Management

Investment adviser Capital Research and Management Company^SM

Target Date Solutions Committee The investment adviser’s Target Date Solutions Committee develops the allocation approach and selects the underlying funds in which the fund invests. The members of the Target Date Solutions Committee, who are jointly and primarily responsible for the portfolio management of the fund, are:

Purchase and sale of fund shares The minimum amount to establish an account for all share classes is normally $250 and the minimum to add to an account is $50. For an employer-sponsored 529 account, the minimum is $25 to establish or add to an account. For accounts with Class F-3 shares held and serviced by the fund’s transfer agent, the minimum investment amount is $1 million.

You may sell (redeem) shares on any business day through your dealer or financial professional or by writing to American Funds Service Company^® at P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6007; telephoning American Funds Service Company at (800) 421-4225; faxing American Funds Service Company at (888) 421-4351; or accessing our website at capitalgroup.com.

Tax information Dividends and capital gains distributed by the fund to tax-favored college savings accounts are not currently taxable. Please refer to the applicable program description for more information regarding the tax consequences of holding or selling Class 529 shares.

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 professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial professional or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus     6

American Funds College 2033 Fund

Investment objectives Depending on the proximity to its target date, the fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees: growth, income and preservation of capital. The target date is meant to roughly correspond to the year in which the fund beneficiary will start to withdraw funds to meet higher education expenses. The fund will increasingly emphasize income and preservation of capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in fixed income, equity-income and balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date. In this way, the fund seeks to achieve an appropriate balance of total return and stability during different time periods.

¹ A contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% applies on certain redemptions made within 18 months following purchases of $1 million or more made without an initial sales charge. Contingent deferred sales charge is calculated based on the lesser of the offering price and market value of shares being sold.

² Restated to reflect current fees.

³ Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.

7     American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus

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.

Portfolio turnover The fund may pay 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 4% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying American Funds represent a variety of fund categories, including growth funds, growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds, balanced funds and fixed income funds. The fund categories represent differing investment objectives. For example, growth funds seek long-term growth primarily through investing in both U.S. stocks and stocks of issuers domiciled outside the U.S. Growth-and-income funds seek long-term growth and income primarily through investments in stocks. Equity-income and balanced funds generally strive for income and growth through stocks and/or fixed income investments, while fixed income funds seek current income through investments in bonds or in other fixed income instruments.

The fund is designed for investors who plan to start withdrawing funds to meet higher education expenses in, or close to, the fund’s target date – that is, the year designated in the fund’s name. However, investors may purchase shares of the fund throughout the life of the fund, including after the target date.

The fund’s investment adviser periodically reviews the investment strategies and asset mix of the underlying funds and may, from time to time, rebalance or modify the asset mix of the funds and change the underlying fund investments. The investment adviser may also determine not to change the underlying fund allocations, particularly in response to short-term market movements, if in its opinion the combination of underlying funds is appropriate to meet the fund’s investment objective.

American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus     8

Investment approach

The investment adviser anticipates that the fund will invest its assets within a range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach set forth above. For example, a 20% target allocation to growth funds is not expected to be greater than 30% or less than 10%. The investment adviser will continuously monitor the fund and may make modifications to either the investment approach or the underlying fund allocations that the investment adviser believes could benefit shareholders.

9     American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus

Principal risks This section describes the principal risks associated with investing in the fund and its underlying funds. 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. Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.

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

Allocation risk — Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the investment adviser’s allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds and the allocation of the fund’s assets could cause the fund to lose value or its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

Fund structure — The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund. Additionally, in accordance with an exemption under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the investment adviser considers only proprietary funds when selecting underlying investment options and allocations. This means that the fund’s investment adviser did not, nor does it expect to, consider any unaffiliated funds as underlying investment options for the fund. This strategy could raise certain conflicts of interest when choosing underlying investments for the fund, including the selection of funds that result in greater compensation to the adviser or funds with relatively lower historical investment results. The investment adviser has policies and procedures designed to mitigate material conflicts of interest that may arise in connection with its management of the fund.

Underlying fund risks — Because the fund’s investments consist of underlying funds, the fund’s risks are directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying funds, as described below.

The following are principal risks associated with the underlying funds’ investment strategies.

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the common stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds 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, governmental agency or central bank 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 underlying funds 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, major litigation related to the issuer, changes in government regulations affecting the issuer or its competitive environment and strategic initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions or dispositions and the market response to any such initiatives.

Investing in stocks — Investing in stocks may involve larger price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments. As a result, the value of the underlying funds may be subject to sharp declines in value. Income provided by an underlying fund may be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources available at, the companies in which the underlying fund invests. These risks may be even greater in the case of smaller capitalization stocks. As the fund nears its target date, a decreasing proportion of the fund’s assets will be invested in underlying funds that invest primarily in stocks. Accordingly, these risks are expected to be more significant the further the fund is removed from its target date and are expected to lessen as the fund approaches its target date.

Investing outside the United States — Securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States, or with significant operations or revenues outside the United States, may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments (including social instability, regional conflicts, terrorism and war) in the countries or regions in which the issuers operate or generate revenue. These securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Issuers of these securities may be more susceptible to actions of foreign governments, such as nationalization, currency blockage or the imposition of price controls or punitive taxes, each of which could adversely impact the value of these securities. Securities markets in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the United States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to different accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and reporting standards and practices, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the United States. In addition, the value of investments outside the United States may be reduced by foreign taxes, including foreign withholding taxes on interest and dividends. Further, there may be increased risks of delayed settlement of securities purchased or sold by an underlying fund. The risks of investing outside the United States may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.

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

American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus     10

Bonds and other debt securities are also subject to credit risk, which is the possibility that the credit strength of an issuer or guarantor will weaken or be perceived to be weaker, 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. A downgrade or default affecting any of the underlying funds’ securities could cause the value of the underlying funds’ shares to decrease. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the credit ratings of the debt securities in which the underlying 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 underlying funds’ investment adviser relies on its own credit analysts to research issuers and issues in seeking to assess credit and default risks. These risks will be more significant as the fund approaches its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in bonds.

Investing in securities backed by the U.S. government — Securities backed by the U.S. Treasury or the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. Accordingly, the current market values for these securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates and the credit rating of the U.S. government. Securities issued by government-sponsored entities and federal agencies and instrumentalities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. government.

