1

17.22

   

CLASS F-2

18.05

       

INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR #1
SYRACUSE NY

BENEFICIAL

CLASS F-1

27.16

     

INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR #2
WATERFORD NY

BENEFICIAL

CLASS F-1

11.54

     

TD AMERITRADE INC FOR THE
EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF OUR CLIENTS
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
OMAHA NE

RECORD

CLASS F-2

11.10

     
     
     

RAYMOND JAMES
OMNIBUS FOR MUTUAL FUNDS
HOUSE ACCOUNT
ST PETERSBURG FL

RECORD

CLASS F-2

10.50

     
     
     

BNY MELLON N A
OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
PITTSBURGH PA

RECORD

CLASS F-3

10.57

     
     

Because Class T shares are not currently offered to the public, Capital Research and Management Company, the fund’s investment adviser, owns 100% of the fund‘s outstanding Class T shares.

As of September 1, 2022, the officers and trustees of the fund, as a group, owned beneficially or of record less than 1% of the outstanding shares of the fund.

Unless otherwise noted, references in this statement of additional information to Class F shares refer to all F share classes.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 51

Investment adviser — Capital Research and Management Company, the fund’s investment adviser, founded in 1931, maintains research facilities in the United States and abroad (Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Singapore, Tokyo, Toronto and Washington, D.C.). These facilities are staffed with experienced investment professionals. The investment adviser is located at 333 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Capital Group Companies, Inc., a holding company for several investment management subsidiaries. Capital Research and Management Company manages equity assets through three equity investment divisions and fixed income assets through its fixed income investment division, Capital Fixed Income Investors. The three equity investment divisions — Capital World Investors, Capital Research Global Investors and Capital International Investors — make investment decisions independently of one another. Portfolio managers in Capital International Investors rely on a research team that also provides investment services to institutional clients and other accounts advised by affiliates of Capital Research and Management Company. The investment adviser, which is deemed under the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”) to be the operator of the fund, has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term commodity pool operator under the CEA with respect to the fund and, therefore, is not subject to registration or regulation as such under the CEA with respect to the fund.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 52

The investment adviser has adopted policies and procedures that address issues that may arise as a result of an investment professional’s management of the fund and other funds and accounts. Potential issues could involve allocation of investment opportunities and trades among funds and accounts, use of information regarding the timing of fund trades, investment professional compensation and voting relating to portfolio securities. The investment adviser believes that its policies and procedures are reasonably designed to address these issues.

Compensation of investment professionals — As described in the prospectus, the investment adviser uses a system of multiple portfolio managers in managing fund assets. In addition, for The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America, American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund and The Tax-Exempt Fund of California, Capital Research and Management Company’s investment analysts may make investment decisions with respect to a portion of a fund’s portfolio, within their research coverage. For the Tax-Exempt Fund of New York, notwithstanding The Capital SystemSM, the fund’s portfolio managers will work together to oversee the fund’s entire portfolio.

Portfolio managers and investment analysts are paid competitive salaries by Capital Research and Management Company. In addition, they may receive bonuses based on their individual portfolio results. Investment professionals also may participate in profit-sharing plans. The relative mix of compensation represented by bonuses, salary and profit-sharing plans will vary depending on the individual’s portfolio results, contributions to the organization and other factors.

To encourage a long-term focus, bonuses based on investment results are calculated by comparing pretax total investment returns to relevant benchmarks over the most recent one-, three-, five- and eight-year periods, with increasing weight placed on each succeeding measurement period. For portfolio managers, benchmarks may include measures of the marketplaces in which the fund invests and measures of the results of comparable mutual funds. For investment analysts, benchmarks may include relevant market measures and appropriate industry or sector indexes reflecting their areas of expertise. Capital Research and Management Company makes periodic subjective assessments of analysts’ contributions to the investment process and this is an element of their overall compensation. The investment results of the fund’s portfolio managers may be measured against one or more benchmarks, depending on his or her investment focus, such as:

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 53

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Bloomberg Municipal Short 1-5 Years Index and a custom average consisting of funds that disclose investment objectives and strategies comparable to those of the fund;

Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America — Bloomberg Municipal Short-Intermediate 1-10 Years Index and a custom average consisting of funds that disclose investment objectives and strategies comparable to those of the fund;

The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America — Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index and a custom average consisting of funds that disclose investment objectives and strategies comparable to those of the fund;

American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund — Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index, Bloomberg Municipal Bond BAA Index, Bloomberg Municipal High Yield 5% Tobacco Cap 2% Issuer Cap Index and a custom average consisting of funds that disclose investment objectives and strategies comparable to those of the fund;

The Tax-Exempt Fund of California — Bloomberg California Municipal Index and a custom average consisting of funds that disclose investment objectives and strategies comparable to those of the fund; and

American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York — Bloomberg New York Municipal Index and a custom average consisting of funds that disclose investment objectives and strategies comparable to those of the fund.

