Form 485BPOS AMERICAN FUNDS SHORT-TER

Article Stock Quotes (2)

March 16, 2017 6:02 AM EDT

E-mail

SEC. File Nos. 033-26431

811-05750

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

____________________

FORM N-1A

Registration Statement

Under

the Securities Act of 1933

Post-Effective Amendment No. 52

and

Registration Statement

Under

the Investment Company Act of 1940

Amendment No. 54

____________________

AMERICAN FUNDS SHORT-TERM TAX-EXEMPT BOND FUND

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

333 South Hope Street

Los Angeles, California 90071-1406

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code:

(213) 486-9200

____________________

Steven I. Koszalka, Secretary

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund

333 South Hope Street

Los Angeles, California 90071-1406

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

Copies to:

Michael Glazer

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

300 South Grand Avenue, 22nd Floor

Los Angeles, California 90071-3132

(Counsel for the Registrant)

____________________

Approximate date of proposed public offering:

It is proposed that this filing will become effective on March 17, 2017, pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 485.

American Funds
Short-Term Tax-Exempt
Bond Fund^®

Prospectus

March 17, 2017


Class	R-6
	N/A

Table of contents

Investment objective	1
Fees and expenses of the fund	1
Principal investment strategies	2
Principal risks	3
Investment results	5
Management	7
Purchase and sale of fund shares	7
Tax information	7
Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries	7
Investment objectives, strategies and risks	8
Management and organization	14
Purchase, exchange and sale of shares	17
How to sell shares	20
Distributions and taxes	23
Choosing a share class	24
Sales charges	24
Other compensation to dealers	25
Fund expenses	26
Appendix	27

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved of these securities. Further, it has not determined that this prospectus is accurate or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

Investment objective The fund’s investment objective is to provide you with current income exempt from regular federal income tax, consistent with the maturity and quality standards described in this prospectus, and to preserve capital.

Fees and expenses of the fund This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund.


Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Share class:	R-6
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	none
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of the amount redeemed)	none
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested dividends	none
Redemption or exchange fees	none


Annual fund operating expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Share class:	R-6
Management fees	0.37%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees	none
Other expenses	0.08^*
Total annual fund operating expenses	0.45

* Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.

Example This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:


Share class:	R-6
1 year	$ 46
3 years	144
5 years	252
10 years	567

1 American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus

Portfolio turnover The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s investment results. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 21% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies Under normal circumstances, 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 income tax and that do not subject you to federal alternative minimum tax. The fund may also invest up to 20% of its assets in securities that may subject you to federal alternative minimum tax. The fund invests primarily in debt securities rated AA- or better or Aa3 or better by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations 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 also invest in debt securities rated A- or better or A3 or better by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations designated by the fund’s investment adviser, or unrated but determined by the fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. Some of the securities in which the fund invests may have credit and liquidity support features, including guarantees and letters of credit. The fund’s aggregate portfolio will have a dollar-weighted average effective maturity no greater than three years.

The investment adviser uses a system of multiple portfolio managers in managing the fund’s assets. Under this approach, the portfolio of the fund is divided into segments managed by individual managers who decide how their respective segments will be invested.

The fund relies on the professional judgment of its investment adviser to make decisions about the fund’s portfolio investments. The basic investment philosophy of the investment adviser is to seek to invest in attractively priced securities that, in its opinion, represent good, long-term investment opportunities. The investment adviser believes that an important way to accomplish this is by analyzing various factors, which may include the credit strength of the issuer, prices of similar securities issued by comparable issuers, anticipated changes in interest rates, general market conditions and other factors pertinent to the particular security being evaluated. Securities may be sold when the investment adviser believes that they no longer represent relatively attractive investment opportunities.

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Principal risks This section describes the principal risks associated with the fund’s principal investment strategies. You may lose money by investing in the fund. The likelihood of loss may be greater if you invest for a shorter period of time.

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the securities held by the fund may decline – sometimes rapidly or unpredictably – due to various factors, including events or conditions affecting the general economy or particular industries; overall market changes; local, regional or global political, social or economic instability; governmental or governmental agency responses to economic conditions; and currency exchange rate, interest rate and commodity price fluctuations.

Issuer risks — The prices of, and the income generated by, securities held by the fund may decline in response to various factors directly related to the issuers of such securities, including reduced demand for an issuer’s goods or services, poor management performance and strategic initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions or dispositions and the market response to any such initiatives.

Investing in municipal securities — The yield and/or value of the fund’s investments in municipal securities may be adversely affected by events tied to the municipal securities markets, which can be very volatile and significantly impacted by unfavorable legislative or political developments and negative changes in the financial conditions of municipal securities issuers and the economy. To the extent the fund invests in obligations of a municipal issuer, the volatility, credit quality and performance of the fund may be adversely impacted by local political and economic conditions of the issuer. For example, a credit rating downgrade, bond default or bankruptcy involving an issuer within a particular state or territory could affect the market values and marketability of many or all municipal obligations of that state or territory. Income from municipal securities held by the fund could also be declared taxable because of changes in tax laws or interpretations by taxing authorities or as a result of noncompliant conduct of a municipal issuer. Additionally, the relative amount of publicly available information about municipal securities is generally less than that for corporate securities.

Investing in debt instruments — The prices of, and the income generated by, bonds and other debt securities held by the fund may be affected by changing interest rates and by changes in the effective maturities and credit ratings of these securities.

Rising interest rates will generally cause the prices of bonds and other debt securities to fall. Falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem, call or refinance a debt security before its stated maturity, which may result in the fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities. Longer maturity debt securities generally have greater sensitivity to changes in interest rates and may be subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities.

Bonds and other debt securities are also subject to credit risk, which is the possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest and the security will go into default. Lower quality debt securities generally have higher rates of interest and may be subject to greater price fluctuations than higher quality debt securities. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the credit ratings of the debt securities in which the fund invests. However, ratings are only the opinions of the rating agencies issuing them and are not guarantees as to credit quality or an evaluation of market risk. The fund’s investment adviser relies on

3 American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus

its own credit analysts to research issuers and issues in seeking to mitigate various credit and default risks.

Liquidity risk — Certain fund holdings may be deemed to be less liquid or illiquid because they cannot be readily sold without significantly impacting the value of the holdings. Liquidity risk may result from the lack of an active market for a holding, legal or contractual restrictions on resale, or the reduced number and capacity of market participants to make a market in such holding. Market prices for less liquid or illiquid holdings may be volatile, and reduced liquidity may have an adverse impact on the market price of such holdings. Additionally, the sale of less liquid or illiquid holdings may involve substantial delays (including delays in settlement) and additional costs and the fund may be unable to sell such holdings when necessary to meet its liquidity needs.

Credit and liquidity support — Changes in the credit quality of banks and financial institutions providing credit and liquidity support features with respect to securities held by the fund could cause the values of these securities to decline.

Investing in similar municipal bonds — Investing significantly in municipal obligations of multiple issuers in the same state or backed by revenues of similar types of projects or industries may make the fund more susceptible to certain economic, political or regulatory occurrences. As a result, the potential for fluctuations in the fund’s share price may increase.

Management — The investment adviser to the fund actively manages the fund’s investments. Consequently, the fund is subject to the risk that the methods and analyses employed by the investment adviser in this process may not produce the desired results. This could cause the fund to lose value or its investment results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, entity or person. You should consider how this fund fits into your overall investment program.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus 4

Investment results The following bar chart shows how the fund’s investment results have varied from year to year, and the following table shows how the fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of securities market results and other applicable measures of market results. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The Lipper Short Municipal Debt Funds Average includes the fund and other funds that disclose investment objectives and/or strategies reasonably comparable to those of the fund. The results below and on the following page for certain periods shown reflect the operation of the fund as a money market fund prior to its conversion on August 7, 2009 to a short-term tax-exempt bond fund. Accordingly, results for such periods are not representative of the fund’s results had the fund been operated as a short-term tax-exempt bond fund during the entire period. Past investment results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future investment results. Updated information on the fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting americanfunds.com. Investment results for Class R-6 shares are not presented because the class had not commenced operations as of December 31, 2016. However, results for Class A shares are presented because Class A is the class of shares with the longest period of operation. Other share classes, including Class R-6 shares, have different expenses and therefore different investment results.

5 American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus


Average annual total returns For the periods ended December 31, 2016 (with maximum sales charge):
Share class	Inception date	1 year	5 years	10 years
A — Before taxes	10/24/1989	–2.53%	0.18%	1.05%
— After taxes on distributions		–2.53	0.18	1.05
— After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		–0.98	0.40	1.11


Indexes	1 year	5 years	10 years
Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Short 1-5 Years Index (reflects no deductions for sales charges, account fees, expenses or U.S. federal income taxes)	0.07%	1.09%	2.64%
Lipper Short Municipal Debt Funds Average (reflects no deductions for sales charges, account fees or U.S. federal income taxes)	–0.11	0.62	1.56
Class A annualized 30-day yield at January 31, 2017: 1.16% (For current yield information, please call American FundsLine^® at (800) 325-3590.)

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus 6

After-tax returns are shown only for Class A shares; after-tax returns for other share classes will vary. After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect during each year of the periods shown and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above.

Management

Investment adviser Capital Research and Management Company^SM
Portfolio managers The individuals primarily responsible for the portfolio management of the fund are:


Portfolio manager/ Fund title (if applicable)	Portfolio manager experience in this fund	Primary title with investment adviser
Neil L. Langberg President	8 years	Partner – Capital Fixed Income Investors
Aaron Applebaum Vice President	Less than 1 year	Vice President – Capital Fixed Income Investors

Purchase and sale of fund shares Class R-6 shares are generally available for purchase only by American Funds Portfolio Series^SM and other investment companies deemed appropriate by the fund’s investment adviser.

The minimum amount to establish an account for all share classes is $250 and the minimum to add to an account is $50.

Tax information Fund distributions of interest on municipal bonds are generally not subject to federal income tax. However, the fund may distribute taxable dividends, including distributions of short-term capital gains, which are subject to federal taxation as ordinary income. To the extent the fund is permitted to invest in bonds subject to federal alternative minimum tax, interest on certain bonds may be subject to federal alternative minimum tax. The fund’s distributions of net long-term capital gains are taxable as long-term capital gains for federal income tax purposes.

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries If you purchase shares of the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund and the fund’s distributor or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your individual financial advisor to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

7 American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus

Investment objectives, strategies and risks The fund’s investment objective is to provide you with current income exempt from regular federal income tax, consistent with the maturity and quality standards described in this prospectus, and to preserve capital. Under normal circumstances, 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 income tax and that do not subject you to federal alternative minimum tax. The fund may also invest up to 20% of its assets in securities that may subject you to federal alternative minimum tax.

The fund invests primarily in debt securities rated AA- or better or Aa3 or better by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations 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 also invest in debt securities rated A- or better or A3 or better by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations designated by the fund’s investment adviser, or unrated but determined by the fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. Some of the securities in which the fund invests may have credit and liquidity support features, including guarantees and letters of credit. The fund’s aggregate portfolio will have a dollar-weighted average effective maturity no greater than three years.

Municipal bonds are debt obligations generally issued to obtain funds for various public purposes, including the construction of public facilities.

A bond’s effective maturity is the market’s trading assessment of its maturity and represents an estimate of the most likely time period during which an investor in that bond will receive payment of principal. For example, as market interest rates decline, issuers may exercise call provisions that shorten the bond’s effective maturity. Conversely, if interest rates rise, effective maturities tend to lengthen. A portfolio’s dollar-weighted average effective maturity is the weighted average of all effective maturities in the portfolio, where more weight is given to larger holdings.

The fund may also hold cash or money market instruments, including commercial paper and short-term securities issued by the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities. The percentage of the fund invested in such holdings varies and depends on various factors, including market conditions and purchases and redemptions of fund shares. The investment adviser may determine that it is appropriate to invest a substantial portion of the fund’s assets in such instruments in response to certain circumstances, such as periods of market turmoil. In addition, for temporary defensive purposes, the fund may invest without limitation in such instruments. A larger percentage of such holdings could moderate the fund’s investment results in a period of rising market prices. Alternatively, a larger percentage of such holdings could reduce the magnitude of the fund’s loss in a period of falling market prices and provide liquidity to make additional investments or to meet redemptions.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus 8

The following are principal risks associated with the fund’s investment strategies.

9 American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus 10

Investing in lower rated debt instruments — Lower rated bonds and other lower rated debt securities generally have higher rates of interest and involve greater risk of default or price declines due to changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness than those of higher quality debt securities. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate more than the prices of higher quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. These risks may be increased with respect to investments in lower quality, higher yielding debt securities rated Ba1 or below and BB+ or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations designated by the fund’s investment adviser or unrated but determined by the investment adviser to be of equivalent quality, which securities are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds.”

The following are certain additional risks associated with the fund’s investment strategies.

Alternative minimum tax — The fund (other than The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America) may invest in securities that may subject you to federal 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 of the distributions may be included in determining a shareholder’s federal alternative minimum tax.

Interest rate risk — The values and liquidity of the securities held by the fund may be affected by changing interest rates. For example, the values of these securities may decline when interest rates rise and increase when interest rates fall. Longer maturity debt securities generally have greater sensitivity to changes in interest rates and may be subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities. The fund may invest in variable and floating rate securities. Although the values of such securities are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than those of other debt securities, the value of variable and floating rate securities may decline if their interest rates do not rise as quickly, or as much, as general interest rates. Conversely, floating rate securities will not generally increase in value if interest rates decline. During periods of extremely low short-term interest rates, the fund may not be able to maintain a positive yield and, given the current historically low interest rate environment, risks associated with rising rates are currently heightened.

11 American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus

Exposure to country, region, industry or sector — Subject to the fund’s investment limitations, the fund may have significant exposure to a particular country, region, industry or sector. Such exposure may cause the fund to be more impacted by risks relating to the country, region, industry or sector than a fund without such levels of exposure. For example, if the fund has significant exposure in a particular country, then social, economic, regulatory or other issues that negatively affect that country may have a greater impact on the fund than on a fund that is more geographically diversified.

In addition to the principal investment strategies described above, the fund has other investment practices that are described in the statement of additional information, which includes a description of other risks related to the fund’s principal investment strategies and other investment practices. The fund’s investment results will depend on the ability of the fund’s investment adviser to navigate the risks discussed above as well as those described in the statement of additional information.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus 12

Fund comparative indexes The investment results table in this prospectus show how the fund’s average annual total returns compare with various broad measures of market results. The Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Short 1–5 Years Index is a market-value-weighted index that includes investment-grade tax-exempt bonds with maturities of one to five years. This index is unmanaged, and its results include reinvested distributions but do not reflect the effect of sales charges, commissions, account fees, expenses or U.S. federal income taxes. This index began on July 31, 2005; therefore, results covering periods prior to that date are not shown.

The Lipper Short Municipal Debt Funds Average is composed of funds that invest in municipal debt issues with dollar-weighted average maturities of less than three years. The results of the underlying funds in the average include reinvestment of dividends and capital gain distributions, as well as brokerage commissions paid by the funds for portfolio transactions and other fund expenses, but do not reflect the effect of sales charges, account fees or U.S. federal income taxes.

Fund results All fund results in this prospectus reflect the reinvestment of dividends and capital gain distributions, if any. Unless otherwise noted, fund results reflect any fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements in effect during the periods presented.

13 American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus

Management and organization

Investment adviser Capital Research and Management Company, an experienced investment management organization founded in 1931, serves as the investment adviser to the fund and other funds, including the American Funds. Capital Research and Management Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Capital Group Companies, Inc. and is located at 333 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, California 90071. Capital Research and Management Company manages the investment portfolio and business affairs of the fund. The total management fee paid by the fund to its investment adviser for the most recent fiscal year, as a percentage of average net assets, appears in the Annual Fund Operating Expenses tables under “Fees and expenses of the fund.” The management fee for the fund is based on the daily net assets of the fund and the fund’s monthly gross investment income. Please see the statement of additional information for further details. A discussion regarding the basis for approval of the fund’s Investment Advisory and Service Agreement by the fund’s board of trustees is contained in the fund’s annual report to shareholders for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016.

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.

The equity investment divisions may, in the future, be incorporated as wholly owned subsidiaries of Capital Research and Management Company. In that event, Capital Research and Management Company would continue to be the investment adviser, and day-to-day investment management of equity assets would continue to be carried out through one or more of these subsidiaries. Although not currently contemplated, Capital Research and Management Company could incorporate its fixed-income investment division in the future and engage it to provide day-to-day investment management of fixed-income assets. Capital Research and Management Company and each of the funds it advises have received an exemptive order from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that allows Capital Research and Management Company to use, upon approval of the fund’s board, its management subsidiaries and affiliates to provide day-to-day investment management services to the fund, including making changes to the management subsidiaries and affiliates providing such services. The fund’s shareholders have approved this arrangement; however, there is no assurance that Capital Research and Management Company will incorporate its investment divisions or exercise any authority granted to it under the exemptive order.

Portfolio holdings Portfolio holdings information for the fund is available on the American Funds website at americanfunds.com. A description of the fund’s policies and procedures regarding disclosure of information about its portfolio holdings is available in the statement of additional information.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus 14

The Capital System^SM Capital Research and Management Company uses a system of multiple portfolio managers in managing mutual fund assets. Under this approach, the portfolio of a fund is divided into segments managed by individual managers who decide how their respective segments will be invested. In addition, Capital Research and Management Company’s investment analysts may make investment decisions with respect to a portion of a fund’s portfolio. Investment decisions are subject to a fund’s objective(s), policies and restrictions and the oversight of the appropriate investment-related committees of Capital Research and Management Company and its investment divisions.

15 American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus

Certain senior members of Capital Fixed Income Investors, the investment adviser’s fixed-income investment division, serve on the Portfolio Strategy Group. The group utilizes a research-driven process with input from the investment adviser’s analysts, portfolio managers and economists to define investment themes on a range of macroeconomic factors, including duration, yield curve and sector allocation. The investment decisions made by the fund’s portfolio managers are informed by the investment themes discussed by the group.

The table below shows the investment experience and role in management of the fund for the fund’s primary portfolio managers.


Portfolio manager	Investment experience	Experience in this fund	Role in management of the fund
Neil L. Langberg	Investment professional for 41 years in total; 39 years with Capital Research and Management Company or affiliate	8 years	Serves as a fixed-income portfolio manager
Aaron Applebaum	Investment professional for 16 years in total; 9 years with Capital Research and Management Company or affiliate	Less than 1 year	Serves as a fixed-income portfolio manager

Information regarding the portfolio managers’ compensation, their ownership of securities in the fund and other accounts they manage is in the statement of additional information.

Certain privileges and/or services described on the following pages of this prospectus and in the statement of additional information may not be available to you, depending on your investment dealer. Please see your financial advisor or investment dealer for more information.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus 16

Purchase, exchange and sale of shares The fund’s transfer agent, on behalf of the fund and American Funds Distributors,^® the fund’s distributor, is required by law to obtain certain personal information from you or any other person(s) acting on your behalf in order to verify your or such person’s identity. If you do not provide the information, the transfer agent may not be able to open your account. If the transfer agent is unable to verify your identity or that of any other person(s) authorized to act on your behalf, or believes it has identified potentially criminal activity, the fund and American Funds Distributors reserve the right to close your account or take such other action they deem reasonable or required by law.

When purchasing shares, you should designate the fund or funds in which you wish to invest. Subject to the exception below, if no fund is designated, your money will be held uninvested (without liability to the transfer agent for loss of income or appreciation pending receipt of proper instructions) until investment instructions are received, but for no more than three business days. Your investment will be made at the net asset value (plus any applicable sales charge, in the case of Class A shares) next determined after investment instructions are received and accepted by the transfer agent. If investment instructions are not received, your money will be invested in Class A shares of American Funds U.S. Government Money Market Fund^® on the third business day after receipt of your investment.

If the amount of your cash investment is $10,000 or less, no fund is designated, and you made a cash investment (excluding exchanges) within the last 16 months, your money will be invested in the same proportion and in the same fund or funds and in the same class of shares in which your last cash investment was made.

Different procedures may apply to certain employer-sponsored arrangements, including, but not limited to, SEPs and SIMPLE IRAs.

Valuing shares The net asset value of each share class of the fund is the value of a single share of that class. The fund calculates the net asset value each day the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading as of approximately 4 p.m. New York time, the normal close of regular trading. If, for example, the New York Stock Exchange closes at 1 p.m. New York time, the fund’s net asset value would still be determined as of 4 p.m. New York time. In this example, portfolio securities traded on the New York Stock Exchange would be valued at their closing prices unless the investment adviser determines that a “fair value” adjustment is appropriate due to subsequent events.

Equity securities are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations, and debt securities are valued primarily on the basis of prices from third-party pricing services. The fund has adopted procedures for making fair value determinations if market quotations or prices from third-party pricing services, as applicable, are not readily available or are not considered reliable. For example, if events occur between the close of markets outside the United States and the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange that, in the opinion of the investment adviser, materially affect the value of any of the fund’s equity securities that trade principally in those international markets, those securities will be valued in accordance with fair value procedures. Similarly, fair value procedures may be employed if an issuer defaults on its debt securities and there is no market for its securities. Use of these procedures is intended to result in more appropriate net asset values and, where applicable, to reduce potential arbitrage opportunities otherwise available to short-term investors.

17 American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus

Your shares will be purchased at the net asset value or sold at the net asset value next determined after American Funds Service Company^®receives your request, provided that your request contains all information and legal documentation necessary to process the transaction.

Purchase of Class R shares Class R-6 shares are generally available for purchase only by American Funds Portfolio Series and other investment companies deemed appropriate by the fund’s investment adviser or distributor. Therefore, any information included in this prospectus regarding purchases by retirement plans or other group accounts is not applicable. Class R shares are generally available only to retirement plans established under Internal Revenue Code Sections 401(a), 403(b) or 457, and to nonqualified deferred compensation plans and certain voluntary employee benefit association and post-retirement benefit plans. Class R shares also are generally available only to retirement plans for which plan level or omnibus accounts are held on the books of the fund. Class R-6 shares are generally available only to fee-based programs or through retirement plan intermediaries. Class R shares generally are not available to retail nonretirement accounts, traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts (IRAs), Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs and 529 college savings plans.

Purchases by employer-sponsored retirement plans Eligible retirement plans generally may open an account and purchase Class A or R shares by contacting any investment dealer (who may impose transaction charges in addition to those described in this prospectus) authorized to sell these classes of the fund’s shares. Some or all R share classes may not be available through certain investment dealers. Additional shares may be purchased through a plan’s administrator or recordkeeper.

Employer-sponsored retirement plans that are eligible to purchase Class R shares may instead purchase Class A shares and pay the applicable Class A sales charge, provided that their recordkeepers can properly apply a sales charge on plan investments. These plans are not eligible to make initial purchases of $1 million or more in Class A shares and thereby invest in Class A shares without a sales charge, nor are they eligible to establish a statement of intention that qualifies them to purchase Class A shares without a sales charge. Plans investing in Class A shares with a sales charge may purchase additional Class A shares in accordance with the sales charge table in this prospectus.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus 18

Purchase minimums and maximums Purchase minimums described in this prospectus may be waived in certain cases. In addition, the fund reserves the right to redeem the shares of any shareholder for their then current net asset value per share if the shareholder’s aggregate investment in the fund falls below the fund’s minimum initial investment amount. See the statement of additional information for details.

For accounts established with an automatic investment plan, the initial purchase minimum of $250 may be waived if the purchases (including purchases through exchanges from another fund) made under the plan are sufficient to reach $250 within five months of account establishment.

Exchange Generally, you may exchange your shares for shares of the same class of other American Funds without a sales charge.

Exchanges have the same tax consequences as ordinary sales and purchases. For example, to the extent you exchange shares held in a taxable account that are worth more now than what you paid for them, the gain will be subject to taxation.

See “Transactions by telephone, fax or the Internet” in the section “How to sell shares” of this prospectus for information regarding electronic exchanges.

Please see the statement of additional information for details and limitations on moving investments in certain share classes to different share classes and on moving investments held in certain accounts to different accounts.

19 American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus

How to sell shares

You may sell (redeem) shares in any of the following ways:

Employer-sponsored retirement plans

Shares held in eligible retirement plans may be sold through the plan’s administrator or recordkeeper.

Writing to American Funds Service Company

· Requests must be signed by the registered shareholder(s).

· A signature guarantee is required if the redemption is:

— more than $125,000;

— made payable to someone other than the registered shareholder(s); or

— sent to an address other than the address of record or to an address of record that has been changed within the previous 10 days.

· American Funds Service Company reserves the right to require signature guarantee(s) on any redemption.

