Help | Capital Group (2024)

Security

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Protection

Transactions processed through the Group Investments website are protected by Secure Socket Layer (SSL), the standard for Internet security. All information, including transactions, is encrypted to ensure privacy and security when you view or enter confidential information.

Enabling SSL

SSL is a default setting in most browsers. To verify that SSL is turned on for your browser, look at the address (URL) field in your browser window. If there is an “s” in the http designation so that it reads https://, then SSL is in effect.

If your URL does not contain an “s,” your browser’s SSL is disabled. Follow the instructions below to enable SSL for:

• Microsoft® Internet Explorer®
• Mozilla® Firefox®
• Google® Chrome®
• SafariTM

For further assistance, refer to your browser’s help content.

Internet Explorer 11, 10, 9 (Windows)

1. Go to the Tools menu and select Internet Options.
2. Click the Advanced tab.
3. Scroll down to the Security section.
4. Make sure there is a checkmark next to Use SSL 2.0 and Use SSL 3.0.
5. Click OK.
6. Close and restart Internet Explorer.

Firefox 32, 31 (Windows)

1. Go to the Tools menu and select Options.
2. Click the Advanced icon at the top of the window.
3. Click the Encryption tab.
4. Make sure there is a checkmark next to Use SSL 3.0 and Use TLS 1.0.
5. Click OK.

Firefox 33 (Windows)

Firefox 33 operates with TLS (transport layer security), the successor to SSL. To make sure SSL/TLS protocols are set properly:

1. Open a new tab, type about:config in the address bar and then press Enter.
2. Click the I’ll be careful, I promise button on the warning page to continue to the about:config page.
3. Type tls in the Search field to filter the Preference Name list.
4. Find security.tls.version.max in the Preference Name list and make sure the value is set at least to 1, which means the value equals up to TLS 1.0.
5. Next, find security.tls.version.min in the Preference Name list and make sure the value is set at least to 0, which means the value equals up to SSL 3.0.
6. Close the tab when finished.

Google Chrome 38 (Windows)

Chrome operates with TLS (transport layer security), the successor to SSL. To make sure SSL/TLS protocols are set properly:

1. Open a new tab, type chrome:settings in the address bar and then press Enter.
2. Click the Show advanced settings link at the bottom of the page.
3. Scroll down to the Network section and click the Change proxy settings button.
4. Click the Advanced tab in the Internet Properties window.
5. Scroll down to the Security section and make sure there are checkmarks next to each of these entries: Use SSL 3.0, Use TLS 1.0, Use TLS 1.1, and Use TLS 1.2.
6. Click OK to close the Internet Properties window and then close the Settings tab.

Safari 5, 6 (Macintosh):

Safari is automatically SSL-enabled.

Browser

Clearing the Cache (for improved performance)

Browsers temporarily store Internet files in a cache folder which enables you to quickly access websites you have recently visited. When this folder becomes full, your browser may become significantly slower or it may crash. It’s commonly recommended that you clear the contents of the cache folder regularly. You can select and delete the files in this folder manually, or you can follow the directions below to have your browser do it automatically.

• Microsoft® Internet Explorer®
• Mozilla® Firefox®
• Google® Chrome®
• SafariTM

For further assistance, refer to your browser’s help content.

Internet Explorer 11, 10, 9 (Windows)

1. Under the Tools menu at the top of your browser, select Internet Options.
2. Click the General tab.
3. In the Browsing history section, click the Delete… button.
4. Un-check the Preserve Favorites website data box. This step will delete objects from websites in your Favorites folder, which is necessary to completely clear your cache.
5. Check the Temporary Internet files box.
6. Click the Delete button.
7. Click the OK button.

Firefox 31 (Windows)

1. From the History drop-down menu at the top of the browser, select Clear Recent History…
2. From the Time range to clear: drop-down menu, select Everything.
3. Under the Details list, check Cache.
4. Click the Clear Now button.

Chrome 36 (Windows)

1. On the right edge of the page in the browser toolbar, click the Chrome menu.
2. Select Tools.
3. Select Clear browsing data.
4. From the Obliterate the following items from: drop-down menu, select the beginning of time.
5. Check the Cached images and files box.
6. Click the Clear browsing data button.

Safari 6 (Macintosh)

1. From the Safari drop-down menu at the top of the browser, select Reset Safari.
2. Check the Remove all website data box.
3. Click the Reset button.