From time to time, Capital Research and Management Company may adjust or customize these benchmarks to better reflect the universe of comparably managed funds of competitive investment management firms.

Portfolio manager fund holdings and other managed accounts — As described below, portfolio managers may personally own shares of the fund. In addition, portfolio managers may manage portions of other mutual funds or accounts advised by Capital Research and Management Company or its affiliates.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 54

The following table reflects information as of July 31, 2022:

                 

Portfolio
manager

Dollar range
of fund
shares
owned1

Number
of other
registered
investment
companies (RICs)
for which
portfolio
manager
is a manager
(assets of RICs
in billions)2

Number
of other
pooled
investment
vehicles (PIVs)
for which
portfolio
manager
is a manager
(assets of PIVs
in billions)2

Number
of other
accounts
for which
portfolio
manager
is a manager
(assets of
other accounts
in billions) 2,3

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund

Mark Marinella

$100,001– $500,000

8

$12.0

None

603

$2.87

Vikas Malhotra

$100,001– $500,000

2

$7.5

None

None

Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America

Mark Marinella

$100,001– $500,000

8

$7.3

None

603

$2.87

Vikas Malhotra

$100,001– $500,000

2

$2.8

None

None

The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America

Karl J. Zeile

Over $1,000,000

2

$3.0

None

None

Chad M. Rach

Over $1,000,000

2

$11.1

None

None

Courtney K. Wolf

$100,001– $500,000

2

$11.1

None

None

American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund

Chad M. Rach

Over $1,000,000

2

$25.5

None

None

Jerome Solomon

$500,001 – $1,000,000

1

$0.3

None

None

Courtney K. Wolf

$100,001– $500,000

2

$25.5

None

None

The Tax-Exempt Fund of California

Karl J. Zeile

Over $1,000,000

2

$25.5

None

None

Mark Marinella

$100,001 – $500,000

8

$11.5

None

603

$2.87

American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York

Karl J. Zeile

None4

2

$27.9

None

None

Jerome Solomon

None4

1

$10.8

None

None

1 Ownership disclosure is made using the following ranges: None; $1 – $10,000; $10,001 – $50,000; $50,001 – $100,000; $100,001 – $500,000; $500,001 – $1,000,000; and Over $1,000,000.

2 Indicates other RIC(s), PIV(s) or other accounts managed by Capital Research and Management Company or its affiliates for which the portfolio manager also has significant day to day management responsibilities. Assets noted are the total net assets of the RIC(s), PIV(s) or other accounts and are not the total assets managed by the individual, which is a substantially lower amount. No RIC, PIV or other account has an advisory fee that is based on the performance of the RIC, PIV or other account, unless otherwise noted.

3 Personal brokerage accounts of portfolio managers and their families are not reflected.

4 Funds are designed primarily for taxable residents in the state of New York. Because the portfolio managers do not reside in this state, investment in the fund may not be appropriate for their personal portfolio.

The fund’s investment adviser has adopted policies and procedures to mitigate material conflicts of interest that may arise in connection with a portfolio manager’s management of the fund, on the one

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 55

hand, and investments in the other pooled investment vehicles and other accounts, on the other hand, such as material conflicts relating to the allocation of investment opportunities that may be suitable for both the fund and such other accounts.

Investment Advisory and Service Agreement — The Investment Advisory and Service Agreement (the “Agreement”) between the fund and the investment adviser will continue in effect until April 30, 2023, unless sooner terminated, and may be renewed from year to year thereafter, provided that any such renewal has been specifically approved at least annually by (a) the board of trustees, or by the vote of a majority (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the outstanding voting securities of the fund, and (b) the vote of a majority of trustees who are not parties to the Agreement or interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of any such party, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. The Agreement provides that the investment adviser has no liability to the fund for its acts or omissions in the performance of its obligations to the fund not involving willful misconduct, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of its obligations under the Agreement. The Agreement also provides that either party has the right to terminate them, without penalty, upon 60 days’ written notice to the other party, and that the Agreement automatically terminates in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). In addition, the Agreement provides that the investment adviser may delegate all, or a portion of, its investment management responsibilities to one or more subsidiary advisers approved by the fund’s board, pursuant to an agreement between the investment adviser and such subsidiary. Any such subsidiary adviser will be paid solely by the investment adviser out of its fees.