· Additional documentation may be required for redemptions of shares held in corporate, partnership or fiduciary accounts.

Telephoning or faxing American Funds Service Company or using the Internet

· Redemptions by telephone, fax or the Internet (including American FundsLine^® and americanfunds.com) are limited to $125,000 per American Funds shareholder each day.

· Checks must be made payable to the registered shareholder.

· Checks must be mailed to an address of record that has been used with the account for at least 10 days.

If you recently purchased shares and subsequently request a redemption of those shares, you will receive proceeds from the redemption once a sufficient period of time has passed to reasonably ensure that checks or drafts, including certified or cashier’s checks, for the shares purchased have cleared (normally 10 business days).

Although payment of redemptions normally will be in cash, the fund’s declaration of trust permits payment of the redemption price wholly or partly with portfolio securities or other fund assets under conditions and circumstances determined by the fund’s board of trustees. The disposal of the securities received in-kind may be subject to brokerage costs and, until sold, such securities remain at market risk and liquidity risk, including the risk that such securities are or become difficult to sell. If the fund pays your redemption with illiquid or less liquid securities, you will bear the risk of not being able to sell such securities.

Transactions by telephone, fax or the Internet Generally, you are automatically eligible to redeem or exchange shares by telephone, fax or the Internet, unless you notify us in writing that you do not want any or all of these services. You may reinstate these services at any time.

Unless you decide not to have telephone, fax or Internet services on your account(s), you agree to hold each fund, American Funds Service Company, any of its affiliates or mutual funds managed by such affiliates, and each of their respective directors, trustees, officers, employees and agents harmless from any losses, expenses, costs or liabilities (including attorney fees) that may be incurred in connection with the exercise of these

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus 20

privileges, provided that American Funds Service Company employs reasonable procedures to confirm that the instructions received from any person with appropriate account information are genuine. If reasonable procedures are not employed, American Funds Service Company and/or the fund may be liable for losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions.

Frequent trading of fund shares The fund and American Funds Distributors reserve the right to reject any purchase order for any reason. The fund is not designed to serve as a vehicle for frequent trading. Frequent trading of fund shares may lead to increased costs to the fund and less efficient management of the fund’s portfolio, potentially resulting in dilution of the value of the shares held by long-term shareholders. Accordingly, purchases, including those that are part of exchange activity, that the fund or American Funds Distributors has determined could involve actual or potential harm to the fund may be rejected.

The fund, through its transfer agent, American Funds Service Company, maintains surveillance procedures that are designed to detect frequent trading in fund shares. Under these procedures, various analytics are used to evaluate factors that may be indicative of frequent trading. For example, transactions in fund shares that exceed certain monetary thresholds may be scrutinized. American Funds Service Company also may review transactions that occur close in time to other transactions in the same account or in multiple accounts under common ownership or influence. Trading activity that is identified through these procedures or as a result of any other information available to the fund will be evaluated to determine whether such activity might constitute frequent trading. These procedures may be modified from time to time as appropriate to improve the detection of frequent trading, to facilitate monitoring for frequent trading in particular retirement plans or other accounts and to comply with applicable laws.

In addition to the fund’s broad ability to restrict potentially harmful trading as described above, the fund’s board of trustees has adopted a “purchase blocking policy” under which any shareholder redeeming shares having a value of $5,000 or more from a fund will be precluded from investing in that fund for 30 calendar days after the redemption transaction. This policy also applies to redemptions and purchases that are part of exchange transactions. Under the fund’s purchase blocking policy, certain purchases will not be prevented and certain redemptions will not trigger a purchase block, such as:

· purchases and redemptions of shares having a value of less than $5,000;

· purchases and redemptions by investment companies managed or sponsored by the fund’s investment adviser or its affiliates, including reallocations and transactions allowing the investment company to meet its redemptions and purchases;

· retirement plan contributions, loans and distributions (including hardship withdrawals) identified as such on the retirement plan recordkeeper’s system;

· purchase transactions involving in-kind transfers of shares of the fund, rollovers, Roth IRA conversions and IRA recharacterizations, if the entity maintaining the shareholder account is able to identify the transaction as one of these types of transactions; and

· systematic redemptions and purchases, if the entity maintaining the shareholder account is able to identify the transaction as a systematic redemption or purchase.

Generally, purchases and redemptions will not be considered “systematic” unless the transaction is prescheduled for a specific date.

21 American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus

The fund reserves the right to waive the purchase blocking policy with respect to specific shareholder accounts if American Funds Service Company determines that its surveillance procedures are adequate to detect frequent trading in fund shares in such accounts.

American Funds Service Company will work with certain intermediaries (such as investment dealers holding shareholder accounts in street name, retirement plan recordkeepers, insurance company separate accounts and bank trust companies) to apply their own procedures, provided that American Funds Service Company believes the intermediary’s procedures are reasonably designed to enforce the frequent trading policies of the fund. You should refer to disclosures provided by the intermediaries with which you have an account to determine the specific trading restrictions that apply to you.

If American Funds Service Company identifies any activity that may constitute frequent trading, it reserves the right to contact the intermediary and request that the intermediary either provide information regarding an account owner’s transactions or restrict the account owner’s trading. If American Funds Service Company is not satisfied that the intermediary has taken appropriate action, American Funds Service Company may terminate the intermediary’s ability to transact in fund shares.

There is no guarantee that all instances of frequent trading in fund shares will be prevented.

Notwithstanding the fund’s surveillance procedures and purchase blocking policy described above, all transactions in fund shares remain subject to the right of the fund, American Funds Distributors and American Funds Service Company to restrict potentially abusive trading generally, including the types of transactions described above that will not be prevented or trigger a block under the purchase blocking policy. See the statement of additional information for more information about how American Funds Service Company may address other potentially abusive trading activity in the American Funds.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus 22

Distributions and taxes

Dividends and distributions The fund declares daily dividends from net investment income and distributes the accrued dividends, which may fluctuate, to you each month. Generally, dividends begin accruing on the day payment for shares is received by the fund or American Funds Service Company.

Capital gains, if any, are usually distributed in November or December. When a dividend or capital gain is distributed, the net asset value per share is reduced by the amount of the payment.

You may elect to reinvest dividends and/or capital gain distributions to purchase additional shares of this fund or other American Funds, or you may elect to receive them in cash.

Taxes on dividends and distributions Interest on municipal bonds is generally not included in gross income for federal tax purposes. Subject to certain requirements, the fund is permitted to pass through to its shareholders the interest earned on municipal bonds as federally exempt-interest dividends. Taxable dividends, including distributions of short-term capital gains, however, are subject to federal taxation at the applicable rates for ordinary income. To the extent the fund is permitted to invest in bonds subject to federal alternative minimum tax, interest earned on certain bonds may be treated as income subject to federal alternative minimum tax. The fund’s distributions of net long-term capital gains are taxable as long-term capital gains.

Depending on their state of residence, shareholders of the fund may be able to exempt from state taxation some or all of the federally tax-exempt income dividends paid by the fund.

Moreover, any federally taxable dividends and capital gains distributions from the fund may also be subject to state tax.

Any taxable dividends or capital gain distributions you receive from the fund normally will be taxable to you when made, regardless of whether you reinvest dividends or capital gain distributions or receive them in cash.

Taxes on transactions Your redemptions, including exchanges, may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on your investment is the difference between the cost of your shares, including any sales charges, and the amount you receive when you sell them.

Shareholder fees Fees borne directly by the fund normally have the effect of reducing a shareholder’s taxable income on distributions. By contrast, fees paid directly to advisors by a fund shareholder for ongoing advice are deductible for income tax purposes only to the extent that they (combined with certain other qualifying expenses) exceed 2% of such shareholder’s adjusted gross income.

Please see your tax advisor for more information.

23 American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus

Choosing a share class Class R-6 shares are generally available for purchase only by American Funds Portfolio Series and other investment companies deemed appropriate by the fund’s investment adviser or distributor. Therefore, any information included in this prospectus regarding purchases by retirement plans or other group accounts is not applicable. Class R shares are generally available only to retirement plans established under Internal Revenue Code Sections 401(a) (including 401(k) plans), 403(b) or 457, and to nonqualified deferred compensation plans and certain voluntary employee benefit association and post-retirement benefit plans.

Each investor’s financial considerations are different. You should speak with your financial advisor to help you decide which share class is best for you.

Sales charges

Class R shares Class R shares are sold without any initial or contingent deferred sales charge. No dealer compensation is paid from fund assets on sales of Class R-6 shares.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus 24

Other compensation to dealers American Funds Distributors, at its expense, provides additional compensation to investment dealers. These payments may be made, at the discretion of American Funds Distributors, to the top 100 dealers (or their affiliates) that have sold shares of the American Funds. A number of factors will be considered in determining payments, including the qualifying dealer’s sales, assets and positive cash flows, and the quality of the dealer’s relationship with American Funds Distributors. The payment will be determined using a formula applied consistently to dealers based on the relevant facts and circumstances. The level of payments made to a qualifying firm in any given year will vary and (excluding payments for meetings as described below) will represent the sum of (a) up to .10% of the previous year’s American Funds sales by that dealer and (b) up to .02% of American Funds assets attributable to that dealer, with an adjustment made for the dealer’s positive cash flows and the quality of the dealer’s relationship with American Funds Distributors. For calendar year 2016, aggregate payments made by American Funds Distributors to dealers were less than .02% of the average assets of the American Funds. Aggregate payments made by American Funds Distributors to dealers may also change from year to year. American Funds Distributors makes these payments to help defray the costs incurred by qualifying dealers in connection with efforts to educate financial advisors about the American Funds so that they can make recommendations and provide services that are suitable and meet shareholder needs. These payments may also be made to help defray the costs associated with the dealer firms’ provision of account related services and activities. American Funds Distributors will, on an annual basis, determine the advisability of continuing these payments.

Firms receiving additional compensation payments must sign a letter acknowledging the purpose of the payment and American Funds Distributors’ goal that the payment will help facilitate education of the firm’s financial advisors about the American Funds to help the advisors make suitable recommendations and better serve their clients who invest in the funds. The letters generally require the firms to (1) have significant assets invested in the American Funds, (2) perform the due diligence necessary to classify the American Funds as “approved” or “preferred” (or an equivalent) on their platform, (3) not provide financial advisors, branch managers or associated persons with any financial incentives to promote the sales of one approved fund group over another approved group, (4) provide opportunities for their clients to obtain individualized advice, (5) provide American Funds Distributors broad access to their financial advisors and product platforms and develop a business plan to achieve such access, and (6) work with the fund’s transfer agent to promote operational efficiencies and to facilitate necessary communication between the American Funds and the firm’s clients who own shares of the American Funds.

American Funds Distributors may also pay expenses associated with meetings and other training and educational opportunities conducted by selling dealers, advisory platform providers and other intermediaries to facilitate educating financial advisors and shareholders about the American Funds. For example, some of these expenses may include, but not be limited to, meeting sponsor fees, meeting location fees, and fees to obtain lists of financial advisors to better tailor training and education opportunities.

If investment advisers, distributors or other affiliates of mutual funds pay additional compensation or other incentives to investment dealers in differing amounts, dealer firms and their advisors may have financial incentives for recommending a particular mutual fund over other mutual funds or investments. You should consult with your

25 American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus

financial advisor and review carefully any disclosure by your financial advisor’s firm as to compensation received.

Fund expenses In periods of market volatility, assets of the fund may decline significantly, causing total annual fund operating expenses (as a percentage of the value of your investment) to become higher than the numbers shown in the Annual Fund Operating Expenses tables in this prospectus.

“Other expenses” items in the Annual Fund Operating Expenses tables in this prospectus include fees for administrative services provided by the fund’s investment adviser and its affiliates. Administrative services include, but are not limited to, coordinating, monitoring, assisting and overseeing third parties that provide services to fund shareholders. The fund's investment adviser receives an administrative services fee at the annual rate of .05% of the average daily net assets of the fund attributable to Class R-6 shares for administrative services provided to this share class.

The “Other expenses” items in the Annual Fund Operating Expenses table for the fund also include custodial, legal, transfer agent payments and various other expenses.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus 26

Appendix

Moody’s long-term rating scale

Aaa — Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.

Aa — Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.

A — Obligations rated A are considered upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.

Baa — Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.

Ba — Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.

B — Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.

Caa — Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative and of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.

Ca — Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.

C — Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.

Note: Moody’s appends numerical modifiers 1, 2 and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category. Additionally, a “(hyb)” indicator is appended to all ratings of hybrid securities issued by banks, insurers, finance companies and securities firms.

Standard & Poor’s long-term-issue credit ratings

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (“S&P”) rates the long-term debt securities of various entities in categories ranging from AAA to D according to quality. The ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (–) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories. Ratings are described as follows:

AAA — An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by S&P. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.

AA — An obligation rated AA differs from the highest rated obligations only in a small degree. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.

A — An obligation rated A is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rated categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.

BBB — An obligation rated BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

27 American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus

BB, B, CCC, CC and C — Obligations rated BB, B, CCC, CC and C are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. BB indicates the least degree of speculation and C the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.

BB — An obligation rated BB is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial or economic conditions that could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

B — An obligation rated B is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated BB, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor’s capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

CCC — An obligation rated CCC is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

CC — An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The CC rating is used when a default has not occurred, but S&P expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.

C — An obligation rated C is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared to obligations that are rated higher.

D — An obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless S&P believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligation’s rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.

Plus (+) or minus (–) — The ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus or minus sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.

NR — This indicates that no rating has been requested, that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that S&P does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus 28

Fitch Ratings, Inc. long-term credit ratings

AAA — Highest credit quality. AAA ratings denote the lowest expectation of default risk. They are assigned only in case of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.

AA — Very high credit quality. AA ratings denote expectations of very low default risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.

A — High credit quality. A ratings denote expectations of low default risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to changes in circumstances or in economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.

BBB — Good credit quality. BBB ratings indicate that expectations of default risk are low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse changes in circumstances and economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.

BB — Speculative. BB ratings indicate an elevated vulnerability to default risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial flexibility exists which supports the servicing of financial commitments.

B — Highly speculative. B ratings indicate that material default risk is present, but a limited margin of safety remains. Financial commitments are currently being met; however, capacity for continued payment is vulnerable to deterioration in the business and economic environment.

CCC — Substantial credit risk. Default is a real possibility.

CC — Very high levels of credit risk. Default of some kind appears probable.

C — Exceptionally high levels of credit risk. Default is imminent or inevitable, or the issuer is in standstill. Conditions that are indicative of a C category rating for an issuer include:

· The issuer has entered into a grace or cure period following nonpayment of a material financial obligation;

· The issuer has entered into a temporary negotiated waiver or standstill agreement following a payment default on a material financial obligation; or

· Fitch Ratings otherwise believes a condition of RD or D to be imminent or inevitable, including through the formal announcement of a distressed debt exchange.

29 American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus

RD — Restricted default. RD ratings indicate an issuer that in Fitch Ratings’ opinion has experienced an uncured payment default on a bond, loan or other material financial obligation but which has not entered into bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation or other formal winding up procedure, and which has not otherwise ceased operating. This would include:

· The selective payment default on a specific class or currency of debt;

· The uncured expiry of any applicable grace period, cure period or default forbearance period following a payment default on a bank loan, capital markets security or other material financial obligation;

· The extension of multiple waivers or forbearance periods upon a payment default on one or more material financial obligations, either in series or in parallel; or

· Execution of a distressed debt exchange on one or more material financial obligations.

D — Default. D ratings indicate an issuer that in Fitch Ratings’ opinion has entered into bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation or other formal winding up procedure, or which has otherwise ceased business.

Default ratings are not assigned prospectively to entities or their obligations; within this context, nonpayment on an instrument that contains a deferral feature or grace period will generally not be considered a default until after the expiration of the deferral or grace period, unless a default is otherwise driven by bankruptcy or other similar circumstance, or by a distressed debt exchange.

Imminent default typically refers to the occasion where a payment default has been intimated by the issuer, and is all but inevitable. This may, for example, be where an issuer has missed a scheduled payment, but (as is typical) has a grace period during which it may cure the payment default. Another alternative would be where an issuer has formally announced a distressed debt exchange, but the date of the exchange still lies several days or weeks in the immediate future.

In all cases, the assignment of a default rating reflects the agency’s opinion as to the most appropriate rating category consistent with the rest of its universe of ratings, and may differ from the definition of default under the terms of an issuer’s financial obligations or local commercial practice.

Note: The modifiers “+” or “–” may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the AAA long-term rating category, or to categories below B.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund / Prospectus 30



	For shareholder services	American Funds Service Company (800) 421-4225
	For retirement plan services	Call your employer or plan administrator
	For 24-hour information	American FundsLine (800) 325-3590 americanfunds.com For Class R share information, visit AmericanFundsRetirement.com
	Telephone calls you have with American Funds may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance, verification and recordkeeping purposes. By speaking to American Funds on the telephone, you consent to such monitoring and recording.

Annual/Semi-annual report to shareholders The shareholder reports contain additional information about the fund, including financial statements, investment results, portfolio holdings, a discussion of market conditions and the fund’s investment strategies, and the independent registered public accounting firm’s reports (in the annual report).

Statement of additional information (SAI) and codes of ethics The current SAI, as amended from time to time, contains more detailed information about the fund, including the fund’s financial statements, and is incorporated by reference into this prospectus. This means that the current SAI, for legal purposes, is part of this prospectus. The codes of ethics describe the personal investing policies adopted by the fund, the fund’s investment adviser and its affiliated companies.

The codes of ethics and current SAI are on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These and other related materials about the fund are available for review or to be copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C., (202) 551-8090, on the EDGAR database on the SEC’s website at sec.gov or, after payment of a duplicating fee, via email request to [email protected] or by writing to the SEC’s Public Reference Section, 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. The codes of ethics, current SAI and shareholder reports are also available, free of charge, on our website, americanfunds.com.

E-delivery and household mailings Each year you are automatically sent an updated summary prospectus and annual and semi-annual reports for the fund. You may also occasionally receive proxy statements for the fund. In order to reduce the volume of mail you receive, when possible, only one copy of these documents will be sent to shareholders who are part of the same family and share the same household address. You may elect to receive these documents electronically in lieu of paper form by enrolling in e-delivery on our website, americanfunds.com.

If you would like to opt out of household-based mailings or receive a complimentary copy of the current SAI, codes of ethics or annual/semi-annual report to shareholders, please call American Funds Service Company at (800) 421-4225 or write to the secretary of the fund at 333 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, California 90071-1406.



	Litho in USA CGD/DFS/8020 Investment Company File No. 811-05750

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund^®
Class R-6 shares

Part B
Statement of Additional Information

March 17, 2017

This document is not a prospectus but should be read in conjunction with the current Class R-6 prospectus of American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund (“STEX”) dated March 17, 2017. The prospectus may be obtained from your financial advisor, by calling American Funds Service Company^® at (800) 421-4225 or by writing to the fund at the following address:

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund

Attention: Secretary

333 South Hope Street

Los Angeles, California 90071


Class R-6	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	16
Management of the fund	18
Execution of portfolio transactions	59
Disclosure of portfolio holdings	62
Price of shares	64
Taxes and distributions	67
Purchase and exchange of shares	70
Sales charges	75
Sales charge reductions and waivers	78
Selling shares	83
Shareholder account services and privileges	84
General information	87
Appendix	98

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — 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 will not purchase 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’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 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 Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 2

· 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.

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 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.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 3

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

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — 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.”

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 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.

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. For example, during the financial crisis of 2007-2009, the Federal Reserve implemented a number of economic policies that impacted, and may continue to impact, interest rates and the market. These policies, as well as potential actions by governmental entities both in and outside of the U.S., 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.

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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.

The investment adviser attempts to reduce the risks described above through diversification of the fund’s portfolio and by credit analysis of each issuer, as well as by monitoring broad economic trends and corporate and legislative developments, but there can be no assurance that it will be successful in doing so.

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.

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 generally issued to obtain funds for various public purposes, including the construction of public facilities. 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

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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 lease obligations — The fund may invest, without limitation, in municipal lease revenue obligations that are determined to be liquid by the investment adviser. In determining whether these securities are liquid, the investment adviser will consider, among other things, the credit quality and support, including strengths and weaknesses of the issuers and lessees, the terms of the lease, the frequency and volume of trading and the number of dealers trading the securities.

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 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-governmental insurance companies. When assigning a credit rating to an insured municipal bond the investment adviser considers the higher of the credit rating of the insurer, based on the insurer’s claims-paying ability, and the credit rating of the issuer (or the equivalent as determined by the investment adviser if the issuer is not rated by the rating agencies). Insurance that covers a municipal bond does not guarantee the market value of the bond or the prices of the fund’s shares. If the credit rating of the insurer were reduced, this could have an adverse effect upon the credit rating of the insured bond and, therefore, its market value.

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, 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, affect negatively the value of the fund’s holdings in such obligations.

The following section provides only a brief summary of the complex factors affecting the financial condition of Puerto Rico that could adversely affect the fund’s investments in Puerto Rico municipal obligations. This information is based on information publicly available from Commonwealth authorities and other sources available prior to July 15, 2016 and has not been independently verified.

For the last several years, certain municipal issuers in Puerto Rico have experienced — and, in some cases, continue to experience — significant financial difficulties. The Puerto Rican economy is characterized by ongoing economic stagnation and fiscal challenges, including persistent budget deficits, underfunded public pensions, high unemployment, significant debt service obligations and liquidity issues. On July 5, 2016, following Puerto Rico’s payment default on certain general obligation bonds, Fitch Ratings downgraded Puerto Rico’s issuer default rating to RD and its general obligation bond rating to D. From December 2015 through July 2016, the credit ratings of Puerto Rico’s general obligation bonds were downgraded by Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services to Caa3 and D, respectively. The downgraded credit rating has triggered the acceleration of certain of the Commonwealth’s debt instruments and additional collateral requirements for certain of

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its interest rate exchange agreements. More broadly, the credit rating downgrades have led to less market demand, less liquidity, wider spreads and lower prices for Puerto Rico municipal securities. Puerto Rico’s continued financial difficulties, including default and restructuring of certain Puerto Rico municipal securities, could further reduce its ability to access financial markets, which may adversely affect the fund’s investments and investment results.

In June 2014, Puerto Rico enacted the Puerto Rico Corporations Debt Enforcement and Recovery Act (the “Debt Enforcement Act”), which would have permitted certain public corporations in Puerto Rico to restructure their outstanding debt obligations should they become insolvent. Certain holders of Puerto Rico municipal debt filed suit to have the Debt Enforcement Act declared unconstitutional and unenforceable. In June 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Debt Enforcement Act is unconstitutional as preempted by the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and therefore void.

President Obama signed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (“PROMESA”) on June 30, 2016. The PROMESA allows Puerto Rico to restructure its outstanding debt obligations. It also establishes an oversight and management board that is empowered to approve Puerto Rico’s fiscal plans and budgets. Additionally, the PROMESA stays creditor litigation until the later of February 15, 2017 or six months after the establishment of the board. The stay also applies retroactively to litigation commenced since December 18, 2015.

On April 6, 2016, Governor Padilla signed into law the Puerto Rico Emergency Moratorium and Financial Rehabilitation Act (“Emergency Moratorium Act”), which enabled the Governor to declare a moratorium on debt payments until at least January 2017. Pursuant to the Emergency Moratorium Act, Governor Padilla issued an executive order on June 30, 2016 declaring a moratorium on the Commonwealth’s obligation to make payments on any bonds or notes issued or guaranteed by the Commonwealth. Accordingly, Puerto Rico did not make its debt payment of $1.9 billion scheduled for July 1, 2016. Holders of Puerto Rican general obligation bonds brought suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York challenging the Emergency Moratorium Act. Although it is not presently possible to predict the ultimate outcome of these proceedings, if the District Court upholds the Emergency Moratorium Act, issuers of Puerto Rican debt obligations will be temporarily permitted to suspend payments. Such a suspension of payments could have a negative impact on the marketability, liquidity or value of certain investments held by the fund, which could adversely affect its investment results.

Puerto Rico is a party to numerous legal proceedings that, if decided against the Commonwealth, might require the Commonwealth to make significant future expenditures or impair future revenue sources. Because of the prospective nature of these proceedings, it is not presently possible to predict the outcome of such litigation, estimate the potential impact on the ability of the Commonwealth to pay debt service costs on its obligations, or determine what impact, if any, such proceedings may have on the fund’s investments.

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 bonds — From time to time, a municipality may refund a bond that it has already issued prior to the original bond’s call date by issuing a second bond, the proceeds of which are used to purchase U.S. government securities. The securities are placed in an escrow account pursuant to an agreement between the municipality and an independent escrow agent. The principal and interest payments on the securities are then used to pay off the original bondholders.