Investing in derivatives — The use of derivatives involves a variety of risks, which may be different from, or greater than, the risks associated with investing in traditional securities, such as stocks and bonds. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with, and may be more sensitive to market events than, the underlying asset, rate or index, and a derivative instrument may expose the underlying fund to losses in excess of its initial investment. Derivatives may be difficult to value, difficult for the underlying fund to buy or sell at an opportune time or price and difficult, or even impossible, to terminate or otherwise offset. The underlying fund’s use of derivatives may result in losses to the underlying fund, and investing in derivatives may reduce the underlying fund’s returns and increase the underlying fund’s price volatility. The underlying fund’s counterparty to a derivative transaction (including, if applicable, the underlying fund’s clearing broker, the derivatives exchange or the clearinghouse) may be unable or unwilling to honor its financial obligations in respect of the transaction. In certain cases, the underlying fund may be hindered or delayed in exercising remedies against or closing out derivative instruments with a counterparty, which may result in additional losses.

Management — The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds actively manages each underlying fund’s investments. Consequently, the underlying funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses, including models, tools and data, employed by the investment adviser in this process may be flawed or incorrect and may not produce the desired results. This could cause an underlying 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.

11     American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus

Management

Investment adviser Capital Research and Management Company^SM

Target Date Solutions Committee The investment adviser’s Target Date Solutions Committee develops the allocation approach and selects the underlying funds in which the fund invests. The members of the Target Date Solutions Committee, who are jointly and primarily responsible for the portfolio management of the fund, are:

Purchase and sale of fund shares The minimum amount to establish an account for all share classes is normally $250 and the minimum to add to an account is $50. For an employer-sponsored 529 account, the minimum is $25 to establish or add to an account. For accounts with Class F-3 shares held and serviced by the fund’s transfer agent, the minimum investment amount is $1 million.

You may sell (redeem) shares on any business day through your dealer or financial professional or by writing to American Funds Service Company^® at P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6007; telephoning American Funds Service Company at (800) 421-4225; faxing American Funds Service Company at (888) 421-4351; or accessing our website at capitalgroup.com.

Tax information Dividends and capital gains distributed by the fund to tax-favored college savings accounts are not currently taxable. Please refer to the applicable program description for more information regarding the tax consequences of holding or selling Class 529 shares.

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 professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial professional or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus     20

American Funds College 2027 Fund

Investment objectives Depending on the proximity to its target date, the fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees: growth, income and preservation of capital. The target date is meant to roughly correspond to the year in which the fund beneficiary will start to withdraw funds to meet higher education expenses. The fund will increasingly emphasize income and preservation of capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in fixed income, equity-income and balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date. In this way, the fund seeks to achieve an appropriate balance of total return and stability during different time periods.

¹ A contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% applies on certain redemptions made within 18 months following purchases of $1 million or more made without an initial sales charge. Contingent deferred sales charge is calculated based on the lesser of the offering price and market value of shares being sold.

² Restated to reflect current fees.

³ Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.

21     American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus

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.

Portfolio turnover The fund may pay 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 9% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying American Funds represent a variety of fund categories, including growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds, balanced funds and fixed income funds. The fund categories represent differing investment objectives. For example, growth-and-income funds seek long-term growth and income primarily through investments in stocks. Equity-income and balanced funds generally strive for income and growth through stocks and/or fixed income investments, while fixed income funds seek current income through investments in bonds or in other fixed income instruments.

The fund is designed for investors who plan to start withdrawing funds to meet higher education expenses in, or close to, the fund’s target date – that is, the year designated in the fund’s name. However, investors may purchase shares of the fund throughout the life of the fund, including after the target date.

The fund’s investment adviser periodically reviews the investment strategies and asset mix of the underlying funds and may, from time to time, rebalance or modify the asset mix of the funds and change the underlying fund investments. The investment adviser may also determine not to change the underlying fund allocations, particularly in response to short-term market movements, if in its opinion the combination of underlying funds is appropriate to meet the fund’s investment objective.

American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus     22

Investment approach

The investment adviser anticipates that the fund will invest its assets within a range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach set forth above. For example, a 20% target allocation to growth funds is not expected to be greater than 30% or less than 10%. The investment adviser will continuously monitor the fund and may make modifications to either the investment approach or the underlying fund allocations that the investment adviser believes could benefit shareholders.

Principal risks This section describes the principal risks associated with investing in the fund and its underlying funds. 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. Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.

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

Allocation risk — Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the investment adviser’s allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds and the allocation of the fund’s assets could cause the fund to lose value or its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

Fund structure — The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund. Additionally, in accordance with an exemption under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the investment adviser considers only proprietary funds when selecting underlying investment options and allocations. This means that the fund’s investment adviser did not, nor does it expect to, consider any unaffiliated funds as underlying investment options for the fund. This strategy could raise certain conflicts of interest when choosing underlying investments for the fund, including the selection of funds that result in greater compensation to the adviser or funds with relatively lower historical investment results. The investment adviser has policies and procedures designed to mitigate material conflicts of interest that may arise in connection with its management of the fund.

Underlying fund risks — Because the fund’s investments consist of underlying funds, the fund’s risks are directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying funds, as described below.

23     American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus

The following are principal risks associated with the underlying funds’ investment strategies.

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the common stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds 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, governmental agency or central bank 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 underlying funds 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, major litigation related to the issuer, changes in government regulations affecting the issuer or its competitive environment and strategic initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions or dispositions and the market response to any such initiatives.

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

Bonds and other debt securities are also subject to credit risk, which is the possibility that the credit strength of an issuer or guarantor will weaken or be perceived to be weaker, 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. A downgrade or default affecting any of the underlying funds’ securities could cause the value of the underlying funds’ shares to decrease. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the credit ratings of the debt securities in which the underlying 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 underlying funds’ investment adviser relies on its own credit analysts to research issuers and issues in seeking to assess credit and default risks. These risks will be more significant as the fund approaches its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in bonds.

Investing in securities backed by the U.S. government — Securities backed by the U.S. Treasury or the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. Accordingly, the current market values for these securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates and the credit rating of the U.S. government. Securities issued by government-sponsored entities and federal agencies and instrumentalities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. government.