In addition to providing investment advisory services, the investment adviser furnishes the services and pays the compensation and travel expenses of persons to perform the fund’s executive, administrative, clerical and bookkeeping functions, and provides suitable office space, necessary small office equipment and utilities, general purpose accounting forms, supplies and postage used at the fund’s offices. The fund pays all expenses not assumed by the investment adviser, including, but not limited to: custodian, stock transfer and dividend disbursing fees and expenses; shareholder recordkeeping and administrative expenses; costs of the designing, printing and mailing of reports, prospectuses, proxy statements and notices to their shareholders; taxes; expenses of the issuance and redemption of fund shares (including stock certificates, registration and qualification fees and expenses); expenses pursuant to the fund’s plans of distribution (described below); legal and auditing expenses; compensation, fees and expenses paid to independent trustees; association dues; costs of stationery and forms prepared exclusively for the fund; and costs of assembling and storing shareholder account data.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 56

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund: Under the Agreement, the investment adviser receives a management fee based on the following annualized rates and daily net asset levels:

     

Rate

Net asset level

In excess of

Up to

0.204%

$ 0

$15,000,000,000

0.175

15,000,000,000

 

Management fees are paid monthly and accrued daily.

For the fiscal years ended July 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, the investment adviser earned from the fund management fees of $5,511,000, $5,509,000 and $4,190,000, respectively.

Fee waiver - The investment adviser is currently reimbursing a portion of the expenses for each share class of STEX. These reimbursements will be in effect through at least May 1, 2023. The adviser may elect at its discretion to extend, modify or terminate the reimbursements at that time. For each of the fiscal years ended July 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, the total expenses reimbursed by the investment adviser were $44,000, $49,000 and $23,000, respectively.

Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America: Under the Agreement, the investment adviser receives a management fee based on the following annualized rates and daily net asset levels:

     

Rate

Net asset level

In excess of

Up to

0.143%

$ 0

$15,000,000,000

0.120

15,000,000,000

 

 

Management fees are paid monthly and accrued daily.

The Agreement also provides for fees based on monthly gross investment income at the following annualized rates:

     

Rate

Monthly gross investment income

In excess of

Up to

3.00%

$ 0

$ 3,333,333

2.50

3,333,333

 

 

For the purposes of such computations under the Agreement, the fund’s gross investment income is determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and does not reflect any net realized gains or losses on the sale of portfolio securities.

For the fiscal years ended July 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, the investment adviser earned from the fund management fees of $13,953,000, $12,927,000 and $10,058,000, respectively.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 57

The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America: Under the Agreement, the investment adviser receives a management fee based on the following annualized rates and daily net asset levels:

     

Rate

Net asset level

In excess of

Up to

0.30%

$ 0

$ 60,000,000

0.21

60,000,000

1,000,000,000

0.18

1,000,000,000

3,000,000,000

0.15

3,000,000,000

6,000,000,000

0.13

6,000,000,000

10,000,000,000

0.12

10,000,000,000

15,000,000,000

0.115

15,000,000,000

21,000,000,000

0.110

21,000,000,000

28,000,000,000

0.105

28,000,000,000

 

Management fees are paid monthly and accrued daily.

The Agreement also provides for fees based on monthly gross investment income at the following annualized rates:

     

Rate

Monthly gross investment income

In excess of

Up to

3.00%

$ 0

$ 3,333,333

2.50

3,333,333

8,333,333

2.00

8,333,333

 

For the purposes of such computations under the Agreement, the fund’s gross investment income is determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and does not reflect any net realized gains or losses on the sale of portfolio securities.

For the fiscal years ended July 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, the investment adviser earned from the fund management fees of $49,922,000, $47,791,000 and $45,861,000, respectively.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 58

American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund: Under the Agreement, the investment adviser receives a management fee based on the following annualized rates and daily net asset levels:

     

Rate

Net asset level

In excess of

Up to

0.151%

$ 0

$15,000,000,000

0.130

15,000,000,000

 

Management fees are paid monthly and accrued daily.