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Cash and cash equivalents — The fund may hold cash and invest in cash equivalents. Cash equivalents include, but are not limited to: (a) 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); (b) 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); (c) 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; (d) tax-exempt variable rate debt issued by municipal conduits for corporate obligors; and (e) securities of the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities that mature, or that may be redeemed in one year or less.

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.

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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 and will segregate liquid assets that will be marked to market daily in an amount sufficient to meet its payment obligations in these transactions. Although these transactions will not be entered into for leveraging purposes, to the extent the fund’s aggregate commitments in connection with these transactions exceed its segregated assets, 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.

Variable and floating rate obligations — The interest rates payable on certain securities in which the fund may invest may not be fixed but may fluctuate based upon changes in market rates or credit ratings. Variable and floating rate obligations bear coupon rates that are adjusted at designated intervals, based on the then current market rates of interest or credit ratings. The rate adjustment features tend to limit the extent to which the market value of the obligations will fluctuate.

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.

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 they cannot be sold in the ordinary course of business at approximately the price at which the fund values them. The determination of whether a holding is considered liquid or illiquid is made by the fund’s adviser under procedures adopted by the fund’s board. The fund’s adviser makes this determination based on factors it deems relevant, such as the frequency and volume of trading, the commitment of dealers to make markets

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and the availability of qualified investors, all of which can change from time to time. The fund may incur significant additional costs in disposing of illiquid securities. If the fund holds more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid assets due to the appreciation of illiquid securities, the depreciation of liquid securities or changes in market conditions, the fund will seek over time to increase its investments in liquid securities to the extent practicable.

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 potential for fluctuations in the fund’s share price also may increase.

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

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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 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.

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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. Within New York City, the Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate (FIRE) sector represents the third largest number of jobs, but the largest amount of wages on a sector basis.

Today, unemployment rates remain significantly higher than before the recession that began in late 2007.

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.

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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, infection by computer viruses or other malicious software code or unauthorized access to the fund’s digital information systems, networks or devices through “hacking” or other means, in each case for the purpose of misappropriating assets or sensitive information (including, for example, personal shareholder information), corrupting data or causing operational disruption or failures in the physical infrastructure or operating systems that support the fund. 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 cause the fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity, which, in turn, could cause the fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional 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.

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.

* * * * * *

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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	2016	21%
	2015	38
LTEX	2016	16
	2015	19
TEBF	2016	13
	2015	14
AHIM	2016	21
	2015	23
TEFCA	2016	11
	2015	17
TEFNY*	2016	14
	2015	42

* The decrease in portfolio turnover rate for TEFNY was due to decreased trading activity during the period.

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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.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 16

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 securities are purchased and thereafter.

For the 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, to the extent the fund covers its commitments under certain types of agreements and transactions, including mortgage-dollar-roll transactions, sale-buybacks, when-issued, delayed-delivery, or forward commitment transactions, and other similar trading practices, by segregating or earmarking liquid assets equal in value to the amount of the fund’s commitment, such agreement or transaction will not be considered a senior security by the fund.

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 diversification, pre-refunded bonds will be treated as governmental issues.

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.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 17

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.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 18


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
William H. Baribault, 1945 Trustee (2010)	CEO and President, Richard Nixon Foundation; Chairman of the Board and CEO, Oakwood Enterprises (private investment and consulting)	80	General Finance Corporation	· Service as chief executive officer for multiple companies · Corporate board experience · Service on advisory and trustee boards for charitable, educational and nonprofit organizations
James G. Ellis, 1947 Trustee (STEX–2009; LTEX–2006; TEBF–2006; AHIM–2006; TEFCA–2006; TEFNY–2010)	Dean and Professor of Marketing, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California	80	Mercury General Corporation Former director of Quiksilver, Inc. (until 2014)	· Service as chief executive officer for multiple companies · Corporate board experience · Service on advisory and trustee boards for charitable, municipal and nonprofit organizations · MBA
Leonard R. Fuller, 1946 Trustee (STEX–1995; LTEX–1994; TEBF–1994; AHIM–1994; TEFCA–1994; TEFNY–2010)	Private investor; former President and CEO, Fuller Consulting (financial management consulting)	80	None	· Former partner, public accounting firm · Financial management consulting · Service on advisory and trustee boards for municipal, educational and nonprofit organizations · MBA
R. Clark Hooper, 1946 Chairman of the Board (Independent and Non-Executive) (STEX–2005; LTEX–2005; TEBF–2005; AHIM–2005; TEFCA–2005; TEFNY–2010)	Private investor	80	Former director of JPMorgan Value Opportunities Fund, Inc. (until 2014); The Swiss Helvetia Fund, Inc. (until 2016)	· Senior regulatory and management experience, National Association of Securities Dealers (now FINRA) · Service on trustee boards for charitable, educational and nonprofit organizations

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 19


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
Merit E. Janow, 1958 Trustee (2010)	Dean and Professor, Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs	79	MasterCard Incorporated; Trimble Inc. Former director of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (until 2016)	· 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
Laurel B. Mitchell, PhD, 1955 Trustee (STEX–2009; LTEX–2010; TEBF–2010; AHIM–2010; TEFCA–2009; TEFNY–2010)	Distinguished Professor of Accounting, University of Redlands; former Director, Accounting Program, University of Redlands	76	None	· Professor at multiple universities · Service in the Office of Chief Accountant and Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission · Experience in corporate management and public accounting · Service on advisory and trustee boards for charitable, educational and nonprofit organizations · PhD, accounting · Formerly licensed as CPA

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 20


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
Frank M. Sanchez, 1943 Trustee (STEX–1999; LTEX–1999; TEBF–1999; AHIM–1999; TEFCA–1999; TEFNY–2010)	Principal, The Sanchez Family Corporation dba McDonald’s Restaurants (McDonald’s licensee)	76	None	· Senior academic leadership position · Corporate board experience · Service on advisory and trustee boards for charitable and nonprofit organizations · PhD, education administration and finance
Margaret Spellings, 1957 Trustee (STEX–2009; LTEX–2010; TEBF–2010; AHIM–2010; TEFCA–2010; TEFNY–2010)	President, The University of North Carolina; former President, George W. Bush Foundation; former President and CEO, Margaret Spellings & Company (public policy and strategic consulting); former President, U.S. Chamber Foundation and Senior Advisor to the President and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce	81	ClubCorp Holdings, Inc. Former director of Apollo Education Group, Inc. (until 2013)	· 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
Steadman Upham, PhD, 1949 Trustee (STEX–2009; LTEX–2007; TEBF–2007; AHIM–2007; TEFCA–2007; TEFNY–2010)	President Emeritus and University Professor, The University of Tulsa	79	None	· Senior academic leadership positions at multiple universities · Service on advisory and trustee boards for educational and nonprofit organizations · PhD, anthropology

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 21

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 Vice Chairman of the Board and President (AHIM-2008) Vice Chairman of the Board and Senior Vice President (LTEX-2004; TEBF-2009; TEFCA-2009; TEFNY-2010) Vice Chairman of the Board (STEX-2011)	Partner – Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research and Management Company; Director, The Capital Group Companies, Inc.*	6	None
Michael C. Gitlin, 1970 Trustee (2015)	Partner – Capital Fixed Income Investors, 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	18	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
Neil L. Langberg, 1953 President (TEBF-1985; TEFCA-1986; STEX–1989; LTEX–1993;) Senior Vice President (AHIM–1994)	Partner – Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research and Management Company
Jerome H. Solomon, 1963 President (TEFNY–2011)	Vice President — Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research and Management Company

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 22


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 Senior Vice President (STEX, LTEX, TEBF, AHIM and TEFCA –2003; TEFNY–2010)	Senior Vice President and Senior Counsel – Fund Business Management Group, Capital Research and Management Company; Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Capital Bank and Trust Company*
Chad M. Rach, 1972 Senior Vice President (AHIM–2015; TEBF–2016)	Partner – Capital Fixed Income Investors, Capital Research and Management Company
Aaron Applebaum, 1979 Vice President (STEX and LTEX–2016)	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 (TEBF, TEFCA and TEFNY–2012 and STEX, LTEX and AHIM–2015)	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
Dori Laskin, 1951 Assistant Treasurer (2010)	Vice President – Investment Operations, Capital Research and Management Company
Gregory F. Niland, 1971 Assistant Treasurer (2015)	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.

²Trustees 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, with the exception of Jerome H. Solomon, are officers and/or directors/trustees of one or more of the other 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.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 23

Fund shares owned by trustees as of December 31, 2016:


Name	Dollar range¹ of fund shares owned		Aggregate dollar range¹ of shares owned in all funds in the American Funds family overseen by trustee	Dollar range^1,2of independent trustees deferred compensation³allocated to fund		Aggregate dollar range^1,2of independent trustees deferred compensation³ allocated to all funds within American Funds family overseen by trustee
Independent trustees
William H. Baribault	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	$50,001 – $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
Leonard R. Fuller	STEX: LTEX: TEBF: AHIM: TEFCA: TEFNY:	None None None None None None	$10,001 – $50,000	STEX: $1 – $10,000 LTEX: $1 – $10,000 TEBF: N/A AHIM: N/A TEFCA: N/A TEFNY: N/A		Over $100,000
R. Clark Hooper	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
Merit E. Janow	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		N/A

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 24


Name	Dollar range¹ of fund shares owned			Aggregate dollar range¹ of shares owned in all funds in the American Funds family overseen by trustee	Dollar range^1,2of independent trustees deferred compensation³allocated to fund		Aggregate dollar range^1,2of independent trustees deferred compensation³ allocated to all funds within American Funds family overseen by trustee
Laurel B. Mitchell	STEX: $1 – $10,000 LTEX: $1 – $10,000 TEBF: $1 – $10,000 AHIM: $1 – $10,000 TEFCA: $1 – $10,000 TEFNY: None			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
Frank M. Sanchez	STEX: LTEX: TEBF: AHIM: TEFCA: TEFNY:	None None None None None None		$1 – $10,000	STEX: LTEX: TEBF: AHIM: TEFCA: TEFNY:	N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A		N/A
Margaret Spellings	STEX: None LTEX: None TEBF: None 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
Steadman Upham	STEX: LTEX: TEBF: AHIM: TEFCA: TEFNY:		None None Over $100,000 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

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 25


Name	Dollar range^1,2 of fund shares owned		Aggregate dollar range¹ of shares owned in all funds in the American Funds family overseen by trustee
Interested trustee
Karl J. Zeile	STEX: LTEX: TEBF: AHIM: TEFCA: TEFNY:	None $1 – $10,000 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, 2016, 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.

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 fee, which ranges from $215 to $427 for STEX, $996 to $1,979 for LTEX, $3,596 to $7,142 for TEBF, $1,292 to $2,566 for AHIM, $524 to $1,041 for TEFCA and from $53 to $106 for TEFNY, 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 an equal 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.

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Trustee compensation earned during the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016:


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
William H. Baribault	STEX LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	$ 624 2,609 8,414 2,896 1,341 122	$383,042
James G. Ellis	STEX LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	621 2,596 8,371 2,882 1,334 121	387,292
Leonard R. Fuller²	STEX LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	595 2,448 8,026 2,764 1,279 116	379,542
R. Clark Hooper	STEX LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	673 2,815 9,087 3,129 1,448 132	484,193
Merit E. Janow	STEX LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	552 2,312 7,479 2,579 1,190 109	365,542

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 27


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
Laurel B. Mitchell²	STEX LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	$ 782 3,270 10,556 3,636 1,682 153	$296,167
Frank M. Sanchez	STEX LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	747 3,124 10,083 3,473 1,606 146	285,167
Margaret Spellings²	STEX LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	523 2,186 7,047 2,425 1,123 102	397,705
Steadman Upham²	STEX LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	610 2,554 8,250 2,842 1,314 120	356,292

¹Amounts 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, 2016 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 2016 fiscal year for participating trustees is as follows:
STEX – Leonard R. Fuller ($1,031), Laurel B. Mitchell ($361), Margaret Spellings ($624) and Steadman Upham ($3,272);
LTEX – Leonard R. Fuller ($36,792), Laurel B. Mitchell ($1,516), Margaret Spellings ($2,624) and Steadman Upham ($17,605);
TEBF – Leonard R. Fuller ($85,228), Laurel B. Mitchell ($4,775), Margaret Spellings ($8,246) and Steadman Upham ($60,898);
AHIM – Leonard R. Fuller ($27,144), Laurel B. Mitchell ($1,451), Margaret Spellings ($2,503) and Steadman Upham ($18,773);
TEFCA – Leonard R. Fuller ($35,934), Laurel B. Mitchell ($767), Margaret Spellings ($1,337) and Steadman Upham ($13,430); and TEFNY – Leonard R. Fuller ($83), Laurel B. Mitchell ($60), Margaret Spellings ($104) and Steadman Upham ($384).
Amounts deferred and accumulated earnings thereon are not funded and are general unsecured liabilities of the funds until paid to the trustees.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 28

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

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 29

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 Leonard R. Fuller, Laurel B. Mitchell, Frank M. Sanchez, and Steadman Upham. 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 2016 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 2016 fiscal year.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 30

The fund has a nominating and governance committee comprised of William H. Baribault, James G. Ellis, R. Clark Hooper, Merit E. Janow, and Margaret Spellings. 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 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 2016 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, other American Funds and American Funds Insurance Series. The complete text of these principles is available on the American Funds website at americanfunds.com. Proxies are voted by a committee of the appropriate equity investment division of the investment adviser under authority delegated by the funds’ boards. Therefore, if more than one fund invests in the same company, they may vote differently on the same proposal.

The Principles, which have been in effect in substantially their current form for many years, 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.

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. After a proxy statement is received, the investment adviser prepares a summary of the proposals contained in the proxy statement. A notation of any potential conflicts of interest also is included in the summary (see below for a description of Capital Research and Management Company’s special review procedures).

For proxies of securities managed by a particular investment division of the investment adviser, the initial voting recommendation is made by one or more of the division’s investment analysts familiar with the company and industry. A second recommendation is 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

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 31

familiarity with proxy-related issues. The proxy summary and voting recommendations are made available to the appropriate proxy voting committee for a final voting decision.

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 Joint Proxy Committee of the American Funds (“JPC”), as appropriate.

The JPC is 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. Members of the JPC also may be called upon to resolve voting conflicts involving funds co-managed by the investment adviser’s equity investment divisions and vote proxies when necessary as a result of regulatory requirements (see below for more information).

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 American Funds organization, 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 party and any other pertinent information. The SRC will evaluate the information and determine whether the decision was in the best interest of fund shareholders. It will then accept or override the voting decision or determine alternative action. The SRC includes senior investment professionals and legal and compliance professionals.

In cases where a fund is co-managed and a portfolio company is held by more than one of the investment adviser’s equity investment divisions, voting ties are resolved by one of the following methods. First, for those funds that have delegated tie-breaking authority to the investment adviser, the outcome will be determined by the equity investment division or divisions with the larger position in the portfolio company as of the record date for the shareholder meeting. For the remaining funds, members of the JPC representing those funds will determine the outcome based on a review of the same information provided to the relevant investment analysts, proxy coordinators and proxy committee members.

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 each year (a) without charge, upon request by calling American Funds Service Company at (800) 421-4225, (b) on the American Funds website and (c) on the SEC’s website at sec.gov.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 32

The following summary sets forth the general positions of the 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 American Funds 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. Separation of the chairman and CEO positions also may be supported.

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.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 33

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 March 1, 2017. 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. Omnibus Account Saint Louis, MO	Record	Class A Class F-2	25.19% 9.84
Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC Custody Account Saint Louis, MO	Record	Class A Class F-2	9.89 19.40
Pershing, LLC Custody Account Jersey City, NJ	Record	Class A Class F-1 Class F-2	7.13 26.76 8.28
TD Ameritrade, Inc. FEBO Individual Investors Omaha, NE	Record	Class F-1	29.99
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Custody Account San Francisco, CA	Record	Class F-1	18.16
National Financial Services, LLC Omnibus Account Jersey City, NJ	Record	Class F-1	6.14
Raymond James Omnibus Account St. Petersburg, FL	Record	Class F-1	5.58
Capital Group Private Client Services Account #1 Irvine, CA	Record	Class F-2	22.07
Capital Group Private Client Services Account #2 Irvine, CA	Record	Class F-2	13.42
Capital Research and Management Company Corporate Account Los Angeles, CA	Record	Class F-3	100.00

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 34

Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America


Name and address	Ownership	Ownership percentage
Edward D. Jones & Co. Omnibus Account Saint Louis, MO	Record	Class A Class B Class C Class F-2	33.63% 39.88 16.70 11.14
Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC Custody Account Saint Louis, MO	Record	Class A Class C Class F-2	9.73 6.84 11.10
Pershing, LLC Custody Account Jersey City, NJ	Record	Class A Class B Class C Class F-1 Class F-2	9.34 12.85 10.38 14.76 13.24
National Financial Services, LLC Omnibus Account Jersey City, NJ	Record	Class A Class C Class F-1 Class F-2	5.07 6.69 19.42 6.37
LPL Financial Omnibus Account San Diego, CA	Record	Class B	30.44
Individual Investor Sachse, TX	Beneficial	Class B	5.29
Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc. Omnibus Account Jersey City, NJ	Record	Class C Class F-2	13.21 6.81
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Custody Account San Francisco, CA	Record	Class F-1 Class F-2	15.37 7.13
Raymond James Omnibus Account St. Petersburg, FL	Record	Class F-1	14.72
Merrill Lynch Omnibus Account Jacksonville, FL	Record	Class F-1 Class F-2	6.67 10.88
UBS WM USA Omnibus Account Weehawken, NJ	Record	Class F-2	9.47
Capital Group Private Client Services Account Irvine, CA	Record	Class F-2	7.06
Capital Research and Management Company Corporate Account Los Angeles, CA	Record	Class F-3	100.00
American Funds Tax-Exempt Preservation Portfolio Irvine, CA	Record	Class R-6	100.00

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 35

The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America


Name and address	Ownership	Ownership percentage
Edward D. Jones & Co. Omnibus Account Saint Louis, MO	Record	Class A Class B Class C Class F-2	33.85% 25.59 19.23 43.02
Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC Custody Account Saint Louis, MO	Record	Class A Class B Class C	8.82 21.31 10.50
Pershing, LLC Custody Account Jersey City, NJ	Record	Class A Class B Class C Class F-1 Class F-2 Class F-3	7.95 8.09 10.65 11.25 13.37 5.02
National Financial Services, LLC Omnibus Account Jersey City, NJ	Record	Class A Class B Class C Class F-1 Class F-2	5.70 5.98 5.42 38.43 8.57
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Custody Account San Francisco, CA	Record	Class B Class F-1	13.17 12.28
Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc. Omnibus Account Jersey City, NJ	Record	Class B Class F-2	8.22 7.32
Custody Account FBO Individual Investor Urbandale, IA	Record Beneficial	Class B	5.44
Merrill Lynch Omnibus Account Jacksonville, FL	Record	Class C	5.38
LPL Financial Omnibus Account San Diego, CA	Record	Class F-1	8.11
Raymond James Omnibus Account St. Petersburg, FL	Record	Class F-1	6.45
Heartruco Fargo, ND	Record	Class F-3	86.40
Individual Investor Davie, FL	Beneficial	Class F-3	5.47
American Funds Tax-Advantaged Income Portfolio Irvine, CA	Record	Class R-6	72.00
American Funds Tax-Exempt Preservation Portfolio Irvine, CA	Record	Class R-6	28.00

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 36

American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund


Name and address	Ownership	Ownership percentage
Edward D. Jones & Co. Omnibus Account Saint Louis, MO	Record	Class A Class B Class C Class F-2	37.97% 32.62 12.84 23.71
Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC Custody Account Saint Louis, MO	Record	Class A Class C	7.84 12.07
Pershing, LLC Custody Account Jersey City, NJ	Record	Class A Class B Class C Class F-1 Class F-2	6.78 8.42 9.91 10.99 9.76
LPL Financial Omnibus Account San Diego, CA	Record	Class B	17.39
RBC Capital Markets, LLC Omnibus Account Minneapolis, MN	Record	Class B	6.26
Raymond James Omnibus Account St. Petersburg, FL	Record	Class C Class F-1	6.14 5.00
Merrill Lynch Omnibus Account Jacksonville, FL	Record	Class C Class F-2	5.87 8.32
National Financial Services, LLC Omnibus Account Jersey City, NJ	Record	Class C Class F-1 Class F-2	5.66 41.76 8.36
Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc. Omnibus Account Jersey City, NJ	Record	Class C	5.61
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Custody Account San Francisco, CA	Record	Class F-1	20.15
Capital Group Private Client Services Account Irvine, CA	Record	Class F-2	11.38
UBS WM USA Omnibus Account Jersey City, NJ	Record	Class F-2	5.95
Individual Investor Davie, FL	Beneficial	Class F-3	46.13
Trust Account #1 Costa Mesa, CA	Beneficial	Class F-3	21.91
Trust Account #2 North Miami Beach, FL	Beneficial	Class F-3	17.30
Capital Research and Management Company Corporate Account Los Angeles, CA	Record	Class F-3	14.66
American Funds Tax-Advantaged Income Portfolio Irvine, CA	Record	Class R-6	100.00

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 37

The Tax-Exempt Fund of California

Name and address

Ownership

Ownership percentage

Edward D. Jones & Co.
Omnibus Account
Saint Louis, MO

Record

Class A

Class C

19.49%

7.10

Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC

Custody Account

Saint Louis, MO

Record

Class A

Class C

Class F-2

10.26

13.05

11.30

Pershing, LLC

Custody Account

Jersey City, NJ

Record

Class A

Class C

Class F-1

Class F-2

7.40

9.76

19.97

8.46

UBS WM USA

Omnibus Account

Weehawken, NJ

Record

Class A

Class F-2

6.08

6.75

Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc.

Omnibus Account

Jersey City, NJ

Record

Class A

Class B

Class C

Class F-2

5.53

43.78

8.05

5.35

Merrill Lynch

Omnibus Account

Jacksonville, FL

Record

Class A

Class C

Class F-1

Class F-2

5.30

8.57

8.24

12.13

Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.

Custody Account

San Francisco, CA

Record

Class B

Class C

Class F-1

Class F-2

14.35

5.13

20.94

12.61

Individual Investor #1

Visalia, CA

Beneficial

Class B

10.10

Individual Investor #2

Canton, MI

Beneficial

Class B

5.67

LPL Financial

Omnibus Account

San Diego, CA

Record

Class C

Class F-1

Class F-2

6.53

6.87

5.67

National Financial Services, LLC

Omnibus Account

Jersey City, NJ

Record

Class F-1

Class F-2

13.80

6.28

Capital Group Private Client Services Account

Irvine, CA

Record

Class F-2

19.40

Capital Research and Management Company

Corporate Account

Los Angeles, CA

Record

Class F-3

100.00

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 38

American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York


Name and address	Ownership	Ownership percentage
Capital Research & Management Company Corporate Account Los Angeles, CA	Record	Class A Class B Class F-1 Class F-3	20.91% 49.59 20.11 100.00
Edward D. Jones & Co. Omnibus Account Saint Louis, MO	Record	Class A	10.82
Pershing, LLC Custody Account Jersey City, NJ	Record	Class A Class B Class C Class F-1	9.63 49.92 19.54 12.45
Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc. Omnibus Account Jersey City, NJ	Record	Class A	9.05
Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC Custody Account Saint Louis, MO	Record	Class A Class C	5.91 10.42
National Financial Services, LLC Omnibus Account Jersey City, NJ	Record	Class A Class C Class F-1	5.81 12.65 33.16
Merrill Lynch Omnibus Account Jacksonville, FL	Record	Class C	5.69
Raymond James Omnibus Account St. Petersburg, FL	Record	Class C Class F-1	5.09 7.74
Trust Account Brooklyn, NY	Beneficial	Class F-1	5.34
Capital Group Private Client Services Account #1 Irvine, CA	Record	Class F-2	42.79
TD Ameritrade, Inc. FEBO Individual Investors Omaha, NE	Record	Class F-2	15.46
Capital Group Private Client Services Account #2 Irvine, CA	Record	Class F-2	12.47

As of March 1, 2017, 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.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 39

Investment adviser — Capital Research and Management Company, the fund’s investment adviser, founded in 1931, maintains research facilities in the United States and abroad (Beijing, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Singapore, Tokyo 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.