Investing in derivatives — The use of derivatives involves a variety of risks, which may be different from, or greater than, the risks associated with investing in traditional securities, such as stocks and bonds. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with, and may be more sensitive to market events than, the underlying asset, rate or index, and a derivative instrument may expose the underlying fund to losses in excess of its initial investment. Derivatives may be difficult to value, difficult for the underlying fund to buy or sell at an opportune time or price and difficult, or even impossible, to terminate or otherwise offset. The underlying fund’s use of derivatives may result in losses to the underlying fund, and investing in derivatives may reduce the underlying fund’s returns and increase the underlying fund’s price volatility. The underlying fund’s counterparty to a derivative transaction (including, if applicable, the underlying fund’s clearing broker, the derivatives exchange or the clearinghouse) may be unable or unwilling to honor its financial obligations in respect of the

American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus     24

transaction. In certain cases, the underlying fund may be hindered or delayed in exercising remedies against or closing out derivative instruments with a counterparty, which may result in additional losses.

Investing in stocks — Investing in stocks may involve larger price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments. As a result, the value of the underlying funds may be subject to sharp declines in value. Income provided by an underlying fund may be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources available at, the companies in which the underlying fund invests. These risks may be even greater in the case of smaller capitalization stocks. As the fund nears its target date, a decreasing proportion of the fund’s assets will be invested in underlying funds that invest primarily in stocks. Accordingly, these risks are expected to be more significant the further the fund is removed from its target date and are expected to lessen as the fund approaches its target date.

Investing outside the United States — Securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States, or with significant operations or revenues outside the United States, may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments (including social instability, regional conflicts, terrorism and war) in the countries or regions in which the issuers operate or generate revenue. These securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Issuers of these securities may be more susceptible to actions of foreign governments, such as nationalization, currency blockage or the imposition of price controls or punitive taxes, each of which could adversely impact the value of these securities. Securities markets in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the United States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to different accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and reporting standards and practices, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the United States. In addition, the value of investments outside the United States may be reduced by foreign taxes, including foreign withholding taxes on interest and dividends. Further, there may be increased risks of delayed settlement of securities purchased or sold by an underlying fund. The risks of investing outside the United States may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.

Management — The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds actively manages each underlying fund’s investments. Consequently, the underlying funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses, including models, tools and data, employed by the investment adviser in this process may be flawed or incorrect and may not produce the desired results. This could cause an underlying 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.

25     American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus

American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus     26

Management

Investment adviser Capital Research and Management Company^SM

Target Date Solutions Committee The investment adviser’s Target Date Solutions Committee develops the allocation approach and selects the underlying funds in which the fund invests. The members of the Target Date Solutions Committee, who are jointly and primarily responsible for the portfolio management of the fund, are:

Purchase and sale of fund shares The minimum amount to establish an account for all share classes is normally $250 and the minimum to add to an account is $50. For an employer-sponsored 529 account, the minimum is $25 to establish or add to an account. For accounts with Class F-3 shares held and serviced by the fund’s transfer agent, the minimum investment amount is $1 million.

You may sell (redeem) shares on any business day through your dealer or financial professional or by writing to American Funds Service Company^® at P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6007; telephoning American Funds Service Company at (800) 421-4225; faxing American Funds Service Company at (888) 421-4351; or accessing our website at capitalgroup.com.

Tax information Dividends and capital gains distributed by the fund to tax-favored college savings accounts are not currently taxable. Please refer to the applicable program description for more information regarding the tax consequences of holding or selling Class 529 shares.

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 professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial professional or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

27     American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus

American Funds College 2024 Fund

Investment objectives Depending on the proximity to its target date, the fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees: growth, income and preservation of capital. The target date is meant to roughly correspond to the year in which the fund beneficiary will start to withdraw funds to meet higher education expenses. The fund will increasingly emphasize income and preservation of capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in fixed income, equity-income and balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date. In this way, the fund seeks to achieve an appropriate balance of total return and stability during different time periods.

¹ A contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% applies on certain redemptions made within 18 months following purchases of $1 million or more made without an initial sales charge. Contingent deferred sales charge is calculated based on the lesser of the offering price and market value of shares being sold.

² Restated to reflect current fees.

³ Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.

American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus     28

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.

Portfolio turnover The fund may pay 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 less than 1% of the average value of its portfolio or there was no turnover.

Principal investment strategies The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying American Funds represent a variety of fund categories, including growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds, balanced funds and fixed income funds. The fund categories represent differing investment objectives. For example, growth-and-income funds seek long-term growth and income primarily through investments in stocks. Equity-income and balanced funds generally strive for income and growth through stocks and/or fixed income investments, while fixed income funds seek current income through investments in bonds or in other fixed income instruments.

The fund is designed for investors who plan to start withdrawing funds to meet higher education expenses in, or close to, the fund’s target date – that is, the year designated in the fund’s name. However, investors may purchase shares of the fund throughout the life of the fund, including after the target date.

The fund’s investment adviser periodically reviews the investment strategies and asset mix of the underlying funds and may, from time to time, rebalance or modify the asset mix of the funds and change the underlying fund investments. The investment adviser may also determine not to change the underlying fund allocations, particularly in response to short-term market movements, if in its opinion the combination of underlying funds is appropriate to meet the fund’s investment objective.

29     American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus

Investment approach

The investment adviser anticipates that the fund will invest its assets within a range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach set forth above. For example, a 20% target allocation to growth funds is not expected to be greater than 30% or less than 10%. The investment adviser will continuously monitor the fund and may make modifications to either the investment approach or the underlying fund allocations that the investment adviser believes could benefit shareholders.

Principal risks This section describes the principal risks associated with investing in the fund and its underlying funds. 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. Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.

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

Allocation risk — Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the investment adviser’s allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds and the allocation of the fund’s assets could cause the fund to lose value or its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

Fund structure — The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund. Additionally, in accordance with an exemption under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the investment adviser considers only proprietary funds when selecting underlying investment options and allocations. This means that the fund’s investment adviser did not, nor does it expect to, consider any unaffiliated funds as underlying investment options for the fund. This strategy could raise certain conflicts of interest when choosing underlying investments for the fund, including the selection of funds that result in greater compensation to the adviser or funds with relatively lower historical investment results. The investment adviser has policies and procedures designed to mitigate material conflicts of interest that may arise in connection with its management of the fund.