The Agreement also provides for fees based on monthly gross investment income at the following annualized rates:

     

Rate

Monthly gross investment income

In excess of

Up to

3.00%

$ 0

$ 3,333,333

2.50

3,333,333

 

For the purposes of such computations under the Agreement, the fund’s gross investment income is determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and does not reflect any net realized gains or losses on the sale of portfolio securities.

For the fiscal years ended July 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, the investment adviser earned from the fund management fees of $27,375,000, $23,417,000 and $22,212,000, respectively.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 59

The Tax-Exempt Fund of California: Under the Agreement, the investment adviser receives a management fee based on the following annualized rates and daily net asset levels:

     

Rate

Net asset level

In excess of

Up to

0.157%

$ 0

$15,000,000,000

0.130

15,000,000,000

 

Management fees are paid monthly and accrued daily.

The Agreement also provides for fees based on monthly gross investment income at the following annualized rates:

     

Rate

Monthly gross investment income

In excess of

Up to

3.00%

$ 0

$ 3,333,333

2.50

3,333,333

 

For the purposes of such computations under the Agreement, the fund’s gross investment income is determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and does not reflect any net realized gains or losses on the sale of portfolio securities.

For the fiscal years ended July 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, the investment adviser earned from the fund management fees of $7,794,000, $8,120,000 and $7,617,000, respectively.

American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York: Under the Agreement, the investment adviser receives a management fee based on the following annualized rates and daily net asset levels:

     

Rate

Net asset level

In excess of

Up to

0.157%

$ 0

$15,000,000,000

0.130

15,000,000,000

 

Management fees are paid monthly and accrued daily.

The Agreement also provides for fees based on monthly gross investment income at the following annualized rates:

     

Rate

Monthly gross investment income

In excess of

Up to

3.00%

$ 0

$3,333,333

2.50

3,333,333

 

For the purposes of such computations under the Agreement, the fund’s gross investment income is determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and does not reflect any net realized gains or losses on the sale of portfolio securities.

For the fiscal years ended July 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 the investment adviser earned from the fund management fees of $772,000, $852,000 and $854,000, respectively.

Fee waiver - The investment adviser is currently reimbursing a portion of the expenses for each share class of TEFNY. These reimbursements will be in effect through at least May 1, 2023. The adviser may elect at its discretion to extend, modify or terminate the reimbursements at that time. For each of the

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 60

fiscal years ended July 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, the total expenses reimbursed by the investment adviser were $122,000, $161,000 and $121,000, respectively.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 61

Administrative services — The investment adviser and its affiliates provide certain administrative services for shareholders of the fund’s Class A, C, T, F and R-6 shares, to the extent that they are offered by the fund. Administrative services are provided by the investment adviser and its affiliates to help assist third parties providing non-distribution services to fund shareholders. These services include providing in-depth information on the fund and market developments that impact fund investments. Administrative services also include, but are not limited to, coordinating, monitoring and overseeing third parties that provide services to fund shareholders.

These services are provided pursuant to an Administrative Services Agreement (the “Administrative Agreement”) between the fund and the investment adviser relating to the fund’s Class A, C, T, F and R-6 shares, to the extent that they are offered by the fund. Each fund’s Administrative Agreement will continue in effect until at least April 30, 2023, unless sooner terminated or renewed. It may be renewed from year to year thereafter, provided that any such renewal has been specifically approved by the vote of a majority of the members of the fund’s board who are not parties to the Administrative Agreement or interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of any such party. The fund may terminate the Administrative Agreement at any time by vote of a majority of independent board members. The investment adviser has the right to terminate the Administrative Agreement upon 60 days’ written notice to the fund. The Administrative Agreement automatically terminates in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).