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, while the size of the fund is still small, the 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:

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 40

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

Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America — a custom average consisting of one share class per fund of short-intermediate municipal debt funds that disclose investment objectives and strategies comparable to those of the fund and Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Short-Intermediate 1-10 Years Index;

The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America — a custom average consisting of one share class per fund of general and insured municipal debt funds that disclose investment objectives and strategies comparable to those of the fund and Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond Index;

American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund — a custom average consisting of one share class per fund of high yield municipal debt funds that disclose investment objectives and strategies comparable to those of fund, Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond Index, Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond BAA Index and Bloomberg Barclays Municipal High Yield 5% Tobacco Cap 2% Issuer Cap Index;

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

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

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.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 41

The following table reflects information as of July 31, 2016:


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)³	Number of other accounts for which portfolio manager is a manager (assets of other accounts in billions)⁴
American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund
Neil L. Langberg	$100,001 – $500,000	6	$25.3	None	None
Aaron Applebaum	$100,001– $500,000⁵	1	$3.7	None	None
Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America
Neil L. Langberg	$100,001 – $500,000	6	$22.4	None	None
Aaron Applebaum	$100,001– $500,000	1	$0.8	None	None
The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America
Karl J. Zeile	Over $1,000,000⁶	5	$7.8	None	None
Neil L. Langberg	$100,001 – $500,000	6	$12.3	None	None
Chad M. Rach	$100,001 – $500,000	1	$5.1	None	None

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 42


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)³	Number of other accounts for which portfolio manager is a manager (assets of other accounts in billions)⁴
American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund
Karl J. Zeile	Over $1,000,000⁶	5	$16.5	None	None
Neil L. Langberg	$100,001 – $500,000	6	$21.0	None	None
Chad M. Rach	Over $1,000,000	1	$13.8	None	None
The Tax-Exempt Fund of California
Karl J. Zeile	$100,001 – $500,000	5	$19.5	None	None
Neil L. Langberg	$100,001 – $500,000	6	$24.0	None	None
American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York
Karl J. Zeile	None⁷	5	$21.4	None	None
Jerome H. Solomon	None⁷	None		None	None

¹Ownership 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.

²Indicates other RIC(s) 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) and are not the total assets managed by the individual, which is a substantially lower amount. No RIC has an advisory fee that is based on the performance of the RIC.

³Indicates other PIV(s) 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 PIV(s) and are not the total assets managed by the individual, which is a substantially lower amount. No PIV has an advisory fee that is based on the performance of the PIV.

⁴Indicates 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 other accounts and are not the total assets managed by the individual, which is a substantially lower amount. Personal brokerage accounts of portfolio managers and their families are not reflected.

⁵ Information is as of September 7, 2016.

⁶ Information is as of September 23, 2016.

⁷Funds 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 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.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 43

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, 2017, 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, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. 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.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 44

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund: The investment adviser receives a monthly fee based on the following annualized rates and net asset levels:


Rate	Net asset level
Rate	In excess of	Up to
0.39%	$ 0	$ 200,000,000
0.37	200,000,000	600,000,000
0.33	600,000,000	1,200,000,000
0.29	1,200,000,000

For the fiscal years ended July 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the investment adviser was entitled to receive from the fund management fees of $2,759,000, $2,838,000 and $2,903,000, respectively.

Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America: The investment adviser receives a monthly fee based on the following annualized rates and net asset levels:


Rate	Net asset level
Rate	In excess of	Up to
0.30%	$ 0	$ 60,000,000
0.18	60,000,000	1,000,000,000
0.15	1,000,000,000

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


Rate	Monthly gross investment income
Rate	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, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the investment adviser was entitled to receive from the fund management fees of $7,991,000, $7,643,000 and $7,459,000, respectively.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 45

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


Rate	Net asset level
Rate	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

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


Rate	Monthly gross investment income
Rate	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 fiscal years ended July 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the investment adviser was entitled to receive from the fund management fees of $26,734,000, $23,753,000 and $22,494,000, respectively.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 46

American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund: The investment adviser receives a monthly fee based on the following annualized rates and net asset levels:


Rate	Net asset level
Rate	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

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


Rate	Monthly gross investment income
Rate	In excess of	Up to
3.00%	$ 0	$ 3,333,333
2.50	3,333,333

For the fiscal years ended July 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the investment adviser was entitled to receive from the fund management fees of $12,652,000, $10,572,000 and $9,178,000, respectively.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 47

The Tax-Exempt Fund of California: The investment adviser receives a monthly fee based on the following annualized rates and net asset levels:


Rate	Net asset level
Rate	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

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


Rate	Monthly gross investment income
Rate	In excess of	Up to
3.00%	$ 0	$ 3,333,333
2.50	3,333,333

For the fiscal years ended July 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014, the investment adviser was entitled to receive from the fund management fees of $5,556,000, $5,075,000 and $4,787,000, respectively.

American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York: The management fee is based on the following annualized rates and daily net asset levels:


Rate	Daily net asset level
Rate	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

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


Rate	Monthly gross investment income
Rate	In excess of	Up to
3.00%	$ 0	$3,333,333
2.50	3,333,333

For the fiscal years ended July 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014 the investment adviser was entitled to receive from the fund a management fee of $605,000, $501,000 and $446,000, respectively.

Fee waiver - The investment adviser is currently reimbursing a portion of the other expenses for TEFNY. The reimbursement will be in effect at least through September 30, 2017. The adviser may elect at its discretion to extend, modify or terminate the reimbursement at that time. For the periods ended July 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the total expenses reimbursed by the investment adviser were $60,000, $78,000 and $114,000, respectively. Fees and expenses in the statement of operations included in the fund’s financial statements are presented gross of any reimbursements from the investment adviser.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 48

Administrative services — The investment adviser and its affiliates provide certain administrative services for shareholders of the fund’s Class A, C, F and R-6 shares, to the extent that they are offered by the fund. Services include, but are not limited to, coordinating, monitoring, assisting 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, 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, 2017, unless sooner terminated or renewed. It may be renewed from year to year thereafter, provided that any such renewal has been specifically approved at least annually 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, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. 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).

Under the Administrative Agreement, the investment adviser receives an administrative services fee at the annual rate of .01% of the average daily net assets of the fund attributable to Class A shares and .05% of the average daily net assets of the fund attributable to Class C, F and R-6 shares to the extent they are offered by the fund, for administrative services. Administrative services fees are paid monthly and accrued daily.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 49

During the 2016 fiscal year, administrative services fees were:


		Administrative services fee
STEX	Class A	$ 67,000
	Class F-1	6,000
	Class F-2	35,000
LTEX	Class A	281,000
	Class C	15,000
	Class F-1	43,000
	Class F-2	115,000
	Class R-6	117,000
TEBF	Class A	802,000
	Class C	198,000
	Class F-1	624,000
	Class F-2	825,000
	Class R-6	160,000
AHIM	Class A	304,000
	Class C	103,000
	Class F-1	120,000
	Class F-2	242,000
	Class R-6	110,000
TEFCA	Class A	151,000
	Class C	42,000
	Class F-1	35,000
	Class F-2	82,000
TEFNY	Class A	14,000
	Class C	6,000
	Class F-1	1,000
	Class F-2	13,000

STEX did not offer Class B or C shares in the 2016 fiscal year and is not currently offering B and C shares.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 50

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 B shares sold prior to April 21, 2009, the Principal Underwriter sold its rights to the .75% distribution-related portion of the 12b-1 fees paid by the fund, as well as any contingent deferred sales charges, to a third party. The Principal Underwriter compensated investment dealers for sales of Class B shares out of the proceeds of this sale and kept any amounts remaining after this compensation was paid.

· 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 advisors 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 advisors, in connection with investments in Class F-1 shares.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 51

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	2016	STEX LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	$ 160,000 839,000 3,630,000 1,516,000 485,000 78,000	STEX LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	$ 625,000 3,286,000 13,978,000 5,855,000 1,874,000 290,000
	2015	STEX LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	181,000 681,000 2,588,000 1,153,000 343,000 54,000	STEX LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	642,000 2,683,000 9,888,000 4,357,000 1,321,000 218,000
	2014	STEX LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	135,000 536,000 1,368,000 781,000 220,000 46,000	STEX LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	543,000 2,115,000 5,231,000 3,020,000 811,000 177,000
Class C^*	2016	LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	11,000 — — — —	LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	25,000 1,384,000 670,000 269,000 47,000
	2015	LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	17,000 — — — —	LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	6,000 745,000 417,000 142,000 27,000
	2014	LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	31,000 133,000 — 14,000 1,000	LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	5,000 341,000 281,000 63,000 16,000

* STEX does not currently offer Class C shares.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 52

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 $1,075,000 or .16% of Class A net assets for STEX, $61,000 or 0% of Class A net assets for LTEX, $7,704,000 or .08% of Class A net assets for TEBF, $1,466,000 or .09% of Class A net assets for TEFCA and $2,000 or 0% of Class A net assets for TEFNY.

Class B — The Plan for Class B 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, which include the financing of commissions paid to qualified dealers.

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.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 53

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 — Payment of service fees to investment dealers generally begins 13 months after establishment of an account in Class A or C 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 this statement of additional information.

During the 2016 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	$1,003,000 8,336,000 20,113,000 8,592,000 3,761,000 350,000	STEX LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	$ 83,000 392,000 — 447,000 363,000 37,000
Class B	LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	5,000 52,000 23,000 8,000 —*	LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	—* — 2,000 —* —*
Class C	LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	295,000 3,922,000 2,066,000 832,000 122,000	LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	33,000 — 256,000 97,000 14,000
Class F-1	STEX LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	28,000 214,000 3,104,000 598,000 177,000 2,000	STEX LTEX TEBF AHIM TEFCA TEFNY	3,000 23,000 — 66,000 21,000 2,000

*Amount less than $1,000.

STEX did not offer Class B or C shares during the 2016 fiscal year and is not currently offering B and C shares.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 54

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 advisor 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 advisors 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 advisor. If you need a financial advisor, please call American Funds Distributors at (800) 421-4120 for assistance.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 55

Other compensation to dealers — As of July 2016, the top dealers (or their affiliates) that American Funds Distributors anticipates will receive additional compensation (as described in the prospectus) include:

AIG Advisor Group

AIG Capital Services Inc

FSC Securities Corporation

Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.

SagePoint Financial, Inc.

Woodbury Financial Services, Inc.

American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc.

American Portfolios Advisors, Inc

American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc.

AXA Advisors, LLC

Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc.

Cambridge

Cambridge Advisors, Inc.

Cambridge Appleton Trust

Cambridge Associates, LLC (USA)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc.

Cambridge Investment Research, Inc.

Cambridge Southern Financial Advisors

Cetera Financial Group

Cetera Advisor Networks LLC

Cetera Advisors LLC

Cetera Financial Specialists LLC

Cetera Investment Services LLC

CIMAS, LLC

First Allied Securities Inc

Investors Capital Corp.

J.P. Turner & Company, L.L.C.

Legend Equities Corporation

Summit Brokerage Services, Inc.

Commonwealth

Commonwealth Advisory Group, LTD

Commonwealth Bank and Trust Company

Commonwealth Financial Advisors, LLC

Commonwealth Financial Group, Inc.

Commonwealth Financial Network

Commonwealth Retirement Services, Inc.

D.A. Davidson & Co.

Edward Jones

Hefren-Tillotson, Inc.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 56

HTK / Janney Montgomery Group

Hornor, Townsend & Kent, Inc.

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

J.J.B. Hilliard Lyons

Hilliard Lyons Trust Company LLC

J. J. B. Hilliard, W. L. Lyons, LLC

J.P. Morgan Chase Banc One

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.

Ladenburg Thalmann Group

Investacorp, Inc.

KMS Financial Services, Inc.

Ladenburg, Thalmann & Co., Inc.

Securities America, Inc.

Securities Service Network Inc.

Triad Advisors, Inc.

Lincoln Network

Lincoln Financial Advisors Corporation

Lincoln Financial Distributors, Inc.

Lincoln Financial Securities Corporation

LPL Financial LLC

Mass Mutual / MML

MassMutual Trust Company FSB

MML Distributors LLC

MML Investors Services, LLC

The Massmutual Trust Company FSB

Merrill Lynch Banc of America

Bank Of America

Bank of America, NA

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated

Metlife Enterprises

MetLife Advisers, LLC

Metlife Securities Inc.

New England Securities

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC

NFP Securities

Kestra Investment Services LLC

NFP Advisor Services, LLC

NFP Retirement

NMIS

Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co

NPH / Jackson National

Invest Financial Corporation

Investment Centers of America, Inc.

National Planning Corporation

SII Investments, Inc.

Park Avenue Securities LLC

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 57

PFS

PFS Investments Inc.

Puplava Securities, Inc.

PNC Network

PNC Bank, National Association

PNC Investments LLC

Raymond James Group

Raymond James & Associates, Inc.

Raymond James (USA) LTD.

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc.

Raymond James Financial Services Inc.

RBC

RBC Capital Markets, LLC

RBC Capital Markets Corporation

RBC Trust Company

Robert W. Baird & Co, Incorporated

Securian / H. Beck / CRI

CRI Securities, LLC

H. Beck, Inc.

Securian Financial Services, Inc.

Stifel, Nicolaus & Co

Sterne Agee Investment Advisor Services, Inc.

Stifel Trust Company, N.A.

Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorported

Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc.

UBS

UBS Financial Services, Inc.

UBS Securities, LLC

Voya Financial Advisors Inc

Wells Fargo Network

First Clearing LLC

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC

Wells Fargo Advisors Latin American Channel

Wells Fargo Advisors LLC (WBS)

Wells Fargo Advisors Private Client Group

Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 58

Execution of portfolio transactions

The investment adviser places orders with broker-dealers for the fund’s portfolio transactions. Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or an over-the-counter market are effected through broker-dealers who receive commissions for their services. Generally, commissions relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than commissions relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Equity securities may also be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees. Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market maker acting as principal with no stated brokerage commission. The price paid to an underwriter for fixed-income securities includes underwriting fees. Prices for fixed-income securities in secondary trades usually include undisclosed compensation to the market maker reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices for the securities.

In selecting broker-dealers, the investment adviser strives to obtain “best execution” (the most favorable total price reasonably attainable under the circumstances) for the fund’s portfolio transactions, taking into account a variety of factors. These factors include the size and type of transaction, the nature and character of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, the cost, quality, likely speed and reliability of execution and settlement, the broker-dealer’s or execution venue’s ability to offer liquidity and anonymity and the potential for minimizing market impact. The investment adviser considers these factors, which involve qualitative judgments, when selecting broker-dealers and execution venues for fund portfolio transactions. The investment adviser views best execution as a process that should be evaluated over time as part of an overall relationship with particular broker-dealer firms. The investment adviser and its affiliates negotiate commission rates with broker-dealers based on what they believe is necessary to obtain best execution. They seek, on an ongoing basis, to determine what the reasonable levels of commission rates are in the marketplace in respect of both execution and research — taking various considerations into account, including the extent to which a broker-dealer has put its own capital at risk, historical commission rates, commission rates that other institutional investors are paying, and the provision of brokerage and research products and services. The fund does not consider the investment adviser as having an obligation to obtain the lowest commission rate available for a portfolio transaction to the exclusion of price, service and qualitative considerations. Brokerage commissions are only a small part of total execution costs and other factors, such as market impact and speed of execution, contribute significantly to overall transaction costs.

The investment adviser may execute portfolio transactions with broker-dealers who provide certain brokerage and/or investment research services to it, either directly or through a commission sharing arrangement, but only when in the investment adviser’s judgment the broker-dealer is capable of providing best execution for that transaction. The receipt of these services permits the investment adviser to supplement its own research and analysis and makes available the views of, and information from, individuals and the research staffs of other firms. Such views and information may be provided in the form of written reports, telephone contacts and meetings with securities analysts. These services may include, among other things, reports and other communications with respect to individual companies, industries, countries and regions, economic, political and legal developments, as well as scheduling meetings with corporate executives and seminars and conferences related to relevant subject matters. The investment adviser considers these services to be supplemental to its own internal research efforts and therefore the receipt of investment research from broker-dealers does not tend to reduce the expenses involved in the investment adviser’s research efforts. If broker-dealers were to discontinue providing such services, it is unlikely the investment adviser would attempt to replicate them on its own, in part because they would then no longer provide an independent, supplemental viewpoint. Nonetheless, if it were to attempt to do so, the investment adviser would incur substantial additional costs. Research services that the investment adviser receives from broker-dealers may be used by the investment adviser in servicing the fund and other funds and accounts that it advises; however, not all such services will necessarily benefit the fund.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 59

The investment adviser may pay commissions in excess of what other broker-dealers might have charged for certain portfolio transactions in recognition of brokerage and/or investment research services. In this regard, the investment adviser has adopted a brokerage allocation procedure consistent with the requirements of Section 28(e) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Section 28(e) permits the investment adviser and its affiliates to cause an account to pay a higher commission to a broker-dealer to compensate the broker-dealer or another service provider for certain brokerage and/or investment research services provided to the investment adviser and its affiliates, if the investment adviser and each affiliate makes a good faith determination that such commissions are reasonable in relation to the value of the services provided by such broker-dealer to the investment adviser and its affiliates in terms of that particular transaction or the investment adviser’s overall responsibility to the fund and other accounts that it advises. Certain brokerage and/or investment research services may not necessarily benefit all accounts paying commissions to each such broker-dealer; therefore, the investment adviser and its affiliates assess the reasonableness of commissions in light of the total brokerage and investment research services provided to the investment adviser and its affiliates. Further, investment research services may be used by all investment associates of the investment adviser and its affiliates, regardless of whether they advise accounts with trading activity that generates eligible commissions.

In accordance with their internal brokerage allocation procedure, the investment adviser and its affiliates periodically assess the brokerage and investment research services provided by each broker-dealer and each other service provider from which they receive such services. As part of its ongoing relationships, the investment adviser and its affiliates routinely meet with firms to discuss the level and quality of the brokerage and research services provided, as well as the value and cost of such services. In valuing the brokerage and investment research services the investment adviser and its affiliates receive from broker-dealers and other research providers in connection with its good faith determination of reasonableness, the investment adviser and its affiliates take various factors into consideration, including the quantity, quality and usefulness of the services to the investment adviser and its affiliates. Based on this information and applying their judgment, the investment adviser and its affiliates set an annual research budget.

Research analysts and portfolio managers periodically participate in a research poll to determine the usefulness and value of the research provided by individual broker-dealers and research providers. Based on the results of this research poll, the investment adviser and its affiliates may, through commission sharing arrangements with certain broker-dealers, direct a portion of commissions paid to a broker-dealer to be used to compensate the broker-dealer for proprietary research or to be paid to a third-party research provider for research it has provided.

When executing portfolio transactions in the same equity security for the funds and accounts, or portions of funds and accounts, over which the investment adviser, through its equity investment divisions, has investment discretion, each investment division within the adviser and its affiliates normally aggregates its respective purchases or sales and executes them as part of the same transaction or series of transactions. When executing portfolio transactions in the same fixed-income security for the fund and the other funds or accounts over which it or one of its affiliated companies has investment discretion, the investment adviser normally aggregates such purchases or sales and executes them as part of the same transaction or series of transactions. The objective of aggregating purchases and sales of a security is to allocate executions in an equitable manner among the funds and other accounts that have concurrently authorized a transaction in such security.

The investment adviser currently owns an interest in IEX Group and Luminex Trading and Analytics. The investment adviser may place orders on these or other exchanges or alternative trading systems in which it, or one of its affiliates, has an ownership interest, provided such ownership interest is less than five percent of the total ownership interests in the entity. The investment adviser is subject to the same best execution obligations when trading on any such exchange or alternative trading system.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 60

Purchase and sale transactions may be effected directly among and between certain funds or accounts advised by the investment adviser or its affiliates, including the fund. The investment adviser maintains cross-trade policies and procedures and places a cross-trade only when such a trade is in the best interest of all participating clients and is not prohibited by the participating funds’ or accounts’ investment management agreement or applicable law.

The investment adviser may place orders for the fund’s portfolio transactions with broker-dealers who have sold shares of the funds managed by the investment adviser or its affiliated companies; however, it does not consider whether a broker-dealer has sold shares of the funds managed by the investment adviser or its affiliated companies when placing any such orders for the fund’s portfolio transactions.

Forward currency contracts are traded directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The cost to the fund of engaging in such contracts varies with factors such as the currency involved, the length of the contract period and the market conditions then prevailing. Because such contracts are entered into on a principal basis, their prices usually include undisclosed compensation to the market maker reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices for the contracts. The fund may incur additional fees in connection with the purchase or sale of certain contracts.

No brokerage commissions were paid on portfolio transactions by AHIM for the 2016 and 2015 fiscal years. Brokerage commissions paid on portfolio transactions by AHIM for the 2014 fiscal year amounted to $6,000.

No brokerage commissions were paid on portfolio transactions by STEX, LTEX, TEBF, TEFCA and TEFNY for the 2016, 2015 and 2014 fiscal years.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 61

Disclosure of portfolio holdings

The fund’s investment adviser, on behalf of the fund, has adopted policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of information about fund portfolio securities. These policies and procedures have been reviewed by the fund’s board of trustees, and compliance will be periodically assessed by the board in connection with reporting from the fund’s Chief Compliance Officer.

Under these policies and procedures, the fund’s complete list of portfolio holdings available for public disclosure, dated as of the end of each calendar quarter, is permitted to be posted on the American Funds website no earlier than the 10th day after such calendar quarter. In practice, the publicly disclosed portfolio is typically posted on the American Funds website within 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter. The publicly disclosed portfolio may exclude certain securities when deemed to be in the best interest of the fund as permitted by applicable regulations. In addition, the fund’s list of top 10 equity portfolio holdings measured by percentage of net assets, dated as of the end of each calendar month, is permitted to be posted on the American Funds website no earlier than the 10th day after such month. Such portfolio holdings information may be disclosed to any person pursuant to an ongoing arrangement to disclose portfolio holdings information to such person no earlier than one day after the day on which the information is posted on the American Funds website.

The fund’s custodian, outside counsel, auditor, financial printers, proxy voting service providers, pricing information vendors, consultants or agents operating under a contract with the investment adviser or its affiliates, co-litigants (such as in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding related to a fund holding) and certain other third parties described below, each of which requires portfolio holdings information for legitimate business and fund oversight purposes, may receive fund portfolio holdings information earlier. See the “General information” section in this statement of additional information for further information about the fund’s custodian, outside counsel and auditor.

The fund’s portfolio holdings, dated as of the end of each calendar month, are made available to up to 20 key broker-dealer relationships with research departments to help them evaluate the fund for eligibility on approved lists or in model portfolios. These firms include certain of those listed under the “Other compensation to dealers” section of this statement of additional information and certain broker-dealer firms that offer trading platforms for registered investment advisers. Monthly holdings may be provided to these intermediaries no earlier than the 10th day after the end of the calendar month. In practice, monthly holdings are provided within 30 days after the end of the calendar month. Holdings may also be disclosed more frequently to certain statistical and data collection agencies including Morningstar, Lipper, Inc., Value Line, Vickers Stock Research, Bloomberg and Thomson Financial Research.

Affiliated persons of the fund, including officers of the fund and employees of the investment adviser and its affiliates, who receive portfolio holdings information are subject to restrictions and limitations on the use and handling of such information pursuant to applicable codes of ethics, including requirements not to trade in securities based on confidential and proprietary investment information, to maintain the confidentiality of such information, and to pre-clear securities trades and report securities transactions activity, as applicable. For more information on these restrictions and limitations, please see the “Code of ethics” section in this statement of additional information and the Code of Ethics. Third-party service providers of the fund and other entities, as described in this statement of additional information, receiving such information are subject to confidentiality obligations. When portfolio holdings information is disclosed other than through the American Funds website to persons not affiliated with the fund, such persons will be bound by agreements (including confidentiality agreements) or fiduciary or other obligations that restrict and limit their use of the information to legitimate business uses only. None of the fund, its investment adviser or any of their affiliates receives compensation or other consideration in connection with the disclosure of information about portfolio securities.

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Subject to board policies, the authority to disclose a fund’s portfolio holdings, and to establish policies with respect to such disclosure, resides with the appropriate investment-related committees of the fund’s investment adviser. In exercising their authority, the committees determine whether disclosure of information about the fund’s portfolio securities is appropriate and in the best interest of fund shareholders. The investment adviser has implemented policies and procedures to address conflicts of interest that may arise from the disclosure of fund holdings. For example, the investment adviser’s code of ethics specifically requires, among other things, the safeguarding of information about fund holdings and contains prohibitions designed to prevent the personal use of confidential, proprietary investment information in a way that would conflict with fund transactions. In addition, the investment adviser believes that its current policy of not selling portfolio holdings information and not disclosing such information to unaffiliated third parties until such holdings have been made public on the American Funds website (other than to certain fund service providers and other third parties for legitimate business and fund oversight purposes) helps reduce potential conflicts of interest between fund shareholders and the investment adviser and its affiliates.