Underlying fund risks — Because the fund’s investments consist of underlying funds, the fund’s risks are directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying funds, as described below.

The following are principal risks associated with the underlying funds’ investment strategies.

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the common stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds may decline – sometimes rapidly or unpredictably – due to various factors, including events or conditions affecting the general

American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus     30

economy or particular industries; overall market changes; local, regional or global political, social or economic instability; governmental, governmental agency or central bank 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 underlying funds 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, major litigation related to the issuer, changes in government regulations affecting the issuer or its competitive environment and strategic initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions or dispositions and the market response to any such initiatives.

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

Bonds and other debt securities are also subject to credit risk, which is the possibility that the credit strength of an issuer or guarantor will weaken or be perceived to be weaker, 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. A downgrade or default affecting any of the underlying funds’ securities could cause the value of the underlying funds’ shares to decrease. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the credit ratings of the debt securities in which the underlying 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 underlying funds’ investment adviser relies on its own credit analysts to research issuers and issues in seeking to assess credit and default risks. These risks will be more significant as the fund approaches its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in bonds.

Investing in securities backed by the U.S. government — Securities backed by the U.S. Treasury or the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. Accordingly, the current market values for these securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates and the credit rating of the U.S. government. Securities issued by government-sponsored entities and federal agencies and instrumentalities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. government.

Investing in derivatives — The use of derivatives involves a variety of risks, which may be different from, or greater than, the risks associated with investing in traditional securities, such as stocks and bonds. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with, and may be more sensitive to market events than, the underlying asset, rate or index, and a derivative instrument may expose the underlying fund to losses in excess of its initial investment. Derivatives may be difficult to value, difficult for the underlying fund to buy or sell at an opportune time or price and difficult, or even impossible, to terminate or otherwise offset. The underlying fund’s use of derivatives may result in losses to the underlying fund, and investing in derivatives may reduce the underlying fund’s returns and increase the underlying fund’s price volatility. The underlying fund’s counterparty to a derivative transaction (including, if applicable, the underlying fund’s clearing broker, the derivatives exchange or the clearinghouse) may be unable or unwilling to honor its financial obligations in respect of the transaction. In certain cases, the underlying fund may be hindered or delayed in exercising remedies against or closing out derivative instruments with a counterparty, which may result in additional losses.

Investing in stocks — Investing in stocks may involve larger price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments. As a result, the value of the underlying funds may be subject to sharp declines in value. Income provided by an underlying fund may be

31     American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus

reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources available at, the companies in which the underlying fund invests. These risks may be even greater in the case of smaller capitalization stocks. As the fund nears its target date, a decreasing proportion of the fund’s assets will be invested in underlying funds that invest primarily in stocks. Accordingly, these risks are expected to be more significant the further the fund is removed from its target date and are expected to lessen as the fund approaches its target date.

Investing outside the United States — Securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States, or with significant operations or revenues outside the United States, may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments (including social instability, regional conflicts, terrorism and war) in the countries or regions in which the issuers operate or generate revenue. These securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Issuers of these securities may be more susceptible to actions of foreign governments, such as nationalization, currency blockage or the imposition of price controls or punitive taxes, each of which could adversely impact the value of these securities. Securities markets in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the United States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to different accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and reporting standards and practices, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the United States. In addition, the value of investments outside the United States may be reduced by foreign taxes, including foreign withholding taxes on interest and dividends. Further, there may be increased risks of delayed settlement of securities purchased or sold by an underlying fund. The risks of investing outside the United States may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.

Management — The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds actively manages each underlying fund’s investments. Consequently, the underlying funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses, including models, tools and data, employed by the investment adviser in this process may be flawed or incorrect and may not produce the desired results. This could cause an underlying 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 College Target Date Series / Prospectus     32

33     American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus

Management

Investment adviser Capital Research and Management Company^SM

Target Date Solutions Committee The investment adviser’s Target Date Solutions Committee develops the allocation approach and selects the underlying funds in which the fund invests. The members of the Target Date Solutions Committee, who are jointly and primarily responsible for the portfolio management of the fund, are:

Purchase and sale of fund shares The minimum amount to establish an account for all share classes is normally $250 and the minimum to add to an account is $50. For an employer-sponsored 529 account, the minimum is $25 to establish or add to an account. For accounts with Class F-3 shares held and serviced by the fund’s transfer agent, the minimum investment amount is $1 million.

You may sell (redeem) shares on any business day through your dealer or financial professional or by writing to American Funds Service Company^® at P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6007; telephoning American Funds Service Company at (800) 421-4225; faxing American Funds Service Company at (888) 421-4351; or accessing our website at capitalgroup.com.

Tax information Dividends and capital gains distributed by the fund to tax-favored college savings accounts are not currently taxable. Please refer to the applicable program description for more information regarding the tax consequences of holding or selling Class 529 shares.

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 professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial professional or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus     34

American Funds College 2021 Fund

Investment objectives Depending on the proximity to its target date, the fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees: growth, income and preservation of capital. The target date is meant to roughly correspond to the year in which the fund beneficiary will start to withdraw funds to meet higher education expenses. The fund will increasingly emphasize income and preservation of capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in fixed income, equity-income and balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date. In this way, the fund seeks to achieve an appropriate balance of total return and stability during different time periods.

¹ A contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% applies on certain redemptions made within 18 months following purchases of $1 million or more made without an initial sales charge. Contingent deferred sales charge is calculated based on the lesser of the offering price and market value of shares being sold.

² Restated to reflect current fees.

³ Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.

35     American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus

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.

Portfolio turnover The fund may pay 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 11% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying American Funds represent a variety of fund categories, including growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds, balanced funds and fixed income funds. The fund categories represent differing investment objectives. For example, growth-and-income funds seek long-term growth and income primarily through investments in stocks. Equity-income and balanced funds generally strive for income and growth through stocks and/or fixed income investments, while fixed income funds seek current income through investments in bonds or in other fixed income instruments.

The fund is designed for investors who plan to start withdrawing funds to meet higher education expenses in, or close to, the fund’s target date – that is, the year designated in the fund’s name. However, investors may purchase shares of the fund throughout the life of the fund, including after the target date.