The Administrative Services Agreement between the fund and the investment adviser provides the fund the ability to charge an administrative services fee of .05% for all share classes. The fund’s investment adviser receives an administrative services fee at the annual rate of .03% of the average daily net assets of the fund attributable to each of the share classes (which could be increased as noted above) for its provision of administrative services. Administrative services fees are paid monthly and accrued daily.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 62

During the 2022 fiscal year, administrative services fees were:

     
   

Administrative services fee

STEX

Class A

$ 361,000

 

Class T

—*

 

Class F-1

2,000

 

Class F-2

87,000

 

Class F-3

48,000

 

Class R-6

66,000

LTEX

Class A

1,245,000

 

Class C

5,000

 

Class T

—*

 

Class F-1

21,000

 

Class F-2

345,000

 

Class F-3

311,000

 

Class R-6

290,000

TEBF

Class A

4,199,000

 

Class C

101,000

 

Class T

—*

 

Class F-1

76,000

 

Class F-2

1,629,000

 

Class F-3

2,026,000

 

Class R-6

206,000

AHIM

Class A

1,732,000

 

Class C

58,000

 

Class T

—*

 

Class F-1

33,000

 

Class F-2

543,000

 

Class F-3

632,000

 

Class R-6

344,000

TEFCA

Class A

570,000

 

Class C

14,000

 

Class T

—*

 

Class F-1

17,000

 

Class F-2

181,000

 

Class F-3

132,000

TEFNY

Class A

60,000

 

Class C

3,000

 

Class T

—*

 

Class F-1

1,000

 

Class F-2

9,000

 

Class F-3

11,000

* Amount less than $1,000.

STEX did not offer Class C shares in the 2022 fiscal year and is not currently offering C shares.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 63

Principal Underwriter and plans of distribution — American Funds Distributors, Inc. (the “Principal Underwriter”) is the principal underwriter of the fund’s shares. The Principal Underwriter is located at 333 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071; 6455 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine, CA 92618; 3500 Wiseman Boulevard, San Antonio, TX 78251; and 12811 North Meridian Street, Carmel, IN 46032.

The Principal Underwriter receives revenues relating to sales of the fund’s shares, as follows:

· For Class A shares, the Principal Underwriter receives commission revenue consisting of the balance of the Class A sales charge remaining after the allowances by the Principal Underwriter to investment dealers.

· For Class C shares, the Principal Underwriter receives any contingent deferred sales charges that apply during the first year after purchase.

In addition, the fund reimburses the Principal Underwriter for advancing immediate service fees to qualified dealers and financial professionals upon the sale of Class C shares. The fund also reimburses the Principal Underwriter for service fees paid on a quarterly basis to intermediaries, such as qualified dealers or financial professionals, in connection with investments in Class T and F-1 shares.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 64

Commissions, revenue or service fees retained by the Principal Underwriter after allowances or compensation to dealers were:

           
 

Fiscal year

Commissions,
revenue
or fees retained

Allowance or
compensation
to dealers

Class A

2022

STEX
LTEX
TEBF
AHIM
TEFCA
TEFNY

$ 214,000
521,000
1,895,000
965,000
129,000
30,000

STEX
LTEX
TEBF
AHIM
TEFCA
TEFNY

$ 837,000
1,884,000
6,818,000
3,592,000
447,000
110,000

 

2021

STEX
LTEX
TEBF
AHIM
TEFCA
TEFNY

278,000
869,000
3,226,000
1,213,000
204,000
34,000

STEX
LTEX
TEBF
AHIM
TEFCA
TEFNY

1,087,000
3,445,000
12,171,000
4,668,000
711,000
132,000

 

2020

STEX
LTEX
TEBF
AHIM
TEFCA
TEFNY

226,000
810,000
3,803,000
1,496,000
392,000
52,000

STEX
LTEX
TEBF
AHIM
TEFCA
TEFNY

885,000
3,180,000
14,844,000
5,771,000
1,503,000
201,000

Class C*

2022

LTEX
TEBF
AHIM
TEFCA
TEFNY

28,00
186,000
116,000
28,000
6,000

LTEX
TEBF
AHIM
TEFCA
TEFNY

45,000
371,000
253,000
37,000
18,000

 

2021

LTEX
TEBF
AHIM
TEFCA
TEFNY


112,000

13,000
2,000

LTEX
TEBF
AHIM
TEFCA
TEFNY

63,000
715,000
347,000
80,000
20,000

 

2020

LTEX
TEBF
AHIM
TEFCA
TEFNY

9,000

46,000
4,000

LTEX
TEBF
AHIM
TEFCA
TEFNY


939,000
451,000
137,000
22,000

* STEX does not currently offer Class C shares.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 65

Plans of distribution — The fund has adopted plans of distribution (the “Plans”) pursuant to rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. The Plans permit the fund to expend amounts to finance any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of fund shares, provided the fund’s board of trustees has approved the category of expenses for which payment is being made.