The fund’s investment adviser and its affiliates provide investment advice to clients other than the fund that have investment objectives that may be substantially similar to those of the fund. These clients also may have portfolios consisting of holdings substantially similar to those of the fund and generally have access to current portfolio holdings information for their accounts. These clients do not owe the fund’s investment adviser or the fund a duty of confidentiality with respect to disclosure of their portfolio holdings.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 63

Price of shares

Shares are purchased at the offering price or sold at the net asset value price next determined after the purchase or sell order is received by the fund or the Transfer Agent provided that your request contains all information and legal documentation necessary to process the transaction. The Transfer Agent may accept written orders for the sale of fund shares on a future date. These orders are subject to the Transfer Agent’s policies, which generally allow shareholders to provide a written request to sell shares at the net asset value on a specified date no more than five business days after receipt of the order by the Transfer Agent. Any request to sell shares on a future date will be rejected if the request is not in writing, if the requested transaction date is more than five business days after the Transfer Agent receives the request or if the request does not contain all information and legal documentation necessary to process the transaction.

The offering or net asset value price is effective for orders received prior to the time of determination of the net asset value and, in the case of orders placed with dealers or their authorized designees, accepted by the Principal Underwriter, the Transfer Agent, a dealer or any of their designees. In the case of orders sent directly to the fund or the Transfer Agent, an investment dealer should be indicated. The dealer is responsible for promptly transmitting purchase and sell orders to the Principal Underwriter.

Orders received by the investment dealer or authorized designee, the Transfer Agent or the fund after the time of the determination of the net asset value will be entered at the next calculated offering price. Note that investment dealers or other intermediaries may have their own rules about share transactions and may have earlier cut-off times than those of the fund. For more information about how to purchase through your intermediary, contact your intermediary directly.

Prices that appear in the newspaper do not always indicate prices at which you will be purchasing and redeeming shares of the fund, since such prices generally reflect the previous day’s closing price, while purchases and redemptions are made at the next calculated price. The price you pay for shares, the offering price, is based on the net asset value per share, which is calculated once daily as of approximately 4 p.m. New York time, which is the normal close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, each day the New York Stock Exchange is open. If, for example, the New York Stock Exchange closes at 1 p.m. New York time, the fund’s share price would still be determined as of 4 p.m. New York time. In such example, portfolio securities traded on the New York Stock Exchange would be valued at their closing prices unless the investment adviser determines that a fair value adjustment is appropriate due to subsequent events. The New York Stock Exchange is currently closed on weekends and on the following holidays: New Year’s Day; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; Presidents’ Day; Good Friday; Memorial Day; Independence Day; Labor Day; Thanksgiving; and Christmas Day. Each share class of the fund has a separately calculated net asset value (and share price).

All portfolio securities of funds managed by Capital Research and Management Company (other than American Funds U.S. Government Money Market Fund) are valued, and the net asset values per share for each share class are determined, as indicated below. The fund follows standard industry practice by typically reflecting changes in its holdings of portfolio securities on the first business day following a portfolio trade.

Equity securities, including depositary receipts, are generally valued at the official closing price of, or the last reported sale price on, the exchange or market on which such securities are traded, as of the close of business on the day the securities are being valued or, lacking any sales, at the last available bid price. Prices for each security are taken from the principal exchange or market on which the security trades.

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Fixed-income securities, including short-term securities, are generally valued at prices obtained from one or more pricing vendors. The pricing vendors base prices on, among other things, benchmark yields, transactions, bids, offers, quotations from dealers and trading systems, new issues, underlying equity of the issuer, interest rate volatilities, spreads and other relationships observed in the markets among comparable securities and proprietary pricing models such as yield measures calculated using factors such as cash flows, prepayment information, default rates, delinquency and loss assumptions, financial or collateral characteristics or performance, credit enhancements, liquidation value calculations, specific deal information and other reference data. The fund’s investment adviser performs certain checks on vendor prices prior to calculation of the fund’s net asset value. When the investment adviser deems it appropriate to do so (such as when vendor prices are unavailable or not deemed to be representative), fixed-income securities will be valued in good faith at the mean quoted bid and ask prices that are reasonably and timely available (or bid prices, if ask prices are not available) or at prices for securities of comparable maturity, quality and type.

Securities with both fixed-income and equity characteristics (e.g., convertible bonds, preferred stocks, units comprised of more than one type of security, etc.), or equity securities traded principally among fixed-income dealers, are generally valued in the manner described above for either equity or fixed-income securities, depending on which method is deemed most appropriate by the investment adviser.

Forward currency contracts are valued at the mean of representative quoted bid and ask prices, generally based on prices supplied by one or more pricing vendors.

Assets or liabilities initially expressed in terms of currencies other than U.S. dollars are translated prior to the next determination of the net asset value of the fund’s shares into U.S. dollars at the prevailing market rates.

Securities and other assets for which representative market quotations are not readily available or are considered unreliable by the investment adviser are valued at fair value as determined in good faith under fair value guidelines adopted by authority of the fund’s board. Subject to board oversight, the fund’s board has appointed the fund’s investment adviser to make fair valuation determinations, which are directed by a valuation committee established by the fund’s investment adviser. The board receives regular reports describing fair-valued securities and the valuation methods used.

The valuation committee has adopted guidelines and procedures (consistent with SEC rules and guidance) to consider certain relevant principles and factors when making fair value determinations. As a general principle, securities lacking readily available market quotations, or that have quotations that are considered unreliable by the investment adviser, are valued in good faith by the valuation committee based upon what the fund might reasonably expect to receive upon their current sale. Fair valuations and valuations of investments that are not actively trading involve judgment and may differ materially from valuations that would have been used had greater market activity occurred. The valuation committee considers relevant indications of value that are reasonably and timely available to it in determining the fair value to be assigned to a particular security, such as the type and cost of the security, contractual or legal restrictions on resale of the security, relevant financial or business developments of the issuer, actively traded similar or related securities, conversion or exchange rights on the security, related corporate actions, significant events occurring after the close of trading in the security and changes in overall market conditions. The valuation committee employs additional fair value procedures to address issues related to equity securities that trade principally in markets outside the United States. Such securities may trade in markets that open and close at different times, reflecting time zone differences. If significant events occur after the close of a market (and before the fund’s net asset values are next determined) which affect the value of equity securities held in the fund’s portfolio, appropriate adjustments from closing market prices may be made to reflect these events. Events of this type could include, for example, earthquakes and other natural disasters or significant price changes in other markets (e.g., U.S. stock markets).

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 65

Each class of shares represents interests in the same portfolio of investments and is identical in all respects to each other class, except for differences relating to distribution, service and other charges and expenses, certain voting rights, differences relating to eligible investors, the designation of each class of shares, conversion features and exchange privileges. Expenses attributable to the fund, but not to a particular class of shares, are borne by each class pro rata based on relative aggregate net assets of the classes. Expenses directly attributable to a class of shares are borne by that class of shares. Liabilities attributable to particular share classes, such as liabilities for repurchase of fund shares, are deducted from total assets attributable to such share classes.

Net assets so obtained for each share class are then divided by the total number of shares outstanding of that share class, and the result, rounded to the nearest cent, is the net asset value per share for that class.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 66

Taxes and distributions

Disclaimer: Some of the following information may not apply to certain shareholders including those holding fund shares in a tax-deferred account, such as a retirement plan or education savings account. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors about the application of federal, state and local tax law in light of their particular situation.

Taxation as a regulated investment company — The fund intends to qualify each year as a “regulated investment company” under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income taxes, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and realized net capital gains on a fiscal year basis, and intends to comply with other tests applicable to regulated investment companies under Subchapter M.

The Code includes savings provisions allowing the fund to cure inadvertent failures of certain qualification tests required under Subchapter M. However, should the fund fail to qualify under Subchapter M, the fund would be subject to federal, and possibly state, corporate taxes on its taxable income and gains.

Amounts not distributed by the fund on a timely basis in accordance with a calendar year distribution requirement may be subject to a nondeductible 4% excise tax. Unless an applicable exception applies, to avoid the tax, the fund must distribute during each calendar year an amount equal to the sum of (a) at least 98% of its ordinary income (not taking into account any capital gains or losses) for the calendar year, (b) at least 98.2% of its capital gains in excess of its capital losses for the twelve month period ending on October 31, and (c) all ordinary income and capital gains for previous years that were not distributed during such years.

Dividends paid by the fund from ordinary income or from an excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss are taxable to shareholders as ordinary income dividends.

The fund may declare a capital gain distribution consisting of the excess of net realized long-term capital gains over net realized short-term capital losses. Net capital gains for a fiscal year are computed by taking into account any capital loss carryforward of the fund. For fund fiscal years beginning on or after December 22, 2010, capital losses may be carried forward indefinitely and retain their character as either short-term or long-term. Under prior law, net capital losses could be carried forward for eight tax years and were treated as short-term capital losses. The fund is required to use capital losses arising in fiscal years beginning on or after December 22, 2010 before using capital losses arising in fiscal years prior to December 22, 2010.

The fund may retain a portion of net capital gain for reinvestment and may elect to treat such capital gain as having been distributed to shareholders of the fund. Shareholders may receive a credit for the tax that the fund paid on such undistributed net capital gain and would increase the basis in their shares of the fund by the difference between the amount of includible gains and the tax deemed paid by the shareholder.

Distributions of net capital gain that the fund properly designates as a capital gain distribution generally will be taxable as long-term capital gain, regardless of the length of time the shares of the fund have been held by a shareholder. Any loss realized upon the redemption of shares held at the time of redemption for six months or less from the date of their purchase will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any capital gain distributions (including any undistributed amounts treated as distributed capital gains, as described above) during such six-month period.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 67

Capital gain distributions by the fund result in a reduction in the net asset value of the fund’s shares. Investors should consider the tax implications of buying shares just prior to a capital gain distribution. The price of shares purchased at that time includes the amount of the forthcoming distribution. Those purchasing just prior to a distribution will subsequently receive a partial return of their investment capital upon payment of the distribution, which will be taxable to them.

Redemptions and exchanges of fund shares — Redemptions of shares, including exchanges for shares of other American Funds, may result in federal, state and local tax consequences (gain or loss) to the shareholder.

Any loss realized on a redemption or exchange of shares of the fund will be disallowed to the extent substantially identical shares are reacquired within the 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the shares are disposed of. Any loss disallowed under this rule will be added to the shareholder’s tax basis in the new shares purchased.

If a shareholder exchanges or otherwise disposes of shares of the fund within 90 days of having acquired such shares, and if, as a result of having acquired those shares, the shareholder subsequently pays a reduced or no sales charge for shares of the fund, or of a different fund acquired before January 31^st of the year following the year the shareholder exchanged or otherwise disposed of the original fund shares, the sales charge previously incurred in acquiring the fund’s shares will not be taken into account (to the extent such previous sales charges do not exceed the reduction in sales charges) for the purposes of determining the amount of gain or loss on the exchange, but will be treated as having been incurred in the acquisition of such other fund(s).

Tax consequences applicable to tax-exempt funds — Interest on the municipal securities purchased by the fund is believed to be free from regular federal income tax based on opinions issued by bond counsel. However, there is no guarantee that the opinion is correct or that the IRS will agree with the opinion. If interest on a municipal security is not free from regular federal income tax, then the interest on that security would become taxable. If this were to happen, dividends derived from this interest may be taxable to shareholders.

By meeting certain requirements of the Code, the fund qualifies to pay exempt-interest dividends to shareholders. These exempt-interest dividends are derived from interest income exempt from regular federal income tax, and are not subject to regular federal income tax when they are distributed to fund shareholders. In addition, to the extent that exempt-interest dividends are derived from interest on obligations of a state or its political subdivisions, or from interest on qualifying U.S. territorial obligations (including qualifying obligations of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands or Guam), they also may be exempt from that state’s personal income taxes.

Distributions paid by a tax-exempt fund that are designated as exempt-interest dividends will not be subject to regular federal income tax. Exempt-interest dividends paid by the fund will be reported to both the IRS and shareholders of the fund.

Private activity bonds are bonds that, although federally tax-exempt, are used for purposes other than those generally performed by governmental units and that benefit non-governmental entities. Interest on certain private activity bonds, while exempt from regular federal income tax, is a preference item for taxpayers when determining their alternative minimum tax under the Code and under the income tax provisions of several states.

The price of a bond purchased after its original issuance may reflect market discount which, depending on the particular circumstances, may result in the fund recognizing taxable ordinary income. In determining whether a bond is purchased with market discount, certain de minimis rules apply.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 68

Other tax considerations — After the end of each calendar year, individual shareholders holding fund shares in taxable accounts will receive a statement of the federal income tax status of all distributions. Shareholders of the fund also may be subject to state and local taxes on distributions received from the fund.

For fund shares acquired on or after January 1, 2012, the fund is required to report cost basis information for redemptions, including exchanges, to both shareholders and the IRS.

Shareholders may obtain more information about cost basis online at americanfunds.com/costbasis.

Under the backup withholding provisions of the Code, the fund generally will be required to withhold federal income tax on all payments made to a shareholder if the shareholder either does not furnish the fund with the shareholder’s correct taxpayer identification number or fails to certify that the shareholder is not subject to backup withholding. Backup withholding also applies if the IRS notifies the shareholder or the fund that the taxpayer identification number provided by the shareholder is incorrect or that the shareholder has previously failed to properly report interest or dividend income.

The foregoing discussion of U.S. federal income tax law relates solely to the application of that law to U.S. persons (i.e., U.S. citizens and legal residents and U.S. corporations, partnerships, trusts and estates). Each shareholder who is not a U.S. person should consider the U.S. and foreign tax consequences of ownership of shares of the fund, including the possibility that such a shareholder may be subject to U.S. withholding taxes.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 69

Purchase and exchange of shares

Purchases by individuals — As described in the prospectus, you may generally open an account and purchase fund shares by contacting a financial advisor or investment dealer authorized to sell the fund’s shares. You may make investments by any of the following means:

Contacting your financial advisor — Deliver or mail a check to your financial advisor.

By mail — For initial investments, you may mail a check, made payable to the fund, directly to the address indicated on the account application. Please indicate an investment dealer on the account application. You may make additional investments by filling out the “Account Additions” form at the bottom of a recent transaction confirmation and mailing the form, along with a check made payable to the fund, using the envelope provided with your confirmation.

The amount of time it takes for us to receive regular U.S. postal mail may vary and there is no assurance that we will receive such mail on the day you expect. Mailing addresses for regular U.S. postal mail can be found in the prospectus. To send investments or correspondence to us via overnight mail or courier service, use either of the following addresses:

American Funds

12711 North Meridian Street

Carmel, IN 46032-9181

American Funds

5300 Robin Hood Road

Norfolk, VA 23513-2407

By telephone — Using the American FundsLine. Please see the “Shareholder account services and privileges” section of this statement of additional information for more information regarding this service.

By Internet — Using americanfunds.com. Please see the “Shareholder account services and privileges” section of this statement of additional information for more information regarding this service.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 70

By wire — If you are making a wire transfer, instruct your bank to wire funds to:

Wells Fargo Bank

ABA Routing No. 121000248

Account No. 4600-076178

Your bank should include the following information when wiring funds:

For credit to the account of:

American Funds Service Company

(fund’s name)

For further credit to:

(shareholder’s fund account number)

(shareholder’s name)

You may contact American Funds Service Company at (800) 421-4225 if you have questions about making wire transfers.

Other purchase information — The American Funds state tax-exempt funds are qualified for sale only in certain jurisdictions, and tax-exempt funds in general should not serve as retirement plan investments. The fund and the Principal Underwriter reserve the right to reject any purchase order.

Class R-6 shares are generally only available to American Funds Portfolio Series and other registered investment companies approved by the fund’s investment adviser or distributor.

Purchase minimums and maximums — All investments are subject to the purchase minimums and maximums described in the prospectus. As noted in the prospectus, purchase minimums may be waived or reduced in certain cases.

In the case of American Funds non-tax-exempt funds, the initial purchase minimum of $25 may be waived for the following account types:

· Payroll deduction retirement plan accounts (such as, but not limited to, 403(b), 401(k), SIMPLE IRA, SARSEP and deferred compensation plan accounts); and

· Employer-sponsored CollegeAmerica accounts.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 71

The following account types may be established without meeting the initial purchase minimum:

· Retirement accounts that are funded with employer contributions; and

· Accounts that are funded with monies set by court decree.

The following account types may be established without meeting the initial purchase minimum, but shareholders wishing to invest in two or more funds must meet the normal initial purchase minimum of each fund:

· Accounts that are funded with (a) transfers of assets, (b) rollovers from retirement plans, (c) rollovers from 529 college savings plans or (d) required minimum distribution automatic exchanges; and

· American Funds U.S. Government Money Market Fund accounts registered in the name of clients of Capital Group Private Client Services.

Certain accounts held on the fund’s books, known as omnibus accounts, contain multiple underlying accounts that are invested in shares of the fund. These underlying accounts are maintained by entities such as financial intermediaries and are subject to the applicable initial purchase minimums as described in the prospectus and this statement of additional information. However, in the case where the entity maintaining these accounts aggregates the accounts’ purchase orders for fund shares, such accounts are not required to meet the fund’s minimum amount for subsequent purchases.

Exchanges — You may only exchange shares into other American Funds within the same share class. However, exchanges from Class A shares of American Funds U.S. Government Money Market Fund may be made to Class C shares of other American Funds for dollar cost averaging purposes. Exchanges are not permitted from Class A shares of American Funds U.S. Government Money Market Fund to Class C shares of American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund, Intermediate Bond Fund of America, Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America, Short-Term Bond Fund of America or American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund. Exchange purchases are subject to the minimum investment requirements of the fund purchased and no sales charge generally applies. However, exchanges of shares from American Funds U.S. Government Money Market Fund are subject to applicable sales charges, unless the American Funds U.S. Government Money Market Fund shares were acquired by an exchange from a fund having a sales charge, or by reinvestment or cross-reinvestment of dividends or capital gain distributions. Exchanges of Class F shares generally may only be made through fee-based programs of investment firms that have special agreements with the fund’s distributor and certain registered investment advisors.

You may exchange shares of other classes by contacting the Transfer Agent, by contacting your investment dealer or financial advisor, by using American FundsLine or americanfunds.com, or by telephoning (800) 421-4225 toll-free, or faxing (see “American Funds Service Company service areas” in the prospectus for the appropriate fax numbers) the Transfer Agent. For more information, see “Shareholder account services and privileges” in this statement of additional information. These transactions have the same tax consequences as ordinary sales and purchases.

Shares held in employer-sponsored retirement plans may be exchanged into other American Funds by contacting your plan administrator or recordkeeper. Exchange redemptions and purchases are processed simultaneously at the share prices next determined after the exchange order is received (see “Price of shares” in this statement of additional information).

Conversion — Currently, Class C shares of the fund automatically convert to Class F-1 shares in the month of the 10-year anniversary of the purchase date. The board of trustees of the fund reserves the right at any time, without shareholder approval, to amend the conversion feature of the Class C shares, including without limitation, providing for conversion into a different share class or for no conversion.

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In making its decision, the board of trustees will consider, among other things, the effect of any such amendment on shareholders.

Frequent trading of fund shares — As noted in the prospectus, certain redemptions may trigger a purchase block lasting 30 calendar days under the fund’s “purchase blocking policy.” Under this policy, systematic redemptions will not trigger a purchase block and systematic purchases will not be prevented if the entity maintaining the shareholder account is able to identify the transaction as a systematic redemption or purchase. For purposes of this policy, systematic redemptions include, for example, regular periodic automatic redemptions and statement of intention escrow share redemptions. Systematic purchases include, for example, regular periodic automatic purchases and automatic reinvestments of dividends and capital gain distributions. Generally, purchases and redemptions will not be considered “systematic” unless the transaction is prescheduled for a specific date.

Other potentially abusive activity — In addition to implementing purchase blocks, American Funds Service Company will monitor for other types of activity that could potentially be harmful to the American Funds — for example, short-term trading activity in multiple funds. When identified, American Funds Service Company will request that the shareholder discontinue the activity. If the activity continues, American Funds Service Company will freeze the shareholder account to prevent all activity other than redemptions of fund shares.

Moving between share classes

If you wish to “move” your investment between share classes (within the same fund or between different funds), we generally will process your request as an exchange of the shares you currently hold for shares in the new class or fund. Below is more information about how sales charges are handled for various scenarios. Class B and C shares are not currently offered by STEX.

Exchanging Class B shares for Class A shares — If you exchange Class B shares for Class A shares during the contingent deferred sales charge period you are responsible for paying any applicable deferred sales charges attributable to those Class B shares, but you will not be required to pay a Class A sales charge. If, however, you exchange your Class B shares for Class A shares after the contingent deferred sales charge period, you are responsible for paying any applicable Class A sales charges.

Exchanging Class C shares for Class A shares — If you exchange Class C shares for Class A shares, you are still responsible for paying any Class C contingent deferred sales charges and applicable Class A sales charges.

Exchanging Class C shares for Class F shares — If you are part of a qualified fee-based program or approved self-directed platform and you wish to exchange your Class C shares for Class F shares to be held in the program, you are still responsible for paying any applicable Class C contingent deferred sales charges.

Exchanging Class F shares for Class A shares — You can exchange Class F shares held in a qualified fee-based program for Class A shares without paying an initial Class A sales charge if you are leaving or have left the fee-based program. You can exchange Class F shares received in a conversion from Class C shares for Class A shares at any time without paying an initial Class A sales charge if you notify American Funds Service Company of the conversion when you make your request. If you have already redeemed your Class F shares, the foregoing requirements apply and you must purchase Class A shares within 90 days after redeeming your Class F shares to receive the Class A shares without paying an initial Class A sales charge.

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Exchanging Class A shares for Class F shares — If you are part of a qualified fee-based program or approved self-directed platform and you wish to exchange your Class A shares for Class F shares to be held in the program, any Class A sales charges (including contingent deferred sales charges) that you paid or are payable will not be credited back to your account.

Moving between Class F shares — If you are part of a qualified fee-based program that offers Class F shares, you may exchange your Class F shares for any other Class F shares to be held in the program. For example, if you hold Class F-2 shares, you may exchange your shares for Class F-1 or Class F-3 shares to be held in the program.

Moving between other share classes — If you desire to move your investment between share classes and the particular scenario is not described in this statement of additional information, please contact American Funds Service Company at (800) 421-4225 for more information.

Non-reportable transactions — Automatic conversions described in the prospectus will be non-reportable for tax purposes. In addition, an exchange of shares from one share class of a fund to another share class of the same fund will be treated as a non-reportable exchange for tax purposes, provided that the exchange request is received in writing by American Funds Service Company and processed as a single transaction.

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Sales charges

Class A purchases

Purchases by certain 403(b) plans

Tax-exempt funds in general should not serve as retirement plan investments.

A 403(b) plan may not invest in Class A or C shares of any of the American Funds unless such plan was invested in Class A or C shares before January 1, 2009.

Participant accounts of a 403(b) plan that invested in Class A or C shares of any of the American Funds and were treated as an individual-type plan for sales charge purposes before January 1, 2009, may continue to be treated as accounts of an individual-type plan for sales charge purposes. Participant accounts of a 403(b) plan that invested in Class A or C shares of any of the American Funds and were treated as an employer-sponsored plan for sales charge purposes before January 1, 2009, may continue to be treated as accounts of an employer-sponsored plan for sales charge purposes. Participant accounts of a 403(b) plan that was established on or after January 1, 2009, are treated as accounts of an employer-sponsored plan for sales charge purposes.

Purchases by SEP plans and SIMPLE IRA plans

Participant accounts in a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan or a Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees of Small Employers IRA (SIMPLE IRA) will be aggregated at the plan level for Class A sales charge purposes if an employer adopts a prototype plan produced by American Funds Distributors, Inc. or (a) the employer or plan sponsor submits all contributions for all participating employees in a single contribution transmittal or the contributions are identified as related to the same plan; (b) each transmittal is accompanied by checks or wire transfers and generally must be submitted through the transfer agent’s automated contribution system if held on the fund’s books; and (c) if the fund is expected to carry separate accounts in the name of each plan participant and (i) the employer or plan sponsor notifies the funds’ transfer agent or the intermediary holding the account that the separate accounts of all plan participants should be linked and (ii) all new participant accounts are established by submitting the appropriate documentation on behalf of each new participant. Participant accounts in a SEP or SIMPLE plan that are eligible to aggregate their assets at the plan level may not also aggregate the assets with their individual accounts. The ability to link SEP and SIMPLE IRA accounts at the plan level may not be available to you depending on the policies and system capabilities of your financial intermediary.