Safari 5 (Macintosh)

1. From the Safari drop-down menu at the top of the browser, select Empty Cache.
2. A pop-up message asking “Are you sure you want to empty the cache?” will appear.
3. Click the Empty button.

Managing Your Plan

My Plans

The My Plans page displays plans that are linked to your user ID. Click Select an action to manage your plan or roster submissions.

If there are more than 25 plans linked to your user ID, then the My Plans page will display a search field. To locate a plan, enter the plan name or ID and click SEARCH. At any time, you may go to another plan by clicking the My Plans link near the top of the page.

Plan Details

Plan Information

View company name, plan ID, plan name, email address and number of plan participants. To add or update the email address for roster notifications and other communications, click the Change email address link and follow the on-screen instructions.

Company Address

View company name and address. To change the company address, click the Change company address link and follow the on-screen instructions. Use address lines 2 and 3 for floor, suite and mail stop information. Address line 1 will be formatted according to suggested postal guidelines along with the City, State and Zip.

Bank Information

You may link one bank account to each plan to transfer funds for contributions and view the linked account information on this page. Click the Change bank information link to update:

• Account type
• Account registration
• Routing number
• Account number

After updating bank information, you will be required to review our terms and authorize the bank for roster submissions. If you agree to the terms, your updates will take effect immediately and any pending, released or future-dated roster submissions will use the updated bank information.

Note: If your plan has more than one plan ID or if you manage multiple plans, you must update the bank information for each plan separately.

Participants

View a list of plan participants and sort the list by name or Social Security number. See Update Fund Allocations and Remove a Participant below for more information.

For help managing plan details, please contact us.

Processing Contributions

Submit a Roster

To submit a roster for processing at the close of the current business day, leave the Trade date field blank. Note: Rosters submitted after 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on weekdays or on weekends or holidays will be processed at the close of the next business day.

Enter the contribution amount for each participant and then click NEXT to verify and submit your roster. See Step 1: Verify and Submit below for continued steps.

You may also use this page to:

• Edit participant investment allocations.
• Add participants to the roster.
• Remove participants from the roster.
• Save changes and submit the roster in the future.
• Delete the roster.

Guidelines for submitting a roster:

• If you have linked a bank account to the plan for roster submissions, the account will be debited within 1-3 business days. Otherwise, your roster submission will be completed after American Funds receives your funds by check or by wire.
• To schedule a future date to process a roster, enter a Trade date up to 90 days in advance.
• Make sure that contributing participants are included in the plan so that they may be added to a roster. To add a new participant to a plan, go to My Plans, select Add a participant and then download the appropriate document. See Add a Participant below for more information.
• To temporarily suspend a participant’s contributions without removing him or her from the plan, click Remove in the Action column. You can add that participant to a future roster by clicking the ADD EXISTING PARTICIPANT button. To permanently remove a participant from a plan, see Remove a Participant below.

Contribution Year

IRA trustees/custodians like Capital Bank & Trust (CB&T) are required to report employer and salary deferral contributions annually on Form 5498 based on the calendar year in which they occurred. However, we enable you to modify the roster contribution year for your own records.

For example, if you process a December contribution in January, you may select “Prior Year” for online roster history. Keep in mind, however, that a modified contribution year is informational only and is not reported on your behalf. As a result, a roster you designate as “Prior Year” in January will be listed as the current calendar year on Form 5498.

The default Contribution Year setting is “Current year” for contributions made between January 1 and April 15.

Step 1: Verify and Submit

Review your roster to verify that the information is correct and then click SUBMIT. Otherwise, click CANCEL to go back and make any changes.

Step 2: View and Print Confirmation

This page confirms your roster submission with a confirmation number and may be printed for your records by clicking the PRINT THIS PAGE link. Click CONTINUE to return to the My Plans page.

If you made an error in your roster submission, please contact us.

Upload a Roster

Uploading a roster involves two steps:

1. Uploading a roster spreadsheet saved in CSV (comma delimited) format
2. Mapping the columns and rows in the file to the correct fields online

Note: The same map will work for multiple roster uploads unless you change the columns and rows in your spreadsheet.

To upload, you may create your own CSV file or modify our default CSV template.

1. If you create your own file, then you will also need to create an upload map. See Create an Upload Map below for more information.
2. If you modify our default template, then you may use our default upload map.

To upload a roster:

1. Click Browse… and choose your roster file from your computer.
2. Select an upload map for your file type, either one you created or the default map.
3. Once your upload map is selected, click NEXT.
4. Verify your uploaded data and click CONTINUE.
5. Confirm that the file was imported and click CONTINUE to create the roster.