Each Plan is specific to a particular share class of the fund. As the fund has not adopted a Plan for Class F-2, F-3 or Class R-6, no 12b-1 fees are paid from Class F-2, F-3 or Class R-6 share assets and the following disclosure is not applicable to these share classes.

Payments under the Plans may be made for service-related and/or distribution-related expenses. Service-related expenses include paying service fees to qualified dealers. Distribution-related expenses include commissions paid to qualified dealers. The amounts actually paid under the Plans for the past fiscal year, expressed as a percentage of the fund’s average daily net assets attributable to the applicable share class, are disclosed in the prospectus under “Fees and expenses of the fund.” Further information regarding the amounts available under each Plan is in the “Plans of Distribution” section of the prospectus.

Following is a brief description of the Plans:

Class A — For Class A shares, up to .25% (and, in the case of STEX, up to .15%) of the fund's average daily net assets attributable to such shares is reimbursed to the Principal Underwriter for paying service-related expenses, and the balance available under the applicable Plan may be paid to the Principal Underwriter for distribution-related expenses. STEX may annually expend up to .15%, LTEX and AHIM may annually expend up to .30%, and TEBF and TEFCA may annually expend up to .25% for Class A shares under the applicable Plan. TEFNY may annually expend up to .30% for Class A shares under the applicable Plan; however, for Class A shares, the board of trustees has approved payments to the Principal Underwriter of up to .25% of the fund’s average daily net assets, in the aggregate, for paying service- and distribution-related expenses.

Distribution-related expenses for Class A shares include dealer commissions and wholesaler compensation paid on sales of shares of $1 million or more purchased without a sales charge. Commissions on these “no load” purchases (which are described in further detail under the “Sales Charges” section of this statement of additional information document) in excess of the Class A Plan limitations and not reimbursed to the Principal Underwriter during the most recent fiscal quarter are recoverable for 15 months, provided that the reimbursement of such commissions does not cause the fund to exceed the annual expense limit. After 15 months, these commissions are not recoverable. As of the fund’s most recent fiscal year, unreimbursed expenses that remained subject to reimbursement under the Plan for Class A shares totaled $2,210,000 or less than 1% of Class A net assets for STEX, $3,570,000 or less than 1% of Class A net assets for LTEX, $11,532,000 or less than 1 % of Class A net assets for TEBF, $433,000 or less than 1% of Class A net assets for AHIM, $1,400,000 or less than 1% of Class A net assets for TEFCA and $165,000 or less than 1% of Class A net assets for TEFNY.

Class C — The Plan for Class C shares provide for payments to the Principal Underwriter of up to .25% of each fund’s average daily net assets attributable to such shares for paying service-related expenses and .75% for distribution-related expenses.

Class T — For Class T shares, the fund may annually expend up to .50% under the applicable Plan; however, the fund’s board of trustees has approved payments to the Principal Underwriter of up to .25% of the fund’s average daily net assets attributable to Class T shares for paying service-related expenses.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 66

Class F-1 — The Plan for Class F-1 shares provide for payments to the Principal Underwriter of up to .25% of each fund’s average daily net assets attributable to such shares for paying service-related expenses. The fund may annually expend up to .50% for Class F-1 shares under the applicable Plan; however, for Class F-1 shares, the board of trustees has approved payments to the Principal Underwriter of up to .25% of each fund’s average daily net assets attributable to such shares for paying service- and distribution-related expenses.

Payment of service fees — For purchases of less than $1 million, payment of service fees to investment dealers generally begins accruing immediately after establishment of an account in Class A or C shares. For purchases of $1 million or more, payment of service fees to investment dealers generally begins accruing 12 months after establishment of an account in Class A shares. Service fees are not paid on certain investments made at net asset value including accounts established by registered representatives and their family members as described in the “Sales charges” section of the prospectus.