Other purchases


	(1)	current or retired directors, trustees, officers and advisory board members of, and certain lawyers who provide services to, the funds managed by Capital Research and Management Company, current or retired employees and partners of The Capital Group Companies, Inc. and its affiliated companies, certain family members of the above persons, and trusts or plans primarily for such persons;

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	(2)	currently registered representatives and assistants directly employed by such representatives, retired registered representatives with respect to accounts established while active, or full-time employees (collectively, “Eligible Persons”) (and their (a) spouses or equivalents if recognized under local law, (b) parents and children, including parents and children in step and adoptive relationships, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, and (c) parents-in-law, if the Eligible Persons or the spouses, children or parents of the Eligible Persons are listed in the account registration with the parents-in-law) of dealers who have sales agreements with the Principal Underwriter (or who clear transactions through such dealers), plans for the dealers, and plans that include as participants only the Eligible Persons, their spouses, parents and/or children (these policies are subject to the dealer’s policies and system capabilities);
	(3)	currently registered investment advisors (“RIAs”) and assistants directly employed by such RIAs, retired RIAs with respect to accounts established while active, or full-time employees (collectively, “Eligible RIAs”) (and their (a) spouses or equivalents if recognized under local law, (b) parents and children, including parents and children in step and adoptive relationships, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law and (c) parents-in-law, if the Eligible RIAs or the spouses, children or parents of the Eligible RIAs are listed in the account registration with the parents-in-law) of RIA firms that are authorized to sell shares of the funds, plans for the RIA firms, and plans that include as participants only the Eligible RIAs, their spouses, parents and/or children (these policies are subject to the RIA’s policies and system capabilities);
	(4)	companies exchanging securities with the fund through a merger, acquisition or exchange offer;
	(5)	insurance company separate accounts;
	(6)	accounts managed by subsidiaries of The Capital Group Companies, Inc.;
	(7)	The Capital Group Companies, Inc. and its affiliated companies;
	(8)	an individual or entity with a substantial business relationship with The Capital Group Companies, Inc. or its affiliates, or an individual or entity related or relating to such individual or entity;
	(9)	wholesalers and full-time employees directly supporting wholesalers involved in the distribution of insurance company separate accounts whose underlying investments are managed by any affiliate of The Capital Group Companies, Inc.;
	(10)	full-time employees of banks that have sales agreements with the Principal Underwriter, who are solely dedicated to directly supporting the sale of mutual funds; and
	(11)	current or former clients of Capital Group Private Client Services and their family members who purchase their shares through Capital Group Private Client Services or American Funds Service Company.

Shares are offered at net asset value to these persons and organizations due to anticipated economies in sales effort and expense. Once an account is established under this net asset value privilege, additional investments can be made at net asset value for the life of the account. Depending on the financial intermediary holding your account, these privileges may be unavailable. Investors should consult their financial intermediary for further information.

Moving between accounts — American Funds investments by certain account types may be moved to other account types without incurring additional Class A sales charges. These transactions include:

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· redemption proceeds from a non-retirement account (for example, a joint tenant account) used to purchase fund shares in an IRA or other individual-type retirement account;

· required minimum distributions from an IRA or other individual-type retirement account used to purchase fund shares in a non-retirement account; and

· death distributions paid to a beneficiary’s account that are used by the beneficiary to purchase fund shares in a different account.

These privileges are generally available only if your account is held directly with the fund’s transfer agent or if the financial intermediary holding your account has the systems, policies and procedures to support providing the privileges on their systems. Investors should consult their financial intermediary for further information.

Loan repayments — Repayments on loans taken from a retirement plan are not subject to sales charges if American Funds Service Company is notified of the repayment.

Dealer commissions and compensation — Commissions (up to 1.00%) are paid to dealers who initiate and are responsible for certain Class A share purchases not subject to initial sales charges. These purchases consist of a) purchases of $1 million or more, and b) purchases by employer-sponsored defined contribution-type retirement plans investing $1 million or more or with 100 or more eligible employees. Only with respect to The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America, American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund, The Tax-Exempt Fund of California and American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York, commissions on such investments (other than IRA rollover assets that roll over at no sales charge under the fund’s IRA rollover policy as described in the prospectus) are paid to dealers at the following rates: 1.00% on amounts of less than $10 million, .50% on amounts of at least $10 million but less than $25 million and .25% on amounts of at least $25 million. Commissions are based on cumulative investments over the life of the account with no adjustment for redemptions, transfers, or market declines. For example, if a shareholder has accumulated investments in excess of $10 million (but less than $25 million) and subsequently redeems all or a portion of the account(s), purchases following the redemption will generate a dealer commission of .50%.

Commissions (up to 1.00%) are paid to dealers who initiate and are responsible for certain Class A share purchases not subject to initial sales charges. These purchases consist of purchases of $1 million or more and purchases by employer-sponsored defined contribution-type retirement plans investing $1 million or more or with 100 or more eligible employees. Only with respect to American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund and Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America, commissions on such investments (other than IRA rollover assets that roll over at no sales charge under the fund’s IRA rollover policy as described in the prospectus) are paid to dealers at the following rates: 1.00% on amounts of less than $4 million, .50% on amounts of at least $4 million but less than $10 million and .25% on amounts of at least $10 million. Commissions are based on cumulative investments over the life of the account with no adjustment for redemptions, transfers, or market declines. For example, if a shareholder has accumulated investments in excess of $4 million (but less than $10 million) and subsequently redeems all or a portion of the account(s), purchases following the redemption will generate a dealer commission of .50%.

A dealer concession of up to 1% may be paid by the fund under its Class A plan of distribution to reimburse the Principal Underwriter in connection with dealer and wholesaler compensation paid by it with respect to investments made with no initial sales charge.

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Class C purchases

Direct purchases of Class C shares of Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America are not permitted. Class C shares of Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America may be acquired only by exchanging from Class C shares of other American Funds.

Sales charge reductions and waivers

Reducing your Class A sales charge — As described in the prospectus, there are various ways to reduce your sales charge when purchasing Class A shares. Additional information about Class A sales charge reductions is provided below.

Statement of intention — By establishing a statement of intention (the "Statement"), you enter into a nonbinding commitment to purchase shares of the American Funds (excluding American Funds U.S. Government Money Market Fund) over a 13-month period and receive the same sales charge (expressed as a percentage of your purchases) as if all shares had been purchased at once, unless the Statement is upgraded as described below.

The Statement period starts on the date on which your first purchase made toward satisfying the Statement is processed. Your accumulated holdings (as described in the paragraph below titled “Rights of accumulation”) eligible to be aggregated as of the day immediately before the start of the Statement period may be credited toward satisfying the Statement.

You may revise the commitment you have made in your Statement upward at any time during the Statement period. If your prior commitment has not been met by the time of the revision, the Statement period during which purchases must be made will remain unchanged. Purchases made from the date of the revision will receive the reduced sales charge, if any, resulting from the revised Statement. If your prior commitment has been met by the time of the revision, your original Statement will be considered met and a new Statement will be established.

The Statement will be considered completed if the shareholder dies within the 13-month Statement period. Commissions to dealers will not be adjusted or paid on the difference between the Statement amount and the amount actually invested before the shareholder’s death.

When a shareholder elects to use a Statement, shares equal to 5% of the dollar amount specified in the Statement may be held in escrow in the shareholder’s account out of the initial purchase (or subsequent purchases, if necessary) by the Transfer Agent. All dividends and any capital gain distributions on shares held in escrow will be credited to the shareholder’s account in shares (or paid in cash, if requested). If the intended investment is not completed within the specified Statement period the investments made during the statement period will be adjusted to reflect the difference between the sales charge actually paid and the sales charge which would have been paid if the total of such purchases had been made at a single time. Any dealers assigned to the shareholder’s account at the time a purchase was made during the Statement period will receive a corresponding commission adjustment if appropriate.

In addition, if you currently have individual holdings in American Legacy variable annuity contracts or variable life insurance policies that were established on or before March 31, 2007, you may continue to apply purchases under such contracts and policies to a Statement.

Shareholders purchasing shares at a reduced sales charge under a Statement indicate their acceptance of these terms and those in the prospectus with their first purchase.

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Aggregation — Qualifying investments for aggregation include those made by you and your “immediate family” as defined in the prospectus, if all parties are purchasing shares for their own accounts and/or:

· individual-type employee benefit plans, such as an IRA, single-participant Keogh-type plan, or a participant account of a 403(b) plan that is treated as an individual-type plan for sales charge purposes (see “Purchases by certain 403(b) plans” under “Sales charges” in this statement of additional information);

· SEP plans and SIMPLE IRA plans established after November 15, 2004, by an employer adopting any plan document other than a prototype plan produced by American Funds Distributors, Inc.;

· business accounts solely controlled by you or your immediate family (for example, you own the entire business);

· trust accounts established by you or your immediate family (for trusts with only one primary beneficiary, upon the trustor’s death the trust account may be aggregated with such beneficiary’s own accounts; for trusts with multiple primary beneficiaries, upon the trustor’s death the trustees of the trust may instruct American Funds Service Company to establish separate trust accounts for each primary beneficiary; each primary beneficiary’s separate trust account may then be aggregated with such beneficiary’s own accounts);

· endowments or foundations established and controlled by you or your immediate family; or

· CollegeAmerica^®accounts invested in American Funds other than the funds, which will be aggregated at the account owner level. (Class 529-E accounts may only be aggregated with an eligible employer plan. For more information about CollegeAmerica and Class 529 shares, please see the prospectus of American Funds that offer Class 529 shares.)

Individual purchases by a trustee(s) or other fiduciary(ies) may also be aggregated if the investments are:

· for a single trust estate or fiduciary account, including employee benefit plans other than the individual-type employee benefit plans described above;

· made for two or more employee benefit plans of a single employer or of affiliated employers as defined in the 1940 Act, excluding the individual-type employee benefit plans described above;

· for a diversified common trust fund or other diversified pooled account not specifically formed for the purpose of accumulating fund shares;

· for nonprofit, charitable or educational organizations, or any endowments or foundations established and controlled by such organizations, or any employer-sponsored retirement plans established for the benefit of the employees of such organizations, their endowments, or their foundations;

· for participant accounts of a 403(b) plan that is treated as an employer-sponsored plan for sales charge purposes (see “Purchases by certain 403(b) plans” under “Sales charges” in this statement of additional information), or made for participant accounts of two or more such plans, in each case of a single employer or affiliated employers as defined in the 1940 Act; or

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· for a SEP or SIMPLE IRA plan established after November 15, 2004, by an employer adopting a prototype plan produced by American Funds Distributors, Inc.

Purchases made for nominee or street name accounts (securities held in the name of an investment dealer or another nominee such as a bank trust department instead of the customer) may not be aggregated with those made for other accounts and may not be aggregated with other nominee or street name accounts unless otherwise qualified as described above.

Joint accounts may be aggregated with other accounts belonging to the primary owner and/or his or her immediate family. The primary owner of a joint account is the individual responsible for taxes on the account.

Concurrent purchases — As described in the prospectus, you may reduce your Class A sales charge by combining purchases of all classes of shares in the American Funds, as well as applicable holdings in the American Funds Target Date Retirement Series, American Funds Portfolio Series, American Funds Retirement Income Portfolio Series and American Funds College Target Date Series. Shares of American Funds U.S. Government Money Market Fund purchased through an exchange, reinvestment or cross-reinvestment from a fund having a sales charge also qualify. However, direct purchases of American Funds U.S. Government Money Market Fund are excluded. If you currently have individual holdings in American Legacy variable annuity contracts or variable life insurance policies that were established on or before March 31, 2007, you may continue to combine purchases made under such contracts and policies to reduce your Class A sales charge.

Rights of accumulation — Subject to the limitations described in the aggregation policy, you may take into account your accumulated holdings in all share classes of the American Funds, as well as applicable holdings in the American Funds Target Date Retirement Series, American Funds Portfolio Series, American Funds Retirement Income Portfolio Series and American Funds College Target Date Series, to determine your sales charge on investments in accounts eligible to be aggregated. Direct purchases of American Funds U.S. Government Money Market Fund are excluded. Subject to your investment dealer’s or recordkeeper’s capabilities, your accumulated holdings will be calculated as the higher of (a) the current value of your existing holdings (the “market value”) as of the day prior to your American Funds investment or (b) the amount you invested (including reinvested dividends and capital gains, but excluding capital appreciation) less any withdrawals (the “cost value”). Depending on the entity on whose books your account is held, the value of your holdings in that account may not be eligible for calculation at cost value. For example, accounts held in nominee or street name may not be eligible for calculation at cost value and instead may be calculated at market value for purposes of rights of accumulation.

The value of all of your holdings in accounts established in calendar year 2005 or earlier will be assigned an initial cost value equal to the market value of those holdings as of the last business day of 2005. Thereafter, the cost value of such accounts will increase or decrease according to actual investments or withdrawals. You must contact your financial advisor or American Funds Service Company if you have additional information that is relevant to the calculation of the value of your holdings.

When determining your American Funds Class A sales charge, if your investment is not in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, you may also continue to take into account the market value (as of the day prior to your American Funds investment) of your individual holdings in various American Legacy variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies that were established on or before March 31, 2007. An employer-sponsored retirement plan may

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 80

also continue to take into account the market value of its investments in American Legacy Retirement Investment Plans that were established on or before March 31, 2007.

You may not purchase Class C shares of American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund or American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York if such combined American Funds and American Funds Legacy holdings cause you to be eligible to purchase Class A shares at the $1 million or more sales charge discount rate (i.e. at net asset value).

If you make a gift of American Funds Class A shares, upon your request, you may purchase the shares at the sales charge discount allowed under rights of accumulation of all of your American Funds and applicable American Legacy accounts.

CDSC waivers for Class A, B and C shares — As noted in the prospectus, a contingent deferred sales charge (“CDSC”) may be waived for redemptions due to death or post-purchase disability of a shareholder (this generally excludes accounts registered in the names of trusts and other entities). In the case of joint tenant accounts, if one joint tenant dies, a surviving joint tenant, at the time he or she notifies the Transfer Agent of the other joint tenant’s death and removes the decedent’s name from the account, may redeem shares from the account without incurring a CDSC. Redemptions made after the Transfer Agent is notified of the death of a joint tenant will be subject to a CDSC.

In addition, a CDSC may be waived for the following types of transactions, if they do not exceed 12% of the value of an “account” (defined below) annually (the “12% limit”):

· Required minimum distributions taken from retirement accounts upon the shareholder’s attainment of age 70½ (required minimum distributions that continue to be taken by the beneficiary(ies) after the account owner is deceased also qualify for a waiver).

· Redemptions through an automatic withdrawal plan (“AWP”) (see “Automatic withdrawals” under “Shareholder account services and privileges” in this statement of additional information). For each AWP payment, assets that are not subject to a CDSC, such as shares acquired through reinvestment of dividends and/or capital gain distributions, will be redeemed first and will count toward the 12% limit. If there is an insufficient amount of assets not subject to a CDSC to cover a particular AWP payment, shares subject to the lowest CDSC will be redeemed next until the 12% limit is reached. Any dividends and/or capital gain distributions taken in cash by a shareholder who receives payments through an AWP will also count toward the 12% limit. In the case of an AWP, the 12% limit is calculated at the time an automatic redemption is first made, and is recalculated at the time each additional automatic redemption is made. Shareholders who establish an AWP should be aware that the amount of a payment not subject to a CDSC may vary over time depending on fluctuations in the value of their accounts. This privilege may be revised or terminated at any time.

For purposes of this paragraph, “account” means your investment in the applicable class of shares of the particular fund from which you are making the redemption.

Pursuant to a determination of eligibility by a vice president or more senior officer of the Capital Research and Management Company Fund Administration Unit, or by his or her designee, the CDSC on Class A shares of the American Funds may be waived for bulk conversions to another share class in cases where the fund’s transfer agent determines the benefit to the fund of collecting the CDSC would be outweighed by the cost of applying it.

CDSC waivers are allowed only in the cases listed here and in the prospectus.

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Other sales charge waivers — Sales charges (including contingent deferred sales charges) may be waived pursuant to a determination of eligibility by a vice president or more senior officer of the Capital Research and Management Company Fund Business Management Group, or by his or her designee. For example, waivers of all or a portion of the contingent deferred sales charge on Class C shares may be granted for transactions requested by financial intermediaries as a result of (i) pending or anticipated regulatory matters that require investor accounts to be moved to a different share class or (ii) conversions of IRAs from brokerage to advisory accounts in cases where new investments in brokerage IRA accounts have been restricted by the intermediary.

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Selling shares

The methods for selling (redeeming) shares are described more fully in the prospectus. If you wish to sell your shares by contacting American Funds Service Company directly, any such request must be signed by the registered shareholders. To contact American Funds Service Company via overnight mail or courier service, see “Purchase and exchange of shares.”

A signature guarantee may be required for certain redemptions. In such an event, your signature may be guaranteed by a domestic stock exchange or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, bank, savings association or credit union that is an eligible guarantor institution. The Transfer Agent reserves the right to require a signature guarantee on any redemptions.

Additional documentation may be required for sales of shares held in corporate, partnership or fiduciary accounts. You must include with your written request any shares you wish to sell that are in certificate form.

If you sell Class A, B or C shares and request a specific dollar amount to be sold, we will sell sufficient shares so that the sale proceeds, after deducting any applicable CDSC, equals the dollar amount requested.

If you hold multiple American Funds and a CDSC applies to the shares you are redeeming, the CDSC will be calculated based on the applicable class of shares of the particular fund from which you are making the redemption.

Redemption proceeds will not be mailed until sufficient time has passed to provide reasonable assurance that checks or drafts (including certified or cashier’s checks) for shares purchased have cleared (which may take up to 10 business days from the purchase date). Except for delays relating to clearance of checks for share purchases or in extraordinary circumstances (and as permissible under the 1940 Act), sale proceeds will be paid on or before the seventh day following receipt and acceptance of an order. Interest will not accrue or be paid on amounts that represent uncashed distribution or redemption checks.

You may request that redemption proceeds of $1,000 or more from American Funds U.S. Government Money Market Fund be wired to your bank by writing American Funds Service Company. A signature guarantee is required on all requests to wire funds.

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Shareholder account services and privileges

The following services and privileges are generally available to all shareholders. However, certain services and privileges described in the prospectus and this statement of additional information may not be available if your account is held with an investment dealer.

Automatic investment plan — An automatic investment plan enables you to make monthly or quarterly investments in the American Funds through automatic debits from your bank account. To set up a plan, you must fill out an account application and specify the amount that you would like to invest and the date on which you would like your investments to occur. The plan will begin within 30 days after your account application is received. Your bank account will be debited on the day or a few days before your investment is made, depending on the bank’s capabilities. The Transfer Agent will then invest your money into the fund you specified on or around the date you specified. If the date you specified falls on a weekend or holiday, your money will be invested on the following business day. However, if the following business day falls in the next month, your money will be invested on the business day immediately preceding the weekend or holiday. If your bank account cannot be debited due to insufficient funds, a stop-payment or the closing of the account, the plan may be terminated and the related investment reversed. You may change the amount of the investment or discontinue the plan at any time by contacting the Transfer Agent.

Automatic reinvestment — Dividends and capital gain distributions are reinvested in additional shares of the same class and fund at net asset value unless you indicate otherwise on the account application. You also may elect to have dividends and/or capital gain distributions paid in cash by informing the fund, the Transfer Agent or your investment dealer.

If you have elected to receive dividends and/or capital gain distributions in cash, and the postal or other delivery service is unable to deliver checks to your address of record, or you do not respond to mailings from American Funds Service Company with regard to uncashed distribution checks, your distribution option may be automatically converted to having all dividends and other distributions reinvested in additional shares.

Cross-reinvestment of dividends and distributions — You may cross-reinvest dividends and capital gains (distributions) into other American Funds in the same share class at net asset value, subject to the following conditions:

(1) the aggregate value of your account(s) in the fund(s) paying distributions equals or exceeds $5,000 (this is waived if the value of the account in the fund receiving the distributions equals or exceeds that fund’s minimum initial investment requirement);

(2) if the value of the account of the fund receiving distributions is below the minimum initial investment requirement, distributions must be automatically reinvested; and

(3) if you discontinue the cross-reinvestment of distributions, the value of the account of the fund receiving distributions must equal or exceed the minimum initial investment requirement. If you do not meet this requirement within 90 days of notification, the fund has the right to automatically redeem the account.

Depending on the financial intermediary holding your account, your reinvestment privileges may be unavailable or differ from those described in this statement of additional information. Investors should consult their financial intermediary for further information.

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Automatic exchanges — For all share classes, you may automatically exchange shares of the same class in amounts of $50 or more among any of the American Funds on any day (or preceding business day if the day falls on a nonbusiness day) of each month you designate.

Automatic withdrawals — Depending on the type of account, for all share classes except R shares, you may automatically withdraw shares from any of the American Funds. You can make automatic withdrawals of $50 or more. You can designate the day of each period for withdrawals and request that checks be sent to you or someone else. Withdrawals may also be electronically deposited to your bank account. The Transfer Agent will withdraw your money from the fund you specify on or around the date you specify. If the date you specified falls on a weekend or holiday, the redemption will take place on the previous business day. However, if the previous business day falls in the preceding month, the redemption will take place on the following business day after the weekend or holiday. You should consult with your advisor or intermediary to determine if your account is eligible for automatic withdrawals.

Withdrawal payments are not to be considered as dividends, yield or income. Generally, automatic investments may not be made into a shareholder account from which there are automatic withdrawals. Withdrawals of amounts exceeding reinvested dividends and distributions and increases in share value would reduce the aggregate value of the shareholder’s account. The Transfer Agent arranges for the redemption by the fund of sufficient shares, deposited by the shareholder with the Transfer Agent, to provide the withdrawal payment specified.

Redemption proceeds from an automatic withdrawal plan are not eligible for reinvestment without a sales charge.

Account statements — Your account is opened in accordance with your registration instructions. Transactions in the account, such as additional investments, will be reflected on regular confirmation statements from the Transfer Agent. Dividend and capital gain reinvestments, purchases through automatic investment plans and certain retirement plans, as well as automatic exchanges and withdrawals, will be confirmed at least quarterly.

American FundsLine and americanfunds.com — You may check your share balance, the price of your shares or your most recent account transaction; redeem shares (up to $125,000 per American Funds shareholder each day) from nonretirement plan accounts; or exchange shares around the clock with American FundsLine or using americanfunds.com. To use American FundsLine, call (800) 325-3590 from a TouchTone™ telephone. Redemptions and exchanges through American FundsLine and americanfunds.com are subject to the conditions noted above and in “Telephone and Internet purchases, redemptions and exchanges” below. You will need your fund number (see the list of the American Funds under the “General information — fund numbers” section in this statement of additional information), personal identification number (generally the last four digits of your Social Security number or other tax identification number associated with your account) and account number.

Generally, all shareholders are automatically eligible to use these services. However, if you are not currently authorized to do so, you may complete an American FundsLink Authorization Form. Once you establish this privilege, you, your financial advisor or any person with your account information may use these services.

Telephone and Internet purchases, redemptions and exchanges — By using the telephone (including American FundsLine) or the Internet (including americanfunds.com), or fax purchase, redemption and/or exchange options, you agree to hold the fund, the Transfer Agent, any of its affiliates or mutual funds managed by such affiliates, and each of their respective directors, trustees, officers, employees and agents harmless from any losses, expenses, costs or liabilities (including attorney fees) that may be incurred in connection with the exercise of these privileges. Generally, all shareholders are

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automatically eligible to use these services. However, you may elect to opt out of these services by writing the Transfer Agent (you may also reinstate them at any time by writing the Transfer Agent). If the Transfer Agent does not employ reasonable procedures to confirm that the instructions received from any person with appropriate account information are genuine, it and/or the fund may be liable for losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions. In the event that shareholders are unable to reach the fund by telephone because of technical difficulties, market conditions or a natural disaster, redemption and exchange requests may be made in writing only.

Checkwriting — You may establish check writing privileges for Class A shares (but not Class 529-A shares) of American Funds U.S. Government Money Market Fund upon meeting the fund’s initial purchase minimum of $1,000. This can be done by using an account application. If you request check writing privileges, you will be provided with checks that you may use to draw against your account. These checks may be made payable to anyone you designate and must be signed by the authorized number of registered shareholders exactly as indicated on your account application.

Redemption of shares — The fund’s declaration of trust permits the fund to direct the Transfer Agent to redeem the shares of any shareholder for their then current net asset value per share if at such time the shareholder of record owns shares having an aggregate net asset value of less than the minimum initial investment amount required of new shareholders as set forth in the fund’s current registration statement under the 1940 Act, and subject to such further terms and conditions as the board of trustees of the fund may from time to time adopt.