The fund’s investment adviser periodically reviews the investment strategies and asset mix of the underlying funds and may, from time to time, rebalance or modify the asset mix of the funds and change the underlying fund investments. The investment adviser may also determine not to change the underlying fund allocations, particularly in response to short-term market movements, if in its opinion the combination of underlying funds is appropriate to meet the fund’s investment objective.

American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus     36

Investment approach

The investment adviser anticipates that the fund will invest its assets within a range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach set forth above. For example, a 20% target allocation to growth funds is not expected to be greater than 30% or less than 10%. The investment adviser will continuously monitor the fund and may make modifications to either the investment approach or the underlying fund allocations that the investment adviser believes could benefit shareholders.

Principal risks This section describes the principal risks associated with investing in the fund and its underlying funds. 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. Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.

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

Allocation risk — Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the investment adviser’s allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds and the allocation of the fund’s assets could cause the fund to lose value or its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

Fund structure — The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund. Additionally, in accordance with an exemption under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the investment adviser considers only proprietary funds when selecting underlying investment options and allocations. This means that the fund’s investment adviser did not, nor does it expect to, consider any unaffiliated funds as underlying investment options for the fund. This strategy could raise certain conflicts of interest when choosing underlying investments for the fund, including the selection of funds that result in greater compensation to the adviser or funds with relatively lower historical investment results. The investment adviser has policies and procedures designed to mitigate material conflicts of interest that may arise in connection with its management of the fund.

Underlying fund risks — Because the fund’s investments consist of underlying funds, the fund’s risks are directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying funds, as described below.

The following are principal risks associated with the underlying funds’ investment strategies.

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the common stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds 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,

37     American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus

governmental agency or central bank 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 underlying funds 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, major litigation related to the issuer, changes in government regulations affecting the issuer or its competitive environment and strategic initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions or dispositions and the market response to any such initiatives.

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

Bonds and other debt securities are also subject to credit risk, which is the possibility that the credit strength of an issuer or guarantor will weaken or be perceived to be weaker, 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. A downgrade or default affecting any of the underlying funds’ securities could cause the value of the underlying funds’ shares to decrease. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the credit ratings of the debt securities in which the underlying 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 underlying funds’ investment adviser relies on its own credit analysts to research issuers and issues in seeking to assess credit and default risks. These risks will be more significant as the fund approaches its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in bonds.

Investing in securities backed by the U.S. government — Securities backed by the U.S. Treasury or the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. Accordingly, the current market values for these securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates and the credit rating of the U.S. government. Securities issued by government-sponsored entities and federal agencies and instrumentalities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. government.

Investing in derivatives — The use of derivatives involves a variety of risks, which may be different from, or greater than, the risks associated with investing in traditional securities, such as stocks and bonds. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with, and may be more sensitive to market events than, the underlying asset, rate or index, and a derivative instrument may expose the underlying fund to losses in excess of its initial investment. Derivatives may be difficult to value, difficult for the underlying fund to buy or sell at an opportune time or price and difficult, or even impossible, to terminate or otherwise offset. The underlying fund’s use of derivatives may result in losses to the underlying fund, and investing in derivatives may reduce the underlying fund’s returns and increase the underlying fund’s price volatility. The underlying fund’s counterparty to a derivative transaction (including, if applicable, the underlying fund’s clearing broker, the derivatives exchange or the clearinghouse) may be unable or unwilling to honor its financial obligations in respect of the transaction. In certain cases, the underlying fund may be hindered or delayed in exercising remedies against or closing out derivative instruments with a counterparty, which may result in additional losses.

Investing outside the United States — Securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States, or with significant operations or revenues outside the United States, may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments (including social instability, regional conflicts, terrorism and war) in the countries or regions in which the issuers operate or generate revenue. These

American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus     38

securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Issuers of these securities may be more susceptible to actions of foreign governments, such as nationalization, currency blockage or the imposition of price controls or punitive taxes, each of which could adversely impact the value of these securities. Securities markets in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the United States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to different accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and reporting standards and practices, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the United States. In addition, the value of investments outside the United States may be reduced by foreign taxes, including foreign withholding taxes on interest and dividends. Further, there may be increased risks of delayed settlement of securities purchased or sold by an underlying fund. The risks of investing outside the United States may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.

Investing in stocks — Investing in stocks may involve larger price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments. As a result, the value of the underlying funds may be subject to sharp declines in value. Income provided by an underlying fund may be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources available at, the companies in which the underlying fund invests. These risks may be even greater in the case of smaller capitalization stocks. As the fund nears its target date, a decreasing proportion of the fund’s assets will be invested in underlying funds that invest primarily in stocks. Accordingly, these risks are expected to be more significant the further the fund is removed from its target date and are expected to lessen as the fund approaches its target date.

Management — The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds actively manages each underlying fund’s investments. Consequently, the underlying funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses, including models, tools and data, employed by the investment adviser in this process may be flawed or incorrect and may not produce the desired results. This could cause an underlying 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.

39     American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus

American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus     40

Management

Investment adviser Capital Research and Management Company^SM

Target Date Solutions Committee The investment adviser’s Target Date Solutions Committee develops the allocation approach and selects the underlying funds in which the fund invests. The members of the Target Date Solutions Committee, who are jointly and primarily responsible for the portfolio management of the fund, are:

Purchase and sale of fund shares The minimum amount to establish an account for all share classes is normally $250 and the minimum to add to an account is $50. For an employer-sponsored 529 account, the minimum is $25 to establish or add to an account. For accounts with Class F-3 shares held and serviced by the fund’s transfer agent, the minimum investment amount is $1 million.

You may sell (redeem) shares on any business day through your dealer or financial professional or by writing to American Funds Service Company^® at P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6007; telephoning American Funds Service Company at (800) 421-4225; faxing American Funds Service Company at (888) 421-4351; or accessing our website at capitalgroup.com.

Tax information Dividends and capital gains distributed by the fund to tax-favored college savings accounts are not currently taxable. Please refer to the applicable program description for more information regarding the tax consequences of holding or selling Class 529 shares.

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 professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial professional or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

41     American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus

American Funds College Enrollment Fund

Investment objective The fund’s investment objective is to provide current income, consistent with preservation of capital.

