(PUB) Morningstar FundInvestor

4

Data through July 31, 2013 American Funds Growth Fund of Amer A

Ticker

Status Yield Total Assets

Mstar Category

AGTHX Open

0.7% $120,084 mil

Large Growth

Morningstar Analyst Rating 07-17-13

Investment Style Equity Stock %

Historical Profile Return Risk Rating Average Below Avg Neutral

88% 89% 83% 84% 90% 93% 90% 90% 92%

´

Manager Change Partial Manager Change

12.5 15.0 18.0

Morningstar Pillars Process Performance

Growth of $10,000

Positive Positive Positive Positive Positive

Investment Values of Fund Investment Values of S&P 500

10.0

People Parent Price

7.0

Performance Quartile (within Category) History

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 07-13

Morningstar Analyst Rating Morningstar evaluates mutual funds based on five key pillars, which its analysts believe lead to funds that are more likely to outperform over the long term on a risk-adjusted basis. Analyst Rating Spectrum Œ „ ´ˇ ¨

18.47 -22.02

24.54 32.90

27.38 11.95

30.86 14.23

32.87 10.94 -4.85

34.01

20.48

27.33 34.48 8.02 -2.73 1.03 33.45

30.44 12.28 -2.78 -4.43

28.73 -4.89 -7.00 -7.53 0.72 -5.61

34.35 20.54

40.60 18.20 -1.42

NAV

-39.07 10.95

Total Return %

0.08 5.86 0.08

4.22 3.15 0.03

1.07 5.65 0.37

9.32 8.97 0.69

5.46 -0.86 1.09

-2.07 -0.63 0.69

4.54 5.28 0.99

+/-S&P 500

1.87 0.89

0.47 0.00

+/-Russ 1000Gr Income Return % Capital Return %

0.90

-22.10

32.87

11.58

13.54

10.05

-39.76 9.86

11.38

19.55

18.20

15

18

16

7

17

64

39

49

77

73

7

36

Total Rtn % Rank Cat

Pillar Spectrum Positive

0.02 0.00 0.75 0.18

0.01 0.00 0.76 0.28

0.09 0.00 0.70 0.20

0.19 0.23 0.66 0.76

0.27 1.10 0.63 0.89

0.36 2.06 0.62 0.94

0.23 0.00 0.62 1.09

0.21 0.00 0.75 1.00

0.25 0.00 0.69 0.76

0.22 0.00 0.68 0.67

0.28 0.00 0.71 0.66

0.00 0.00

Income $

§ Negative

¶ Neutral

Capital Gains $ Expense Ratio % Income Ratio % Turnover Rate % Net Assets $mil

. . .

Performance 07-31-13 1st Qtr 2nd Qtr

3rd Qtr

4th Qtr

Total

30

25

19

20

22

26

32

38

33

34

18

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

-4.00 16.73 13.38 5.85 34.48 4.17 -11.70 10.70 10.26 12.28 5.29 -0.69 -16.21 8.55 -4.89 14.58 -4.19 7.36 2.28 20.54 8.56 3.14 . . .

60,766 55,970 53,225 66,101 66,117 52,596 91,391 83,868 73,623 60,323 48,074 31,104

Portfolio Analysis 06-30-13 Share change since 03-13 Total Stocks:278 Sector

Rating and Risk Time Load-Adj

PE Tot Ret% % Assets

Morningstar

Morningstar Risk vs Cat

Morningstar Risk-Adj Rating

Period Return % Rtn vs Cat

Amazon.com Inc Gilead Sciences Inc Google, Inc. Class A Home Depot, Inc. SOFTBANK Corp Microsoft Corporation Philip Morris Internatio UnitedHealth Group Inc Comcast Corp Class A EOG Resources

Cnsmr Cyc

20.07 3.83

.

1 Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr

21.28 13.65

Trailing

Total

+/-

+/- Russ %Rank Growth of

Hlth care 34.5 67.19 3.80 Technology 26.5 25.50 3.62 Cnsmr Cyc 25.1 29.04 2.72 Comm Svs 24.6 76.44 1.83 Technology 12.4 20.93 1.80 Cnsmr Def 17.0 8.66 1.60 Hlth care 14.2 35.22 1.57 Comm Svs 19.0 21.71 1.45 Cnsmr Cyc 23.4 22.75 1.35 Cnsmr Def 25.4 19.52 1.25 Technology 14.3 -2.55 1.20 Cnsmr Cyc 11.9 35.20 0.97 Hlth care 31.6 -0.56 0.92 Comm Svs 133.3 -2.65 0.87 Hlth care 22.6 -20.88 0.87 Hlth care 29.3 21.39 0.83 Cyclical 30.33 1.05 BasicMat 2.67 0.87 8 3 CnsmrCyc18.44 2.15 18 12 FinanSvs 8.96 0.57 11 9 Real Est 0.26 0.18 0 0 Sensitive 45.85 1.05 CommSrvs 6.75 1.68 8 6 Energy 11.59 1.08 13 11 Industrl 9.01 0.79 13 9 Technlgy 18.50 1.05 22 17 Defensive23.81 0.86 CnsmrDef 5.51 0.45 7 5 Hlthcare 18.30 1.55 18 11 Utilities 0.00 0.00 0 0 h r t y u j i o p a k s d f Energy 53.2 20.90 1.72 Industrl 18.1 27.24 1.17 Energy 21.9 23.36 0.81 Sector Weightings % of Stocks Rel S&P 500 High 3 Year Low