While payment of redemptions normally will be in cash, the fund’s declaration of trust permits payment of the redemption price wholly or partly with portfolio securities or other fund assets under conditions and circumstances determined by the fund’s board of trustees. For example, redemptions could be made in this manner if the board determined that making payments wholly in cash over a particular period would be unfair and/or harmful to other fund shareholders.

Share certificates — Shares are credited to your account. The fund does not issue share certificates.

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General information

Custodian of assets — Securities and cash owned by the fund, including proceeds from the sale of shares of the fund and of securities in the fund’s portfolios, are held by JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A., 270 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017-2070 for STEX, LTEX, TEBF, AHIM and TEFCA, and by Bank of New York Mellon, One Wall Street, New York, NY 10286 for TEFNY, as custodian. If the fund holds securities of issuers outside the U.S., the custodian may hold these securities pursuant to subcustodial arrangements in banks outside the U.S. or branches of U.S. banks outside the U.S.

Transfer agent services — American Funds Service Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the investment adviser, maintains the records of shareholder accounts, processes purchases and redemptions of the fund’s shares, acts as dividend and capital gain distribution disbursing agent, and performs other related shareholder service functions. The principal office of American Funds Service Company is located at 6455 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine, CA 92618. Transfer agent fees are paid according to a fee schedule, based principally on the number of accounts serviced, contained in a Shareholder Services Agreement between the fund and American Funds Service Company.

In the case of certain shareholder accounts, third parties who may be unaffiliated with the investment adviser provide transfer agency and shareholder services in place of American Funds Service Company. These services are rendered under agreements with American Funds Service Company or its affiliates and the third parties receive compensation according to such agreements. Compensation for transfer agency and shareholder services, whether paid to American Funds Service Company or such third parties, is ultimately paid from fund assets and is reflected in the expenses of the fund as disclosed in the prospectus.

During the 2016 fiscal year, transfer agent fees, gross of any payments made by American Funds Service Company to third parties, were:


		Transfer agent fee
STEX	Class A	$ 216,000
	Class F-1	13,000
	Class F-2	77,000
LTEX	Class A	877,000
	Class B	—*
	Class C	9,000
	Class F-1	101,000
	Class F-2	251,000
	Class R-6	—*
TEBF	Class A	2,621,000
	Class B	2,000
	Class C	130,000
	Class F-1	1,605,000
	Class F-2	1,741,000
	Class R-6	—*

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 87


		Transfer agent fee
AHIM	Class A	$1,490,000
	Class B	1,000
	Class C	103,000
	Class F-1	271,000
	Class F-2	504,000
	Class R-6	—*
TEFCA	Class A	329,000
	Class B	—*
	Class C	19,000
	Class F-1	78,000
	Class F-2	173,000
TEFNY	Class A	47,000
	Class B	—*
	Class C	4,000
	Class F-1	1,000
	Class F-2	26,000

* Amount less than $1,000.

Independent registered public accounting firm — PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 601 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90017, serves as the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, providing audit services, preparation of tax returns and review of certain documents to be filed with the SEC. The selection of the fund‘s independent registered public accounting firm is reviewed and determined annually by the board of trustees.

Independent legal counsel — Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, 300 South Grand Avenue, 22nd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90071, serves as independent legal counsel (“counsel”) for the fund and for independent trustees in their capacities as such. A determination with respect to the independence of the fund’s counsel will be made at least annually by the independent trustees of the fund, as prescribed by applicable 1940 Act rules.

Prospectuses, reports to shareholders and proxy statements — The fund’s fiscal year ends on July 31. Shareholders are provided updated summary prospectuses annually and at least semi-annually with reports showing the fund’s investment portfolio or summary investment portfolio, financial statements and other information. Shareholders may request a copy of the fund’s current prospectus at no cost by calling (800) 421-4225 or by sending an email request to [email protected]. Shareholders may also access the fund’s current summary prospectus, prospectus, statement of additional information and shareholder reports at americanfunds.com/prospectus. The annual financial statements for each fund are audited by the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. In addition, shareholders may also receive proxy statements for the fund. In an effort to reduce the volume of mail shareholders receive from the fund when a household owns more than one account, the Transfer Agent has taken steps to eliminate duplicate mailings of summary prospectuses, shareholder reports and proxy statements. To receive additional copies of a summary prospectus, report or proxy statement, shareholders should contact the Transfer Agent.

Shareholders may also elect to receive updated summary prospectuses, annual reports and semi-annual reports electronically by signing up for electronic delivery on our website, americanfunds.com. Upon electing the electronic delivery of updated summary prospectuses and other reports, a shareholder will no longer automatically receive such documents in paper form by mail. A shareholder

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 88

who elects electronic delivery is able to cancel this service at any time and return to receiving updated summary prospectuses and other reports in paper form by mail.

Summary prospectuses, prospectuses, annual reports and semi-annual reports that are mailed to shareholders by the American Funds organization are printed with ink containing soy and/or vegetable oil on paper containing recycled fibers.

Codes of ethics — The fund and Capital Research and Management Company and its affiliated companies, including the fund’s Principal Underwriter, have adopted codes of ethics that allow for personal investments, including securities in which the fund may invest from time to time. These codes include a ban on acquisitions of securities pursuant to an initial public offering; restrictions on acquisitions of private placement securities; preclearance and reporting requirements; review of duplicate confirmation statements; annual recertification of compliance with codes of ethics; blackout periods on personal investing for certain investment personnel; ban on short-term trading profits for investment personnel; limitations on service as a director of publicly traded companies; disclosure of personal securities transactions; and policies regarding political contributions.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 89

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund

Determination of net asset value, redemption price and maximum offering price per share for Class A shares — January 31, 2017


Net asset value and redemption price per share (Net assets divided by shares outstanding)	$10.07
Maximum offering price per share (100/97.50 of net asset value per share, which takes into account the fund’s current maximum sales charge)	$10.33

Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America

Determination of net asset value, redemption price and maximum offering price per share for Class A shares — January 31, 2017


Net asset value and redemption price per share (Net assets divided by shares outstanding)	$15.60
Maximum offering price per share (100/97.50 of net asset value per share, which takes into account the fund’s current maximum sales charge)	$16.00

The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America

Determination of net asset value, redemption price and maximum offering price per share for Class A shares — January 31, 2017


Net asset value and redemption price per share (Net assets divided by shares outstanding)	$12.75
Maximum offering price per share (100/96.25 of net asset value per share, which takes into account the fund’s current maximum sales charge)	$13.25

American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund

Determination of net asset value, redemption price and maximum offering price per share for Class A shares — January 31, 2017


Net asset value and redemption price per share (Net assets divided by shares outstanding)	$15.31
Maximum offering price per share (100/96.25 of net asset value per share, which takes into account the fund’s current maximum sales charge)	$15.91

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 90

The Tax-Exempt Fund of California

Determination of net asset value, redemption price and maximum offering price per share for Class A shares — January 31, 2017


Net asset value and redemption price per share (Net assets divided by shares outstanding)	$17.28
Maximum offering price per share (100/96.25 of net asset value per share, which takes into account the fund’s current maximum sales charge)	$17.95

American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York

Determination of net asset value, redemption price and maximum offering price per share for Class A shares — January 31, 2017


Net asset value and redemption price per share (Net assets divided by shares outstanding)	$10.59
Maximum offering price per share (100/96.25 of net asset value per share, which takes into account the fund’s current maximum sales charge)	$11.00

Other information — The fund reserves the right to modify the privileges described in this statement of additional information at any time.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 91

Fund numbers — Here are the fund numbers for use with our automated telephone line, American FundsLine^®, or when making share transactions:


	Fund numbers
Fund	Class A	Class B	Class C	Class F-1	Class F-2	Class F-3
Stock and stock/fixed income funds
AMCAP Fund^®	002	202	302	402	602	702
American Balanced Fund^®	011	211	311	411	611	711
American Funds Developing World Growth and Income Fund^SM	30100	32100	33100	34100	36100	37100
American Funds Global Balanced Fund^SM	037	237	337	437	637	737
American Mutual Fund^®	003	203	303	403	603	703
Capital Income Builder^®	012	212	312	412	612	712
Capital World Growth and Income Fund^®	033	233	333	433	633	733
EuroPacific Growth Fund^®	016	216	316	416	616	716
Fundamental Investors^®	010	210	310	410	610	710
The Growth Fund of America^®	005	205	305	405	605	705
The Income Fund of America^®	006	206	306	406	606	706
International Growth and Income Fund^SM	034	234	334	434	634	734
The Investment Company of America^®	004	204	304	404	604	704
The New Economy Fund^®	014	214	314	414	614	714
New Perspective Fund^®	007	207	307	407	607	707
New World Fund^®	036	236	336	436	636	736
SMALLCAP World Fund^®	035	235	335	435	635	735
Washington Mutual Investors Fund^SM	001	201	301	401	601	701
Fixed income funds
American Funds Emerging Markets Bond Fund^SM	30114	32114	33114	34114	36114	37114
American Funds Corporate Bond Fund^SM	032	232	332	432	632	732
American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund^®	060	260	360	460	660	760
American Funds Mortgage Fund^®	042	242	342	442	642	742
American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund^®	039	N/A	N/A	439	639	739
American Funds Strategic Bond Fund^SM	30112	32112	33112	34112	36112	37112
American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York^®	041	241	341	441	641	741
American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund^®	040	240	340	440	640	740
American High-Income Trust^®	021	221	321	421	621	721
The Bond Fund of America^®	008	208	308	408	608	708
Capital World Bond Fund^®	031	231	331	431	631	731
Intermediate Bond Fund of America^®	023	223	323	423	623	723
Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America^®	043	243	343	443	643	743
Short-Term Bond Fund of America^®	048	248	348	448	648	748
The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America^®	019	219	319	419	619	719
The Tax-Exempt Fund of California^®	020	220	320	420	620	720
U.S. Government Securities Fund^®	022	222	322	422	622	722
Money market fund
American Funds U.S. Government Money Market Fund^SM	059	259	359	459	659	759

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 92


	Fund numbers
Fund	Class 529-A	Class 529-B	Class 529-C	Class 529-E	Class 529-F-1
Stock and stock/fixed income funds
AMCAP Fund	1002	1202	1302	1502	1402
American Balanced Fund	1011	1211	1311	1511	1411
American Funds Developing World Growth and Income Fund	10100	12100	13100	15100	14100
American Funds Global Balanced Fund	1037	1237	1337	1537	1437
American Mutual Fund	1003	1203	1303	1503	1403
Capital Income Builder	1012	1212	1312	1512	1412
Capital World Growth and Income Fund	1033	1233	1333	1533	1433
EuroPacific Growth Fund	1016	1216	1316	1516	1416
Fundamental Investors	1010	1210	1310	1510	1410
The Growth Fund of America	1005	1205	1305	1505	1405
The Income Fund of America	1006	1206	1306	1506	1406
International Growth and Income Fund	1034	1234	1334	1534	1434
The Investment Company of America	1004	1204	1304	1504	1404
The New Economy Fund	1014	1214	1314	1514	1414
New Perspective Fund	1007	1207	1307	1507	1407
New World Fund	1036	1236	1336	1536	1436
SMALLCAP World Fund	1035	1235	1335	1535	1435
Washington Mutual Investors Fund	1001	1201	1301	1501	1401
Fixed income funds
American Funds Emerging Markets Bond Fund	10114	12114	13114	15114	14114
American Funds Corporate Bond Fund	1032	1232	1332	1532	1432
American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund	1060	1260	1360	1560	1460
American Funds Mortgage Fund	1042	1242	1342	1542	1442
American Funds Strategic Bond Fund	10112	12112	13112	15112	14112
American High-Income Trust	1021	1221	1321	1521	1421
The Bond Fund of America	1008	1208	1308	1508	1408
Capital World Bond Fund	1031	1231	1331	1531	1431
Intermediate Bond Fund of America	1023	1223	1323	1523	1423
Short-Term Bond Fund of America	1048	1248	1348	1548	1448
U.S. Government Securities Fund	1022	1222	1322	1522	1422
Money market fund
American Funds U.S. Government Money Market Fund	1059	1259	1359	1559	1459

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 93


	Fund numbers
Fund	Class R-1	Class R-2	Class R-2E	Class R-3	Class R-4	Class R-5E	Class R-5	Class R-6
Stock and stock/fixed income funds
AMCAP Fund	2102	2202	4102	2302	2402	2702	2502	2602
American Balanced Fund	2111	2211	4111	2311	2411	2711	2511	2611
American Funds Developing World Growth and Income Fund	21100	22100	41100	23100	24100	27100	25100	26100
American Funds Global Balanced Fund	2137	2237	4137	2337	2437	2737	2537	2637
American Mutual Fund	2103	2203	4103	2303	2403	2703	2503	2603
Capital Income Builder	2112	2212	4112	2312	2412	2712	2512	2612
Capital World Growth and Income Fund	2133	2233	4133	2333	2433	2733	2533	2633
EuroPacific Growth Fund	2116	2216	4116	2316	2416	2716	2516	2616
Fundamental Investors	2110	2210	4110	2310	2410	2710	2510	2610
The Growth Fund of America	2105	2205	4105	2305	2405	2705	2505	2605
The Income Fund of America	2106	2206	4106	2306	2406	2706	2506	2606
International Growth and Income Fund	2134	2234	41034	2334	2434	27034	2534	2634
The Investment Company of America	2104	2204	4104	2304	2404	2704	2504	2604
The New Economy Fund	2114	2214	4114	2314	2414	2714	2514	2614
New Perspective Fund	2107	2207	4107	2307	2407	2707	2507	2607
New World Fund	2136	2236	4136	2336	2436	2736	2536	2636
SMALLCAP World Fund	2135	2235	4135	2335	2435	2735	2535	2635
Washington Mutual Investors Fund	2101	2201	4101	2301	2401	2701	2501	2601
Fixed income funds
American Funds Emerging Markets Bond Fund	21114	22114	41114	23114	24114	27114	25114	26114
American Funds Corporate Bond Fund	2132	2232	4132	2332	2432	2732	2532	2632
American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund	2160	2260	4160	2360	2460	2760	2560	2660
American Funds Mortgage Fund	2142	2242	4142	2342	2442	2742	2542	2642
American Funds Strategic Bond Fund	21112	22112	41112	23112	24112	27112	25112	26112
American High-Income Trust	2121	2221	4121	2321	2421	2721	2521	2621
The Bond Fund of America	2108	2208	4108	2308	2408	2708	2508	2608
Capital World Bond Fund	2131	2231	4131	2331	2431	2731	2531	2631
Intermediate Bond Fund of America	2123	2223	4123	2323	2423	2723	2523	2623
Short-Term Bond Fund of America	2148	2248	4148	2348	2448	2748	2548	2648
U.S. Government Securities Fund	2122	2222	4122	2322	2422	2722	2522	2622
Money market fund
American Funds U.S. Government Money Market Fund	2159	2259	4159	2359	2459	2759	2559	2659

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 94


	Fund numbers
Fund	Class A	Class B	Class C	Class F-1	Class F-2	Class F-3
American Funds Target Date Retirement Series^®
American Funds 2060 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	083	283	383	483	683	783
American Funds 2055 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	082	282	382	482	682	782
American Funds 2050 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	069	269	369	469	669	769
American Funds 2045 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	068	268	368	468	668	768
American Funds 2040 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	067	267	367	467	667	767
American Funds 2035 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	066	266	366	466	36066	766
American Funds 2030 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	065	265	365	465	665	765
American Funds 2025 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	064	264	364	464	664	764
American Funds 2020 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	063	263	363	463	663	763
American Funds 2015 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	062	262	362	462	662	762
American Funds 2010 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	061	261	361	461	661	761


	Fund numbers
Fund	Class R-1	Class R-2	Class R-2E	Class R-3	Class R-4	Class R-5E	Class R-5	Class R-6
American Funds Target Date Retirement Series^®
American Funds 2060 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	2183	2283	4183	2383	2483	2783	2583	2683
American Funds 2055 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	2182	2282	4182	2382	2482	2782	2582	2682
American Funds 2050 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	2169	2269	4169	2369	2469	2769	2569	2669
American Funds 2045 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	2168	2268	4168	2368	2468	2768	2568	2668
American Funds 2040 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	2167	2267	4167	2367	2467	2767	2567	2667
American Funds 2035 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	2166	2266	4166	2366	2466	2766	2566	2666
American Funds 2030 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	2165	2265	4165	2365	2465	2765	2565	2665
American Funds 2025 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	2164	2264	4164	2364	2464	2764	2564	2664
American Funds 2020 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	2163	2263	4163	2363	2463	2763	2563	2663
American Funds 2015 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	2162	2262	4162	2362	2462	2762	2562	2662
American Funds 2010 Target Date Retirement Fund^®	2161	2261	4161	2361	2461	2761	2561	2661

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 95


	Fund numbers
Fund	Class 529-A	Class 529-B	Class 529-C	Class 529-E	Class 529-F-1
American Funds College Target Date Series^®
American Funds College 2033 Fund^®	10103	12103	13103	15103	14103
American Funds College 2030 Fund^®	1094	1294	1394	1594	1494
American Funds College 2027 Fund^®	1093	1293	1393	1593	1493
American Funds College 2024 Fund^®	1092	1292	1392	1592	1492
American Funds College 2021 Fund^®	1091	1291	1391	1591	1491
American Funds College 2018 Fund^®	1090	1290	1390	1590	1490
American Funds College Enrollment Fund^®	1088	1288	1388	1588	1488


	Fund numbers
Fund	Class A	Class B	Class C	Class F-1	Class F-2	Class F-3
American Funds Portfolio Series^SM
American Funds Global Growth Portfolio^SM	055	255	355	455	655	755
American Funds Growth Portfolio^SM	053	253	353	453	653	753
American Funds Growth and Income Portfolio^SM	051	251	351	451	651	751
American Funds Balanced Portfolio^SM	050	250	350	450	650	750
American Funds Income Portfolio^SM	047	247	347	447	647	747
American Funds Tax-Advantaged Income Portfolio^SM	046	246	346	446	646	746
American Funds Preservation Portfolio^SM	045	245	345	445	645	745
American Funds Tax-Exempt Preservation Portfolio^SM	044	244	344	444	644	744


	Fund numbers
Fund	Class 529-A	Class 529-B	Class 529-C	Class 529-E	Class 529-F-1
American Funds Global Growth Portfolio	1055	1255	1355	1555	1455
American Funds Growth Portfolio	1053	1253	1353	1553	1453
American Funds Growth and Income Portfolio	1051	1251	1351	1551	1451
American Funds Balanced Portfolio	1050	1250	1350	1550	1450
American Funds Income Portfolio	1047	1247	1347	1547	1447
American Funds Tax-Advantaged Income Portfolio	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
American Funds Preservation Portfolio	1045	1245	1345	1545	1445
American Funds Tax-Exempt Preservation Portfolio	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A


	Fund numbers
Fund	Class R-1	Class R-2	Class R-2E	Class R-3	Class R-4	Class R-5E	Class R-5	Class R-6
American Funds Global Growth Portfolio	2155	2255	4155	2355	2455	2755	2555	2655
American Funds Growth Portfolio	2153	2253	4153	2353	2453	2753	2553	2653
American Funds Growth and Income Portfolio	2151	2251	4151	2351	2451	2751	2551	2651
American Funds Balanced Portfolio	2150	2250	4150	2350	2450	2750	2550	2650
American Funds Income Portfolio	2147	2247	4147	2347	2447	2747	2547	2647
American Funds Tax-Advantaged Income Portfolio	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
American Funds Preservation Portfolio	2145	2245	4145	2345	2445	2745	2545	2645
American Funds Tax-Exempt Preservation Portfolio	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 96


	Fund numbers
Fund	Class A	Class B	Class C	Class F-1	Class F-2	Class F-3
American Funds Retirement Income Portfolio Series^SM
American Funds Retirement Income Portfolio – Conservative^SM	30109	32109	33109	34109	36109	37109
American Funds Retirement Income Portfolio – Moderate^SM	30110	32110	33110	34110	36110	37110
American Funds Retirement Income Portfolio – Enhanced^SM	30111	32111	33111	34111	36111	37111


	Fund numbers
Fund	Class R-1	Class R-2	Class R-2E	Class R-3	Class R-4	Class R-5E	Class R-5	Class R-6
American Funds Retirement Income Portfolio – Conservative	21109	22109	41109	23109	24109	27109	25109	26109
American Funds Retirement Income Portfolio – Moderate	21110	22110	41110	23110	24110	27110	25110	26110
American Funds Retirement Income Portfolio – Enhanced	21111	22111	41111	23111	24111	27111	25111	26111

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 97

Appendix

The following descriptions of debt security ratings are based on information provided by Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services.

Description of bond ratings

Moody’s

Municipal long-term rating definitions

Aaa

Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.

Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.

Obligations rated A are considered upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.

Baa

Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.

Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.

Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.

Caa

Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative and of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.

Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.

Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 98

Standard & Poor’s
Long-term issue credit ratings

AAA
An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poor’s. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.

AA
An obligation rated AA differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.

A
An obligation rated A is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.

BBB
An obligation rated BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

BB, B, CCC, CC, and C

Obligations rated BB, B, CCC, CC, and C are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. BB indicates the least degree of speculation and C the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.

BB
An obligation rated BB is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

B
An obligation rated B is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated BB, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor’s capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

CCC
An obligation rated CCC is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

CC
An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The CC rating is used when a default has not occurred, but Standard & Poor’s expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 99

C
An obligation rated C is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared to obligations that are rated higher.

D
An obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poor’s believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligation’s rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.

Plus (+) or minus (–)

The ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus or minus sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.

This indicates that no rating has been requested, that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poor’s does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 100

Fitch Ratings, Inc.
Long-term credit ratings

AAA
Highest credit quality. AAA ratings denote the lowest expectation of default risk. They are assigned only in case of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.

AA
Very high credit quality. AA ratings denote expectations of very low default risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.

A
High credit quality. A ratings denote expectations of low default risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to changes in circumstances or in economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.

BBB
Good credit quality. BBB ratings indicate that expectations of default risk are low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse changes in circumstances and economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.

BB
Speculative. BB ratings indicate an elevated vulnerability to default risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial flexibility exists which supports the servicing of financial commitments.

B
Highly speculative. B ratings indicate that material default risk is present, but a limited margin of safety remains. Financial commitments are currently being met; however, capacity for continued payment is vulnerable to deterioration in the business and economic environment.

CCC
Substantial credit risk. Default is a real possibility.

CC
Very high levels of credit risk. Default of some kind appears probable.

C
Exceptionally high levels of credit risk. Default is imminent or inevitable, or the issuer is in standstill. Conditions that are indicative of a C category rating for an issuer include:

· The issuer has entered into a grace or cure period following nonpayment of a material financial obligation;

· The issuer has entered into a temporary negotiated waiver or standstill agreement following a payment default on a material financial obligation; or

· Fitch Ratings otherwise believes a condition of RD or D to be imminent or inevitable, including through the formal announcement of a distressed debt exchange.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 101

RD
Restricted default. RD ratings indicate an issuer that in Fitch Ratings’ opinion has experienced an uncured payment default on a bond, loan or other material financial obligation but which has not entered into bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation or other formal winding up procedure, and which has not otherwise ceased operating. This would include:

· The selective payment default on a specific class or currency of debt;

· The extension of multiple waivers or forbearance periods upon a payment default on one or more material financial obligations, either in series or in parallel; or

· Execution of a distressed debt exchange on one or more material financial obligations.

D
Default. D ratings indicate an issuer that in Fitch Ratings’ opinion has entered into bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation or other formal winding up procedure, or which has otherwise ceased business.

Note: The modifiers “+” or “–” may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the AAA long-term rating category, or to categories below B.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 102

Description of note ratings

Moody’s

Municipal short-term debt ratings

MIG 1

This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.

MIG 2

This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.

MIG 3

This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.

This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 103

Standard & Poor’s

Short-term issue credit ratings

SP-1

Strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.

SP-2

Satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.

SP-3

Speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 104

Description of commercial paper ratings

Moody’s

Global short-term rating scale

P-1

Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.

P-2

Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.

P-3

Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.

Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.

Standard & Poor’s

Commercial paper ratings (highest three ratings)

A-1

A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category by Standard & Poor’s. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong.

A-2

A short-term obligation rated A-2 is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.