¹ A contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% applies on certain redemptions made within 18 months following purchases of $1 million or more made without an initial sales charge. Contingent deferred sales charge is calculated based on the lesser of the offering price and market value of shares being sold.

² Restated to reflect current fees.

³ Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.

American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus     42

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.

Portfolio turnover The fund may pay 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 5% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objective by investing in a mix of American Funds fixed income funds. The fund will principally invest in funds that seek current income through investments in bonds or in other fixed income instruments.

The fund is designed for investors who are withdrawing (or who, in the near future, expect to withdraw) funds to meet higher education expenses.

When determining in which bond funds to invest, the investment adviser will predominately seek exposure to higher quality bonds (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) with intermediate to short-term durations. The fund may, however, invest in underlying funds with exposure to lower quality, higher yielding securities rated BBB+ or below and Baa1 or below (including those rated BB+ or below and Ba1 or below) or unrated but determined by the fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality, and to bonds with longer durations.

The underlying funds may hold securities issued and guaranteed by the U.S. government, securities issued by federal agencies and instrumentalities and securities backed by mortgages or other assets. The underlying funds may also invest in the debt securities of governments, agencies, corporations and other entities domiciled outside the United States.

The fund’s investment adviser seeks to create a combination of underlying funds that complement each other with a goal of achieving the fund’s investment objective of providing current income, consistent with preservation of capital. In making this determination, the fund’s investment adviser considers the historical volatility and returns of the underlying funds and how various combinations would have behaved in past market environments. It also considers, among other topics, current market conditions and the investment positions of the underlying funds.

Principal risks This section describes the principal risks associated with investing in the fund and its underlying funds. 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. Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.

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

Allocation risk — Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the investment adviser’s allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds and the allocation of the fund’s assets could cause the fund to lose value or its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

Fund structure — The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund. Additionally, in accordance with an exemption under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the investment adviser considers only proprietary funds when selecting underlying investment options and allocations. This means that the fund’s investment adviser did not, nor does it expect to, consider any unaffiliated funds as underlying investment options for the fund. This strategy could raise certain conflicts of interest when choosing underlying investments for the fund, including the selection of funds that result in greater compensation to the adviser or funds with relatively lower historical investment results. The investment adviser has policies and procedures designed to mitigate material conflicts of interest that may arise in connection with its management of the fund.

Underlying fund risks — Because the fund’s investments consist of underlying funds, the fund’s risks are directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying funds, as described below.

43     American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus

The following are principal risks associated with the underlying funds’ investment strategies.

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the common stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds 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, governmental agency or central bank 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 underlying funds 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, major litigation related to the issuer, changes in government regulations affecting the issuer or its competitive environment and strategic initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions or dispositions and the market response to any such initiatives.

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

Bonds and other debt securities are also subject to credit risk, which is the possibility that the credit strength of an issuer or guarantor will weaken or be perceived to be weaker, 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. A downgrade or default affecting any of the underlying funds’ securities could cause the value of the underlying funds’ shares to decrease. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the credit ratings of the debt securities in which the underlying 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 underlying funds’ investment adviser relies on its own credit analysts to research issuers and issues in seeking to assess credit and default risks. These risks will be more significant as the fund approaches its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in bonds.

Investing in securities backed by the U.S. government — Securities backed by the U.S. Treasury or the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. Accordingly, the current market values for these securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates and the credit rating of the U.S. government. Securities issued by government-sponsored entities and federal agencies and instrumentalities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. government.

Investing in derivatives — The use of derivatives involves a variety of risks, which may be different from, or greater than, the risks associated with investing in traditional securities, such as stocks and bonds. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with, and may be more sensitive to market events than, the underlying asset, rate or index, and a derivative instrument may expose the underlying fund to losses in excess of its initial investment. Derivatives may be difficult to value, difficult for the underlying fund to buy or sell at an opportune time or price and difficult, or even impossible, to terminate or otherwise offset. The underlying fund’s use of derivatives may result in losses to the underlying fund, and investing in derivatives may reduce the underlying fund’s returns and increase the underlying fund’s price volatility. The underlying fund’s counterparty to a derivative transaction (including, if applicable, the underlying fund’s clearing broker, the derivatives exchange or the clearinghouse) may be unable or unwilling to honor its financial obligations in respect of the

American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus     44

transaction. In certain cases, the underlying fund may be hindered or delayed in exercising remedies against or closing out derivative instruments with a counterparty, which may result in additional losses.

Investing outside the United States — Securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States, or with significant operations or revenues outside the United States, may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments (including social instability, regional conflicts, terrorism and war) in the countries or regions in which the issuers operate or generate revenue. These securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Issuers of these securities may be more susceptible to actions of foreign governments, such as nationalization, currency blockage or the imposition of price controls or punitive taxes, each of which could adversely impact the value of these securities. Securities markets in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the United States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to different accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and reporting standards and practices, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the United States. In addition, the value of investments outside the United States may be reduced by foreign taxes, including foreign withholding taxes on interest and dividends. Further, there may be increased risks of delayed settlement of securities purchased or sold by an underlying fund. The risks of investing outside the United States may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.

Management — The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds actively manages each underlying fund’s investments. Consequently, the underlying funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses, including models, tools and data, employed by the investment adviser in this process may be flawed or incorrect and may not produce the desired results. This could cause an underlying 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.

45     American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus

American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus     46

Management

Investment adviser Capital Research and Management Company^SM

Target Date Solutions Committee The investment adviser’s Target Date Solutions Committee develops the allocation approach and selects the underlying funds in which the fund invests. The members of the Target Date Solutions Committee, who are jointly and primarily responsible for the portfolio management of the fund, are:

Purchase and sale of fund shares The minimum amount to establish an account for all share classes is normally $250 and the minimum to add to an account is $50. For an employer-sponsored 529 account, the minimum is $25 to establish or add to an account. For accounts with Class F-3 shares held and serviced by the fund’s transfer agent, the minimum investment amount is $1 million.

You may sell (redeem) shares on any business day through your dealer or financial professional or by writing to American Funds Service Company^® at P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6007; telephoning American Funds Service Company at (800) 421-4225; faxing American Funds Service Company at (888) 421-4351; or accessing our website at capitalgroup.com.

Tax information Dividends and capital gains distributed by the fund to tax-favored college savings accounts are not currently taxable. Please refer to the applicable program description for more information regarding the tax consequences of holding or selling Class 529 shares.

