Statement Information
Answers to common questions about your quarterly statement.
1. Why is the inception date listed as 1/1/2003 when my account was established before then?
Although account activity before 2003 can be viewed online, the earliest date from which personal rate of return can be calculated is January 1, 2003, due to data constraints and other technical limitations.
2. I have several accounts, so how did you pick the primary account number?
Generally, the primary account number is the number of your oldest account. The primary account number helps us provide faster telephone service and determines the name and mailing address on your statement.
3. Can I change my primary account number?
Yes. To change your primary account number, please contact us.
4. What are considered “additions” to my beginning balance?
Additions include investments, transfers of shares from other accounts, and dividends and capital gains reinvested from other funds. For inception-to-date performance reporting, additions may include funds you no longer own.
5. What are considered “withdrawals” from my beginning balance?
Withdrawals include:
- all redemptions
- contingent deferred sales charges (CDSCs)
- tax withholding
- transfer of shares to other accounts
- express mail fees
For inception-to-date performance reporting, withdrawals may include funds you no longer own.
6. What are considered “Setup/Annual fees” from my beginning balance?
Fees are paid from your account to establish and maintain your retirement account with Capital Bank and Trust Company (CB&T) or your CollegeAmerica® 529* account. This includes third party service fees paid. Fees you paid directly by check are not included.
*Effective July 1, 2014, American Funds began waiving the setup and annual fee for all CollegeAmerica 529 accounts.
7. What is personal rate of return and how is it calculated?
A personal rate of return measures your specific investment results. It is calculated for each fund you own, each account and your portfolio, which includes all of the accounts on the statement. American Funds uses the Modified Dietz method, a common industry approach.
8. Why don’t the personal rates of return on my statement match those provided by my financial professional?
Personal returns may vary because of differences in the calculation method, the date range, how closed funds and accounts are treated, and other factors.
9. Personal rates of return since initial investment are labeled “annualized.” What does that mean?
Annualization is the process of turning a percentage for a period of time into a percentage for a year.
Generally accepted accounting/finance practices support using annualized rates of return for time periods greater than 12 months, but not for periods less than one year.
For example, an annualized rate of return of 10% indicates the investment gained 10% a year over the period measured.
10. Can I see specific transaction activity for the additions and withdrawals summarized on my statement?
Yes. Log in to your account; click View Transactions, then click on Purchases & Withdrawals.
11. Can I see a summary of activity by account?
Yes. Log in to your account, click View Transactions and then click on Account Value History.
If you need to print an account balance document for a given date to provide to a third party or for your own records, refer to Printing Current or Historical Account Balance Documents.
12. Why do you show a line graph on one of my statements and a bar chart on another?
To aid in the readability of the chart, accounts with more than 2 years of history will display a line graph; accounts with 2 years of history or less will display a bar chart.
13. Why do you only provide a summary of contributions for Traditional and Roth IRAs with Capital Bank & Trust (CB&T) as the custodian?
Due to data constraints, we are not able to identify the tax year for the contributions made to non-CB&T and CB&T SIMPLE and SEP accounts.
14. How is the percent of assets in a fund calculated?
The fund’s current value is divided by the total account value to come up with this percentage.
15. When will a closed account stop appearing on my statement?
A closed account will display on your statement through the end of the current year if there are other open accounts on your statement. After the end of the year, the transaction activity for the closed account will no longer be included in the “Portfolio value of all accounts” section or the portfolio allocation graph. As a result, these sections may not resemble what you’ve seen on prior statements.