During the 2022 fiscal year, 12b-1 expenses, accrued and paid, and if applicable, unpaid were:

         
 

12b-1 expenses

12b-1 unpaid liability
outstanding

Class A

STEX
LTEX
TEBF
AHIM
TEFCA
TEFNY

$ 1,802,000
12,453,000
34,994,000
17,323,000
4,748,000
497,000

STEX
LTEX
TEBF
AHIM
TEFCA
TEFNY

$ 94,000
633,000
2,126,000
892,000
257,000
34,000

Class C

LTEX
TEBF
AHIM
TEFCA
TEFNY

181,000
3,367,000
1,912,000
471,000
110,000

LTEX
TEBF
AHIM
TEFCA
TEFNY

14,000
252,000
140,000
34,000
9,000

Class T

STEX

LTEX
TEBF
AHIM
TEFCA
TEFNY

STEX

LTEX
TEBF
AHIM
TEFCA
TEFNY





Class F-1

STEX
LTEX
TEBF
AHIM
TEFCA
TEFNY

17,000
179,000
631,000
273,000
143,000
5,000

STEX
LTEX
TEBF
AHIM
TEFCA
TEFNY

1,000
13,000
57,000
27,000
12,000
—*

* Amount less than $1,000.

STEX did not offer C shares during the 2022 fiscal year and is not currently offering C shares.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 67

Approval of the Plans — As required by rule 12b-1 and the 1940 Act, the Plans (together with the Principal Underwriting Agreement) have been approved by the full board of trustees and separately by a majority of the independent trustees of the fund who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Plans or the Principal Underwriting Agreement. In addition, the selection and nomination of independent trustees of the fund are committed to the discretion of the independent trustees during the existence of the Plans.

Potential benefits of the Plans to the fund and its shareholders include enabling shareholders to obtain advice and other services from a financial professional at a reasonable cost, the likelihood that the Plans will stimulate sales of the fund benefiting the investment process through growth or stability of assets and the ability of the shareholders to choose among various alternatives in paying for sales and service. The Plans may not be amended to materially increase the amount spent for distribution without shareholder approval. Plan expenses are reviewed quarterly by the board of trustees and the Plans must be renewed annually by the board of trustees.

A portion of the fund’s 12b-1 expense is paid to financial professionals to compensate them for providing ongoing services. If you have questions regarding your investment in the fund or need assistance with your account, please contact your financial professional. If you need a financial professional, please call American Funds Distributors at (800) 421-4120 for assistance.

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 68

Other compensation to dealers — As of March 31, 2022, the top dealers (or their affiliates) that American Funds Distributors anticipates will receive additional compensation (as described in the prospectus) include:

   

Advisor Group

 

FSC Securities Corporation

 

Ladenburg, Thalmann & Co., Inc.

 

Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.

 

SagePoint Financial, Inc.

 

Securities America, Inc.

 

Triad Advisors LLC

 

Woodbury Financial Services, Inc.

 

American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc.

 

Ameriprise

 

Ameriprise Financial Services LLC

 

Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.

 

Cambridge

 

Cambridge Investment Research, Inc.

 

Cetera Financial Group

 

Cetera Advisor Networks LLC

 

Cetera Advisors LLC

 

Cetera Financial Specialists LLC

 

Cetera Investment Services LLC

 

First Allied Securities Inc.

 

Charles Schwab Network

 

Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.

 

Charles Schwab Trust Bank

 

Commonwealth

 

Commonwealth Financial Network

 

D.A. Davidson & Co.

 

Edward Jones

 

Equitable Advisors

 

Equitable Advisors LLC

 

Fidelity

 

Fidelity Investments

 

Fidelity Retirement Network

 

National Financial Services LLC

 

Hefren-Tillotson

 

Hefren-Tillotson, Inc.

 

HTK

 

Hornor, Townsend & Kent, LLC

 

J.P. Morgan Chase Banc One

 

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

 

JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.

 

Janney Montgomery Scott

 

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

 

Tax-exempt income funds — Page 69

   

Kestra Securities

 

Grove Point Investments LLC

 

Kestra Investment Services LLC

 

Lincoln Network

 

Lincoln Financial Advisors Corporation

 

Lincoln Financial Securities Corporation

 

LPL Group

 

LPL Financial LLC

 

Private Advisor Group, LLC

 

Merrill

 

Bank of America Private Bank

 

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated

 

MML Investors Services

 

MML Distributors LLC

 

MML Investors Services, LLC

 

The MassMutual Trust Company FSB

 

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

 

Northwestern Mutual

 

Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC

 

Park Avenue Securities LLC

 

Raymond James Group

 

Raymond James & Associates, Inc.

 

Raymond James Financial Services Inc.

 

RBC

 

RBC Capital Markets LLC

 

Robert W. Baird

 

Robert W. Baird & Co, Incorporated

 

Stifel, Nicolaus & Co

 

Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated

 

U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc.

 

U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc.

 

US Bank NA

 

UBS

 

UBS Financial Services, Inc.