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 professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial professional or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

47     American Funds College Target Date Series / Prospectus

Investment objectives, strategies and risks Except where the context indicates otherwise, all references herein to the “fund” apply to each of the funds in the series.

The investment objectives, strategies and risks of each fund are summarized below:

Each fund in the series is designed for investors who plan to start withdrawing funds to meet higher education expenses in, or close to, the fund’s target date – that is, the year designated in the fund’s name. However, investors may purchase shares of the fund throughout the life of the fund, including after the target date. Depending on its proximity to the target date, each fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees: growth, income and preservation of capital. For example, the 2036 Fund, a fund with more years before its target date, will emphasize growth more than a fund closer to (or past) its target date, such as the 2021 Fund. As each fund approaches and passes its target date, it will increasingly emphasize income and preservation of capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in fixed income, equity income and balanced funds. In this way, each fund seeks to balance total return and stability over time. When each fund reaches its target date, it will principally invest in fixed income funds and may merge into the Enrollment Fund, which will also principally invest in fixed income funds. These investment objectives may be modified by the series’ board of trustees without shareholder approval.

The investment adviser periodically reviews the investment strategies and asset mix of the underlying funds and may, from time to time, rebalance or modify the asset mix of the funds and change the underlying fund investments. The investment adviser may also determine not to change the underlying fund allocations, particularly in response to short-term market movements, if in its opinion the combination of underlying funds is appropriate to meet the fund’s investment objective.

The following glide path chart illustrates the investment approach of the fund by showing how its investment in the various fund categories will change over time. The glide path represents the shifting of asset classes over time and shows how the fund’s asset mix becomes relatively more conservative as time elapses. The fund’s asset allocation strategy promotes asset accumulation prior to college enrollment through equity exposure. As it approaches the target date, the fund will seek dividend income to help dampen risk while maintaining equity exposure, and will invest in fixed income securities to help provide current income, capital preservation and inflation protection. The allocations shown reflect the target allocations as of October 30, 2020. For the avoidance of doubt, the Enrollment Fund will invest principally in funds that seek current income through fixed income investments, as reflected in the final column of the chart below.

Investment approach

The investment adviser anticipates that each fund will invest its assets within a range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach set forth above. For example, a 20% target allocation to growth funds is not expected to be greater than 30% or less than 10%. The investment adviser will continuously monitor the funds and may make modifications to either the investment approach or the underlying fund allocations that the investment adviser believes could benefit shareholders.

Each fund may, from time to time, take temporary defensive positions by holding all, or a significant portion, of its assets in cash, cash equivalents or other securities that may be deemed appropriate by the fund’s investment adviser.

While the fund has no present intention to do so, the fund’s board may change the fund’s investment objectives without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders. Each fund will attempt to achieve its investment objective by investing in a mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying American Funds represent a variety of fund categories such as growth funds, growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds, balanced funds and fixed income funds. Further, the fund categories represent differing investment objectives. For example, growth funds seek long-term growth primarily through investing in both U.S.

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stocks and stocks of issuers domiciled outside the United States (including, where applicable, in emerging markets). Growth-and-income funds seek long-term growth and income primarily through investments in stocks with some fixed income investments. Equity-income and balanced funds generally strive for income and growth through stocks and/or fixed income investments, while fixed income funds seek current income through investments in bonds or in other fixed income instruments.

When a fund invests in one or more underlying American Funds, it will invest in Class R-6 shares of such underlying funds. Class R-6 shares have relatively low expenses, which reduce overall expenses. An investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund. In addition to investing in a mix of American Funds, each fund may also invest in funds in the American Funds Insurance Series or other funds managed by Capital Research and Management Company and its affiliates, subject to obtaining any necessary regulatory approvals and notifying shareholders in advance.

The investment adviser will monitor the funds and may make modifications to either the investment approach or the underlying fund allocations that the investment adviser believes could benefit shareholders.

Investments in each fund are subject to risks related to the investment adviser’s allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds and the allocation of the funds’ assets could cause the fund to lose value or its results to lag relevant benchmarks of other funds with similar objectives.

The success of each fund will be impacted by the results of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying funds. For more information, please refer to “Information regarding the underlying funds” section of this prospectus.

Through the underlying funds in which it invests, the fund will, over time, have significant exposure to a range of different security types, including growth-oriented and dividend-paying common stocks and a variety of fixed income investments. Through its underlying fund investments, the fund will typically have exposure to issuers domiciled outside the United States, including issuers domiciled in emerging markets. The fund will also have exposure to issuers with a broad range of market capitalizations, including smaller capitalization issuers.

In terms of fixed income exposure, the underlying funds in which the fund invests may hold debt securities with a wide range of qualities and maturities. Through these underlying funds, the fund may have significant exposure to bonds rated BB+ or below and Ba1 or below 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. Such securities are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds.” Certain of the underlying funds may also hold securities issued and guaranteed by the U.S. government, securities issued by federal agencies and instrumentalities and securities backed by mortgages or other assets. Those underlying funds may also invest in the debt securities of governments, agencies, corporations and other entities domiciled outside the United States.

An underlying fund may also hold cash or cash equivalents. The percentage of an underlying fund invested in such holdings varies and depends on various factors, including market conditions and purchases and redemptions of fund shares. For temporary defensive purposes, an underlying fund may hold all, or a significant portion, of its assets in cash, cash equivalents or other similar securities that may be deemed appropriate by the underlying fund’s investment adviser. The investment adviser may determine that it is appropriate to take such action in response to certain circumstances, such as periods of market turmoil. A larger amount of such holdings could negatively affect an underlying fund’s investment results in a period of rising market prices. A larger percentage of cash or cash equivalents could reduce an underlying fund’s magnitude of loss in the event of falling market prices and provide liquidity to make additional investments or to meet redemptions.

An underlying fund’s daily cash balance may be invested in one or more money market or similar funds managed by the investment adviser or its affiliates (“Central Funds”). Shares of Central Funds are not offered to the public and are only purchased by the fund’s investment adviser and its affiliates and other funds, investment vehicles and accounts managed by the fund’s investment adviser and its affiliates. When an underlying fund invests in Central Funds, the fund bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the Central Funds in which the underlying fund invests but does not bear additional management fees through the underlying fund’s investment in such Central Funds. The investment results of the portions of an underlying fund’s assets invested in the Central Funds will be based upon the investment results of the Central Funds.