A-3

A short-term obligation rated A-3 exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund — Page 105

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund

Part C

Other Information

Item 28. Exhibits for Registration Statement (1940 Act No. 811-05750 and 1933 Act. No. 033-26431)

(a)

Articles of Incorporation – Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust dated 2/13/12 – previously filed (see P/E Amendment No. 40 filed 9/28/12); Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust dated 12/5/12 – previously filed (see P/E Amendment No. 42 filed 10/1/13); and Certificate of Establishment and Designation of Class F-3 Shares dated 9/14/16 – previously filed (see P/E Amendment No. 50 filed 12/29/16)

(b)

By-laws – By-laws previously filed (see P/E Amendment No. 33 filed 8/7/09)

(c)

Instruments Defining Rights of Security Holders – None

(d)

Investment Advisory Contracts – Form of Investment Advisory and Service Agreement dated 1/1/10 – previously filed (see P/E Amendment No. 37 filed 10/29/10)

(e-1)

Underwriting Contracts – Form of Selling Group Agreement – previously filed (see P/E Amendment No. 48 filed 9/30/16); Form of Bank/Trust Company Selling Group Agreement – previously filed (see P/E Amendment No. 48 filed 9/30/16); Form of Class F Share Participation Agreement – previously filed (see P/E Amendment No. 44 filed 9/30/14); and Form of Bank/Trust Company Participation Agreement for Class F Shares – previously filed (see P/E Amendment No. 44 filed 9/30/14)

(e-2)

Form of Amended and Restated Principal Underwriting Agreement effective 3/6/17

(f)

Bonus or Profit Sharing Contracts - Deferred Compensation Plan effective 1/1/14 – previously filed (see P/E Amendment No. 48 filed 9/30/16)

(g)

Custodian Agreements – Form of Global Custody Agreement – previously filed (see P/E Amendment No. 33 filed 8/7/09); and Form of Amendment to Global Custody Agreement effective 7/1/15; previously filed (see P/E Amendment No. 46 filed 9/30/15)

(h-1)

Other Material Contracts – Form of Indemnification Agreement – previously filed (see P/E Amendment No. 32 filed 6/3/09); and Agreement and Plan of Reorganization – previously filed (see P/E Amendment No. 32 filed 6/3/09)

(h-2)

Form of Amended and Restated Shareholder Services Agreement effective 3/6/17; and Form of Amended and Restated Administrative Services Agreement effective 3/6/17

(i-1)

Legal Opinion – previously filed (see P/E Amendment No. 33 filed 8/7/09; and P/E Amendment No. 50 filed 12/29/16)

(i-2)

Legal Opinion

(j)

Other Opinions – Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm – None

(k)

Omitted Financial Statements - none

(l)

Initial Capital Agreements – none

(m)

Rule 12b-1 Plan – Forms of Plans of Distribution – previously filed (see P/E Amendment No. 33 filed 8/7/09)

(n)

Rule 18f-3 Plan – Form of Amended and Restated Multiple Class Plan effective 3/6/17

(o)

Reserved

(p)

Code of Ethics – Code of Ethics for The Capital Group Companies dated October 2016 and Code of Ethics for the Registrant

Item 29. Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with the Fund

None

Item 30. Indemnification

The Registrant is a joint-insured under Investment Advisor/Mutual Fund Errors and Omissions Policies, which insure its officers and trustees against certain liabilities. However, in no event will Registrant maintain insurance to indemnify any such person for any act for which Registrant itself is not permitted to indemnify the individual.

Article 8 of the Registrant’s Declaration of Trust as well as the indemnification agreements that the Registrant has entered into with each of its trustees who is not an “interested person” of the Registrant (as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended), provide in effect that the Registrant will indemnify its officers and trustees against any liability or expenses actually and reasonably incurred by such person in any proceeding arising out of or in connection with his or her service to the Registrant, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, subject to certain conditions. In accordance with Section 17(h) and 17(i) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and their respective terms, these provisions do not protect any person against any liability to the Registrant or its shareholders to which such person would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office.

Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to trustees, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a trustee, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such trustee, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

Registrant will comply with the indemnification requirements contained in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and Release Nos. 7221 (June 9, 1972) and 11330 (September 4, 1980).

Item 31. Business and Other Connections of the Investment Adviser

None

Item 32. Principal Underwriters

(a) American Funds Distributors, Inc. is the Principal Underwriter of shares of: AMCAP Fund, American Balanced Fund, American Funds College Target Date Series, American Funds Corporate Bond Fund, American Funds Developing World Growth and Income Fund, American Funds Emerging Markets Bond Fund, American Funds Fundamental Investors, American Funds Global Balanced Fund, The American Funds Income Series, American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund, American Funds Mortgage Fund, American Funds Portfolio Series, American Funds Retirement Income Portfolio Series, American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund, American Funds Strategic Bond Fund, American Funds Target Date Retirement Series, American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York, The American Funds Tax-Exempt Series II, American Funds U.S. Government Money Market Fund, American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund, American High-Income Trust, American Mutual Fund, The Bond Fund of America, Capital Group Emerging Markets Total Opportunities Fund, Capital Income Builder, Capital Group Private Client Services Funds, Capital World Bond Fund, Capital World Growth and Income Fund, Emerging Markets Growth Fund, Inc., EuroPacific Growth Fund, The Growth Fund of America, The Income Fund of America, Intermediate Bond Fund of America, International Growth and Income Fund, The Investment Company of America, Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America, The New Economy Fund, New Perspective Fund, New World Fund, Inc., Short-Term Bond Fund of America, SMALLCAP World Fund, Inc., The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America and Washington Mutual Investors Fund

(b)

	(1) Name and Principal Business Address	(2) Positions and Offices with Underwriter	(3) Positions and Offices with Registrant
LAO	Raymond Ahn	Vice President	None
LAO	C. Thomas Akin II	Regional Vice President	None
IRV	Laurie M. Allen	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	William C. Anderson	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Dion T. Angelopoulos	Assistant Vice President	None

LAO	Curtis A. Baker	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	T. Patrick Bardsley	Vice President	None
SNO	Mark C. Barile	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	Shakeel A. Barkat	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Brett A. Beach	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	Jerry R. Berg	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Michel L. Bergesen	Vice President	None
LAO	Joseph W. Best, Jr.	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Roger J. Bianco, Jr.	Vice President	None
LAO	Ryan M. Bickle	Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	John A. Blanchard	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Marek Blaskovic	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Gerard M. Bockstie, Jr.	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Jill M. Boudreau	Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Andre W. Bouvier	Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Michael A. Bowman	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	William P. Brady	Senior Vice President	None
IRV	Jason E. Brady	Regional Vice President	None
IND	Robert W. Brinkman	Assistant Vice President	None

LAO	Kevin G. Broulette	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	C. Alan Brown	Vice President	None
LAO	E. Chapman Brown, Jr.	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Toni L. Brown	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
IND	Jennifer A. Bruce	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	Gary D. Bryce	Vice President	None
IRV	Eileen K. Buckner	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	Sheryl M. Burford	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	Ronan J. Burke	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Steven Calabria	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Thomas E. Callahan	Vice President	None
LAO	Anthony J. Camilleri	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Kelly V. Campbell	Vice President	None
LAO	Anthon S. Cannon III	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	Jason S. Carlough	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Damian F. Carroll	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	James D. Carter	Vice President	None
LAO	Stephen L. Caruthers	Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
SFO	James G. Carville	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Philip L. Casciano	Regional Vice President	None

LAO	Brian C. Casey	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Craig L. Castner	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Christopher M. Cefalo	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Kent W. Chan	Vice President	None
LAO	Becky C. Chao	Vice President	None
LAO	David D. Charlton	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Thomas M. Charon	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Daniel A. Chodosch	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Wellington Choi	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Paul A. Cieslik	Senior Vice President	None
IND	G. Michael Cisternino	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	Andrew R. Claeson	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Kevin G. Clifford	Director, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Hannah L. Coan	Vice President	None
LAO	Ruth M. Collier	Senior Vice President	None
IND	Timothy J. Colvin	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Christopher M. Conwell	Vice President	None
LAO	C. Jeffrey Cook	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Joseph G. Cronin	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	D. Erick Crowdus	Vice President	None
LAO	Brian M. Daniels	Vice President	None

LAO	Hanh M. Dao	Vice President	None
LAO	William F. Daugherty	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Scott T. Davis	Vice President	None
LAO	Shane L. Davis	Vice President	None
LAO	Peter J. Deavan	Vice President	None
LAO	Guy E. Decker	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Renee A. Degner	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Daniel Delianedis	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Mark A. Dence	Vice President	None
LAO	Stephen Deschenes	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Mario P. DiVito	Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Joanne H. Dodd	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Kevin F. Dolan	Vice President	None
LAO	Thomas L. Donham	Vice President	None
LAO	John H. Donovan IV	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	John J. Doyle	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Ryan T. Doyle	Vice President	None
LAO	Craig Duglin	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Alan J. Dumas	Regional Vice President	None
SNO	Bryan K. Dunham	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	John E. Dwyer IV	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None

IND	Karyn B. Dzurisin	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Kevin C. Easley	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Damian Eckstein	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Matthew J. Eisenhardt	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Timothy L. Ellis	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	John M. Fabiano	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	E. Luke Farrell	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Bryan R. Favilla	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Mark A. Ferraro	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	James M. Ferrauilo	Vice President	None
LAO	Lorna Fitzgerald	Vice President	None
LAO	William F. Flannery	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Kevin H. Folks	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	David R. Ford	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Steven M. Fox	Vice President	None
LAO	Vanda S. Freesman	Vice President	None
LAO	Daniel Frick	Senior Vice President	None
SNO	Arturo V. Garcia, Jr.	Vice President	None
LAO	J. Gregory Garrett	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Brian K. Geiger	Vice President	None
LAO	Jacob M. Gerber	Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	J. Christopher Gies	Senior Vice President	None

LAO	Pamela A. Gillett	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	William F. Gilmartin	Regional Vice President	None
SNO	Craig B. Gray	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	Robert E. Greeley, Jr.	Vice President	None
LAO	Jameson R. Greenstone	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Jeffrey J. Greiner	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Eric M. Grey	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	E. Renee Grimm	Regional Vice President	None
SNO	Virginia Guevara	Assistant Vice President	None
IRV	Steven Guida	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Sam S. Gumma	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Jan S. Gunderson	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Ralph E. Haberli	Senior Vice President; Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
IRV	DeAnn C. Haley	Vice President	None
LAO	Paul B. Hammond	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Philip E. Haning	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Dale K. Hanks	Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	David R. Hanna	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Brandon S. Hansen	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Derek S. Hansen	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Julie O. Hansen	Vice President	None
LAO	John R. Harley	Senior Vice President	None

LAO	Calvin L. Harrelson III	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Robert J. Hartig, Jr.	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Craig W. Hartigan	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Alan M. Heaton	Vice President	None
LAO	Clifford W. “Webb” Heidinger	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Brock A. Hillman	Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Jennifer M. Hoang	Vice President	None
LAO	Heidi B. Horwitz-Marcus	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	David R. Hreha	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Frederic J. Huber	Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	David K. Hummelberg	Director, Senior Vice President, Treasurer and Controller	None
LAO	James A. Humpherson Mollett	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Jeffrey K. Hunkins	Vice President	None
LAO	Marc G. Ialeggio	Senior Vice President	None
IND	David K. Jacocks	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	W. Chris Jenkins	Vice President	None
LAO	Daniel J. Jess II	Regional Vice President	None
IND	Jameel S. Jiwani	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Sarah C. Johnson	Vice President	None
LAO	Brendan M. Jonland	Vice President	None

LAO	David G. Jordt	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Stephen T. Joyce	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Thomas J. Joyce	Vice President	None
LAO	Maria Karahalis	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division
LAO	John P. Keating	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	David B. Keib	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Brian G. Kelly	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Christopher J. Kennedy	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Jason A. Kerr	Vice President	None
LAO	Ryan C. Kidwell	Vice President	None
LAO	Layla S. Kim	Vice President	None
IRV	Michael C. Kim	Vice President	None
LAO	Charles A. King	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Mark Kistler	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Stephen J. Knutson	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	James M. Kreider	Vice President	None
IRV	Theresa A. Kristiansen	Vice President	None
SNO	David D. Kuncho	Vice President	None
LAO	Richard M. Lang	Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Christopher F. Lanzafame	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Andrew P. Laskowski	Regional Vice President	None

SNO	Sandra A. Lass	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	Andrew Le Blanc	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Matthew N. Leeper	Vice President	None
LAO	Clay M. Leveritt	Vice President	None
LAO	Louis K. Linquata	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Heather M. Lord	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	James M. Maher	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Brendan T. Mahoney	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Nathan G. Mains	Vice President	None
LAO	Sirish S. Mani	Vice President	None
LAO	Brooke M. Marrujo	Vice President	None
LAO	Stephen B. May	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Joseph A. McCreesh, III	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Ross M. McDonald	Vice President	None
LAO	Timothy W. McHale	Secretary	None
LAO	Max J. McQuiston	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Scott M. Meade	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Simon Mendelson	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	David A. Merrill	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	Jennifer M. Miller	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	William T. Mills	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Sean C. Minor	Vice President	None
LAO	James R. Mitchell III	Vice President	None
LAO	Charles L. Mitsakos	Senior Vice President	None

LAO	Ryan D. Moore	Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	David H. Morrison	Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Andrew J. Moscardini	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
NYO	Timothy J. Murphy	Vice President	None
LAO	Jon C. Nicolazzo	Vice President	None
LAO	Earnest M. Niemi	Vice President	None
LAO	William E. Noe	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Matthew P. O’Connor	Director and President; Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
IND	Jody L. O’Dell	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	Jonathan H. O’Flynn	Vice President	None
LAO	Peter A. Olsen	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Jeffrey A. Olson	Vice President	None
LAO	Thomas A. O’Neil	Vice President	None
IRV	Paula A. Orologas	Vice President	None
LAO	Gregory H. Ortman	Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Shawn M. O’Sullivan	Vice President	None
IND	Lance T. Owens	Vice President	None
LAO	Kristina E. Page	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Rodney Dean Parker II	Vice President	None

LAO	Lynn M. Patrick	Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Timothy C. Patterson	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	W. Burke Patterson, Jr.	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Gary A. Peace	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Robert J. Peche	Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	David K. Petzke	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Adam W. Phillips	Vice President	None
LAO	Joseph M. Piccolo	Vice President	None
LAO	Keith A. Piken	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	John Pinto	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Carl S. Platou	Senior Vice President	None
SNO	Andrew H. Plummer	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	David T. Polak	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Charles R. Porcher	Vice President	None
LAO	Leah K. Porter	Vice President	None
SNO	Robert B. Potter III	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	Abbas Qasim	Vice President	None
LAO	Steven J. Quagrello	Senior Vice President	None
IND	Kelly S. Quick	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	Michael R. Quinn	Senior Vice President	None

LAO	James R. Raker	Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Sunder R. Ramkumar	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Rachel M. Ramos	Assistant Vice President	None
SNO	John P. Raney	Vice President	None
LAO	James P. Rayburn	Vice President	None
LAO	Rene M. Reincke	Vice President	None
LAO	Christopher J. Richardson	Regional Vice President	None
SNO	Stephanie A. Robichaud	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	Jeffrey J. Robinson	Vice President	None
LAO	Matthew M. Robinson	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Thomas W. Rose	Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
SNO	Tracy M. Roth	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	Rome D. Rottura	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Shane A. Russell	Vice President	None
LAO	William M. Ryan	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Dean B. Rydquist	Director, Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer	None
IND	Brenda S. Rynski	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Richard A. Sabec, Jr.	Senior Vice President	None
SNO	Richard R. Salinas	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	Paul V. Santoro	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Keith A. Saunders	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Joe D. Scarpitti	Senior Vice President	None

LAO	Joe D. Scarpitti	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Michael A. Schweitzer	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Mark A. Seaman	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	James J. Sewell III	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Arthur M. Sgroi	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Brad W. Short	Vice President	None
LAO	Nathan W. Simmons	Vice President	None
LAO	Connie F. Sjursen	Vice President	None
LAO	Melissa A. Sloane	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Matthew T. Smith	Vice President	None
SNO	Stacy D. Smolka	Vice President	None
LAO	J. Eric Snively	Vice President	None
LAO	Jason M. Snow	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Kristen J. Spazafumo	Vice President	None
LAO	Margaret V. Steinbach	Vice President	None
LAO	Michael P. Stern	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Andrew J. Strandquist	Regional Vice President	None
IRV	Todd O. Stucke	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	Peter D. Thatch	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	John B. Thomas	Vice President	None
LAO	Cynthia M. Thompson	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
IND	Scott E. Thompson	Assistant Vice President	None
HRO	Stephen B. Thompson	Regional Vice President	None

LAO	Mark R. Threlfall	Vice President	None
LAO	Russell W. Tipper	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Luke N. Trammell	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Jordan A. Trevino	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Shaun C. Tucker	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	David E. Unanue	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Idoya Urrutia	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	Scott W. Ursin-Smith	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Patrick D. Vance	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Michael R. Van Wyk	Vice President	None
LAO	Srinkanth Vemuri	Vice President	None
LAO	Spilios Venetsanopoulos	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	J. David Viale	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Robert D. Vigneaux III	Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Jayakumar Vijayanathan	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Todd R. Wagner	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Jon N. Wainman	Regional Vice President	None
LAO	Sherrie S. Walling	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	Brian M. Walsh	Vice President	None
LAO	Susan O. Walton	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
SNO	Chris L. Wammack	Vice President	None
LAO	Matthew W. Ward	Regional Vice President	None

LAO	Thomas E. Warren	Senior Vice President	None
IND	Kristen M. Weaver	Assistant Vice President	None
LAO	George J. Wenzel	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Jason M. Weybrecht	Senior Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
LAO	Adam B. Whitehead	Vice President	None
LAO	N. Dexter Williams	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Steven Wilson	Vice President	None
LAO	Steven C. Wilson	Vice President	None
LAO	Kurt A. Wuestenberg	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Jonathan A. Young	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Jason P. Young	Senior Vice President	None
LAO	Raul Zarco, Jr.	Vice President, Capital Group Institutional Investment Services Division	None
IND	Ellen M. Zawacki	Vice President	None

__________

DCO	Business Address, 3000 K Street N.W., Suite 230, Washington, DC 20007-5140
GVO-1	Business Address, 3 Place des Bergues, 1201 Geneva, Switzerland
HRO	Business Address, 5300 Robin Hood Road, Norfolk, VA 23513
IND	Business Address, 12811 North Meridian Street, Carmel, IN 46032
IRV	Business Address, 6455 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine, CA 92618
LAO	Business Address, 333 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071
LAO-W	Business Address, 11100 Santa Monica Blvd., 15^th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90025
NYO	Business Address, 630 Fifth Avenue, 36^th Floor, New York, NY 10111
SFO	Business Address, One Market, Steuart Tower, Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94105
SNO	Business Address, 3500 Wiseman Boulevard, San Antonio, TX 78251

Item 33. Location of Accounts and Records

Accounts, books and other records required by Rules 31a-1 and 31a-2 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, are maintained and kept in the offices of the Registrant’s investment adviser, Capital Research and Management Company, 333 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, California 90071, 6455 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine, California 92618, and/or 5300 Robin Hood Road, Norfolk, Virginia 23513.

Registrant’s records covering shareholder accounts are maintained and kept by its transfer agent, American Funds Service Company, 6455 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine, California 92618; 12811 North Meridian Street, Carmel, Indiana 46032; 3500 Wiseman Boulevard, San Antonio, Texas 78251; and 5300 Robin Hood Road, Norfolk, Virginia 23513.

Registrant’s records covering portfolio transactions are maintained and kept by its custodian, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 270 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10017-2070.

Item 34. Management Services

None

Item 35. Undertakings

n/a

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for effectiveness of this Registration Statement under Rule 485(b) under the Securities Act of 1933 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of Los Angeles, and State of California, on the 16^th day of March, 2017.

AMERICAN FUNDS SHORT-TERM TAX-EXEMPT BOND FUND

By /s/ Neil L. Langberg

(Neil L. Langberg, President)

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed below on March 16, 2017, by the following persons in the capacities indicated.

	Signature	Title
(1)	Principal Executive Officer:
	/s/ Neil L. Langberg	President
	(Neil L. Langberg)

(2)	Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer:
	/s/ Brian C. Janssen	Treasurer
	(Brian C. Janssen)

(3)	Trustees:
	William H. Baribault*	Trustee
	James G. Ellis*	Trustee
	Leonard R. Fuller*	Trustee
	Michael C. Gitlin*	Trustee
	R. Clark Hooper*	Chairman of the Board (Independent and Non-Executive)
	Merit E. Janow*	Trustee
	Laurel B. Mitchell*	Trustee
	Frank M. Sanchez*	Trustee
	Margaret Spellings*	Trustee
	Steadman Upham*	Trustee
	Karl J. Zeile*	Vice Chairman of the Board
	*By: /s/ Steven I. Koszalka
	(Steven I. Koszalka, pursuant to a power of attorney filed herewith)

Counsel represents that this amendment does not contain disclosures that would make the amendment ineligible for effectiveness under the provisions of Rule 485(b).

/s/ Jae Won Chung

(Jae Won Chung, Counsel)

POWER OF ATTORNEY

I, William H. Baribault, the undersigned Board member of the following registered investment companies (collectively, the “Funds”):

American Balanced Fund (File No. 002-10758, File No. 811-00066)

American Funds College Target Date Series (File No. 333-180729, File No. 811-22692)

American Funds Corporate Bond Fund (File No. 333-183929, File No. 811-22744)

American Funds Developing World Growth and Income Fund (File No. 333-190913, File No. 811-22881)

American Funds Emerging Markets Bond Fund (File No. 333-208636; File No. 811-23122)

The American Funds Income Series – U.S. Government Securities Fund (File No. 002-98199, File No. 811-04318)

American Funds Inflation Linked Bond Fund (File No. 333-183931, File No. 811-22746)

American Funds Insurance Series (File No. 002-86838, File No. 811-03857)

American Funds Insurance Series

American Funds Mortgage Fund (File No. 333-168595, File No. 811-22449)

American Funds Portfolio Series (File No. 333-178936, File No. 811-22656)

American Funds Retirement Income Portfolio Series (File No. 333-203797, File No. 811-23053)

American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund (File No. 033-26431, File No. 811-05750)

American Funds Strategic Bond Fund (File No. 333-207474, File No. 811-23101)

American Funds Target Date Retirement Series (File No. 333-138648, File No. 811-21981)

American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York (File No. 333-168594, File No. 811-22448)

The American Funds Tax-Exempt Series II – The Tax-Exempt Fund of California (File No. 033-06180, File No. 811-04694)

American Funds U.S. Government Money Market Fund (File No. 333-157162, File No. 811-22277)

American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund (File No. 033-80630, File No. 811-08576)

American High-Income Trust (File No. 033-17917, File No. 811-05364)

The Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-50700, File No. 811-02444)

Capital World Bond Fund (File No. 033-12447, File No. 811-05104)

The Income Fund of America (File No. 002-33371, File No. 811-01880)

Intermediate Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-19514, File No. 811-05446)

International Growth and Income Fund (File No. 333-152323, File No. 811-22215)

Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 033-66214, File No. 811-07888)

Short-Term Bond Fund of America (File No. 333-135770, File No. 811-21928)

The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America (File No. 002-49291, File No. 811-02421)

hereby revoke all previous powers of attorney I have signed and otherwise act in my name and behalf in matters involving the Funds and do hereby constitute and appoint

Jennifer L. Butler

Steven I. Koszalka

Michael W. Stockton

Jane Y. Chung

Susan K. Countess

Julie E. Lawton

Laurie D. Neat

Viviane T. Russo

Raymond F. Sullivan, Jr.

Brian C. Janssen

Dori Laskin

Hong Le

Gregory F. Niland

each of them singularly, my true and lawful attorneys-in-fact, with full power of substitution, and with full power to each of them, to sign for me and in my name in the appropriate capacities, all Registration Statements of the Funds on Form N-1A, any and all subsequent Amendments, or Post-Effective Amendments to said Registration Statement on Form N-1A or any successor thereto, and any supplements or other instruments in connection therewith, and generally to do all such things in my name and behalf in connection therewith as said attorneys-in-fact deem necessary or appropriate, to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 as amended, and all related requirements of the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. I hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorneys-in-fact or their substitutes may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

EXECUTED at Los Angeles, CA, this 6^th day of March, 2017.

(City, State)

/s/ William H. Baribault

William H. Baribault, Board member

POWER OF ATTORNEY

I, James G. Ellis, the undersigned Board member of the following registered investment companies (collectively, the “Funds”):

AMCAP Fund (File No. 002-26516, File No. 811-01435)

American Funds College Target Date Series (File No. 333-180729, File No. 811-22692)

American Funds Corporate Bond Fund (File No. 333-183929, File No. 811-22744)

American Funds Emerging Markets Bond Fund (File No. 333-208636; File No. 811-23122)

American Funds Global Balanced Fund (File No. 333-170605, File No. 811-22496)