Return% S&P 500 1000Gr

Cat

$10,000

-Avg -Avg Avg

-Avg -Avg -Avg

3 Mo 6 Mo 1 Yr

7.04 0.94 13.12 -0.61 28.68 3.68 15.91 -1.83 6.72 -1.54 8.37 0.73 8.06 3.40

1.80 0.23 7.04 -2.09 -2.29 0.68 4.57

38 10,704 32 11,312 12 12,868 52 15,573 58 13,843 24 22,340 5 31,987

5.46 7.73

10 Yr Incept

13.49

3 Yr Avg 5 Yr Avg 10 Yr Avg 15 Yr Avg

Other Measures

Standard Index

Best Fit Index

S&P 500

R3000

Alpha

-2.3 1.05

-1.9 1.00

Beta

Nike, Inc. Class B

R-Squared

96

97

Tax Analysis Tax-Adj Rtn% %Rank Cat Tax-Cost Rat %Rank Cat 3 Yr (estimated) 5 Yr (estimated) 10 Yr (estimated) 13.39 79 0.23 61 5.18 75 0.27 66 7.32 37 0.38 69 Potential Capital Gain Exposure: 43% of assets Morningstar’s Take by Flynn Murphy 07-17-13 A proficient team gives American Funds Growth Fund of America an edge. Eleven managers run sleeves of the fund, drawing on American’s experienced analysts to pick stocks (the analysts also run a sleeve). The managers take different approaches, buying traditional growth fare, cyclical names, and firms beset by troubles the managers deem temporary. Four veteran managers have stepped down from this fund since 2011, including James Dunton, who retired in June 2013 after 28 years. But the team is well prepared for turnover. The firm has a solid track record of grooming analysts to step into manager roles. Plus, the remaining managers average 11 years at the fund, making them a more experienced bunch than the typical large-growth manager. That experience has translated into positive risk-adjusted returns. The fund’s 7.8% annualized return in the trailing 11 years through June 2013 beats the Russell 1000 Growth Index’s 7% and the category’s 5.9% return. The fund has also outpaced both the bogy

Costco Wholesale Corpora

Standard Deviation

14.32 15.91

Oracle Corporation Union Pacific Corp

Mean

21st Century Fox Class A

Sharpe Ratio

1.10

Allergan, Inc.

Crown Castle Internation Intuitive Surgical, Inc.

Express Scripts Noble Energy Inc

and the category since the 1988 start date of its longest-tenured manager, James Rothenberg. Those returns came with a smoother ride: The fund typically gained about as much as its benchmark and peers in rising markets but held up better in bear markets. Strong performance drew heavy investor inflows in the mid-2000s, which has raised some concerns. Its assets peaked in 2007, but it still stands as the biggest large-growth offering with roughly $120 billion in assets. That’s nearly 4 times its size in mid-2002. With so many assets in tow, the fund’s managers have struggled to distinguish the fund from its Russell 1000 Growth benchmark. The fund’s active share--a measure of the portfolio’s divergence from the bogy--dropped to 65% in 2013 from 75% in 2002. Other correlation metrics, such as tracking error and R-squared, also show the fund’s returns have looked increasingly like its benchmark since 2002. The fund’s size may make it harder to outperform peers and the index, but capable management, low volatility, and a cheap price tag still work in its favor.

Current Investment Style

Market Cap % Giant 45.8 Large 38.8 Mid 15.1 Small 0.2 Micro 0.0 Avg $mil: 42,364

Value Blnd Growth

Large Mid Small

Value Measures Price/Earnings Price/Book Price/Sales Price/Cash Flow Dividend Yield % Long-Term Erngs Book Value Sales Cash Flow Historical Erngs Growth Measures

Rel Category

17.31 2.62 1.59 9.22 1.29 13.57 7.74 0.98 8.13 4.82

0.97 0.91 0.88 0.92 0.98 1.01 0.74 0.12 0.63 0.22

% Rel Category

Composition - Net

Cash 7.2 Stocks 91.6 Bonds 0.2 Other 1.0 Foreign 17.4

Address:

The Growth Fund of America, Inc. San Francisco, CA 94105-1409 800-421-4225 www.americanfunds.com

Minimum Purchase: Min Auto Inv Plan:

$250 $250

Add: $50 IRA: $250

Add: $50

Profitability

% Rel Category

Sales Fees:

5.75%L,

Return on Equity Return on Assets Net Margin

16.74 7.70 12.20

0.80 0.79 0.86

Web Address: Inception: Advisor: Subadvisor: NTF Plans:

Management Fee:

0.50% mx./0.23% mn., 0.01%A Mgt:0.28% Dist:0.24%

(% of Stock)

11-30-73

Actual Fees:

Capital Research and Management Company

Expense Projections: Income Distribution:

3Yr:$789 Annually

5Yr:$947 10Yr:$1407

None

Federated Tr NTF, Schwab Instl NTF

Mutual Funds ß ®

© 2013Morningstar, Inc.All rights reserved. The information herein is not represented orwarranted to be accurate, correct, complete or timely. Pastperformance isno guarantee of future results.Access updated reports at To order reprints, call 312-696-6100. mfb.morningstar.com.

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