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

Allocation risk — Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the investment adviser’s allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds and the allocation of the fund’s assets could cause the fund to lose value or its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

Fund structure — The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund. Additionally, in accordance with an exemption under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the investment adviser considers only proprietary funds when selecting underlying investment options and allocations. This means that the fund’s investment adviser did not, nor does it expect to, consider any unaffiliated funds as underlying investment options for the fund. This strategy could raise certain conflicts of interest when choosing underlying investments for the fund, including the selection of funds that result in greater compensation to the adviser or funds with relatively lower historical investment results. The investment adviser has policies and procedures designed to mitigate material conflicts of interest that may arise in connection with its management of the fund.

Underlying fund risks — Because the fund’s investments consist of underlying funds, the fund’s risks are directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying funds, as described below.

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The following are principal risks associated with the underlying funds’ investment strategies.

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the common stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds 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, governmental agency or central bank responses to economic conditions; and currency exchange rate, interest rate and commodity price fluctuations.

Economies and financial markets throughout the world are highly interconnected. Economic, financial or political events, trading and tariff arrangements, wars, terrorism, cybersecurity events, natural disasters, public health emergencies (such as the spread of infectious disease) and other circumstances in one country or region, including actions taken by governmental or quasi-governmental authorities in response to any of the foregoing, could have impacts on global economies or markets. As a result, whether or not the underlying funds invest in securities of issuers located in or with significant exposure to the countries affected, the value and liquidity of the underlying funds’ investments may be negatively affected by developments in other countries and regions.

Issuer risks — The prices of, and the income generated by, securities held by the underlying funds 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, major litigation related to the issuer, changes in government regulations affecting the issuer or its competitive environment and strategic initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions or dispositions and the market response to any such initiatives.

Investing in stocks — Investing in stocks may involve larger price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments. As a result, the value of the underlying funds may be subject to sharp declines in value. Income provided by an underlying fund may be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources available at, the companies in which the underlying fund invests. These risks may be even greater in the case of smaller capitalization stocks. As the fund nears its target date, a decreasing proportion of the fund’s assets will be invested in underlying funds that invest primarily in stocks. Accordingly, these risks are expected to be more significant the further the fund is removed from its target date and are expected to lessen as the fund approaches its target date.

Investing outside the United States — Securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States, or with significant operations or revenues outside the United States, may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments (including social instability, regional conflicts, terrorism and war) in the countries or regions in which the issuers operate or generate revenue. These securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Issuers of these securities may be more susceptible to actions of foreign governments, such as nationalization, currency blockage or the imposition of price controls or punitive taxes, each of which could adversely impact the value of these securities. Securities markets in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the United States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to different accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and reporting standards and practices, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the United States. In addition, the value of investments outside the United States may be reduced by foreign taxes, including foreign withholding taxes on interest and dividends. Further, there may be increased risks of delayed settlement of securities purchased or sold by an underlying fund. The risks of investing outside the United States may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.

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

A bond’s effective maturity is the market’s trading assessment of its maturity. 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. Rising interest rates will generally cause the prices of bonds and other debt securities to fall. A general rise in interest rates may cause investors to sell debt securities on a large scale, which could also adversely affect the price and liquidity of debt securities and could also result in increased redemptions from the fund. 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 failing to recoup the full amount of its initial investment and 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 or guarantor will weaken or be perceived to be weaker, 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. A downgrade or default affecting any of the underlying funds’ securities could cause the value of the underlying funds’ shares to decrease. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the credit ratings of the debt securities in which the underlying 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 underlying funds’ investment adviser relies on its own credit analysts to research issuers and issues in seeking to assess credit and default risks. These risks will be more significant as the fund approaches its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in bonds.

Investing in securities backed by the U.S. government — Securities backed by the U.S. Treasury or the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. Accordingly, the current market values for these securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates and the credit rating of the U.S. government. Securities issued by government-sponsored entities and federal agencies and instrumentalities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. government.

Investing in mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities — Mortgage-related securities, such as mortgage-backed securities, and other asset-backed securities, include debt obligations that represent interests in pools of mortgages or other income-bearing assets, such

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as residential mortgage loans, home equity loans, mortgages on commercial buildings, consumer loans and equipment leases. While such securities are subject to the risks associated with investments in debt instruments generally (for example, credit, extension and interest rate risks), they are also subject to other and different risks. Mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities are subject to changes in the payment patterns of borrowers of the underlying debt, potentially increasing the volatility of the securities and an underlying fund’s net asset value. When interest rates fall, borrowers are more likely to refinance or prepay their debt before its stated maturity. This may result in an underlying fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities, effectively reducing the underlying fund’s income. Conversely, if interest rates rise and borrowers repay their debt more slowly than expected, the time in which the mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities are paid off could be extended, reducing an underlying fund’s cash available for reinvestment in higher yielding securities. Mortgage-backed securities are also subject to the risk that underlying borrowers will be unable to meet their obligations and the value of property that secures the mortgages may decline in value and be insufficient, upon foreclosure, to repay the associated loans. Investments in asset-backed securities are subject to similar risks, as well as additional risks associated with the assets underlying those securities.

Investing in derivatives — The use of derivatives involves a variety of risks, which may be different from, or greater than, the risks associated with investing in traditional securities, such as stocks and bonds. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with, and may be more sensitive to market events than, the underlying asset, rate or index, and a derivative instrument may expose the underlying fund to losses in excess of its initial investment. Derivatives may be difficult to value, difficult for the underlying fund to buy or sell at an opportune time or price and difficult, or even impossible, to terminate or otherwise offset. The underlying fund’s use of derivatives may result in losses to the underlying fund, and investing in derivatives may reduce the underlying fund’s returns and increase the underlying fund’s price volatility. The underlying fund’s counterparty to a derivative transaction (including, if applicable, the underlying fund’s clearing broker, the derivatives exchange or the clearinghouse) may be unable or unwilling to honor its financial obligations in respect of the transaction. In certain cases, the underlying fund may be hindered or delayed in exercising remedies against or closing out derivative instruments with a counterparty, which may result in additional losses.