Guidelines for uploading a roster:

• To save your own roster spreadsheet in CSV format using Excel, go to the File menu and select Save As. Under Save as type, select CSV (Comma delimited).
• When using the default roster template, do not modify the file format.
• Make sure that contributing participants are included in the plan so that they may be added to a roster. To add a new participant to a plan, go to My Plans, select Add a participant and then download the appropriate document. See Add a Participant below for more information.
• Make sure that each participant record has a unique Social Security number.
• To temporarily suspend a participant’s contributions without removing him or her from the plan, set roster contribution amounts to “0.” See Remove a Participant below for information on removing a participant from a plan.

Create an Upload Map

If you upload a CSV file that you created, then you also need to create an upload map to match the columns and rows in your spreadsheet to the correct fields online. To create an upload map:

1. Click the Manage Upload Maps tab and then click Browse… to choose a roster file from your computer.
2. Click the CREATE NEW UPLOAD MAP button.
3. Enter a name for your upload map and click NEXT.
4. Using the information in the Data File Preview, enter the File Format information required and click NEXT.
5. Match each item under Import Column to the appropriate item in the Column Definition dropdown lists and then click NEXT to upload your information.
6. Verify that the file was mapped successfully and click CONTINUE to import the data.
7. Confirm that the file was imported and then click CONTINUE to create the roster.

Guidelines for creating an upload map:

1. You must define at least the Social Security number (SSN) and Contribution amount columns when creating an upload map. No other columns are required.
2. You may create up to 5 upload maps.

Roster History

You may use the Roster History page to view processed and pending rosters and may sort the list by a number of columns including Status and Date.

A roster’s status depends on the stage of the submission process:

• Work-In-Progress — a roster that has been saved but not submitted. You may edit a work-in-progress roster until it is submitted to us for processing.
• Released — a roster that has been submitted to us for processing.
• Processed — a roster that has been processed and completed.
• Held — a roster that has been submitted to us but is not processed until your plan’s funds are received by check or wire.

To view or edit a work-in-progress roster, click its View roster link.

You may process a new roster as long as there is not work-in-progress roster in the list. To do so, click the SUBMIT A ROSTER or UPLOAD A ROSTER buttons.

Participants and Investments

Update Fund Allocations

To view or change a participant’s fund allocations:

1. Go to My Plans and select Plan details from the plan’s dropdown menu.
2. Click the Participants tab and then click Edit allocations for that participant.
3. To modify the allocation, enter percentage amounts in whole numbers between 0% and 100% and equaling 100% in total.
4. To add one or more funds, click the ADD A FUND link. When finished, you must reallocate the percentages to equal 100%.

Changes to fund allocations are updated in real time.

Note: To update participant allocations for multiple plans, you must modify each plan individually.

Investing in (and Exceptions to Investing in) Class B, C and 529-C Shares

• American Funds no longer offers Class B shares.
• Participants eligible to invest at the $1,000,000 sales charge breakpoint discount may not purchase Class C shares.
• As of November 1, 2006, participants who own Intermediate Bond Fund of America^®, Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America^® or Short-Term Bond Fund of America^® may not purchase Class C or 529-C shares.
• Class C shares convert to Class F-1 shares after 10 years. Please review a fund prospectus for further information.
• Participants who formerly invested in Class B shares or are who are unable to purchase Class C or 529-C shares will need to determine an appropriate share class for their future investments. We strongly encourage participants to consult their financial advisors for specific investment recommendations that match their short- and long-term financial goals.

Participants should consider the following when choosing a share class:

• how long they expect to own shares
• how much they intend to invest
• how much they will pay in expenses

Add a Participant

To add a participant to a plan:

1. Click the CUSTOMER SERVICE link at the top of the page and select Add a Participant from the dropdown menu.
2. Navigate to your plan type to locate the appropriate documents.
3. Have the participant complete and send the form or application to us.

To save Adobe^® Acrobat^® PDF files, follow these recommended steps:

Windows

1. Right-click on the text link or PDF icon.
2. From the menu that appears, choose Save Target As in Internet Explorer or Save Link As in Firefox and Chrome.
3. In the dialogue box that appears, choose the location to save the PDF. We recommend saving to the desktop so you can easily find the file later.
4. Click Save and then open the file in the location you chose.

Macintosh

1. Hold down control and click the text link or PDF icon.
2. From the menu that appears, choose Save Link As.
3. In the dialogue box that appears, choose the location to save the PDF. We recommend saving to the desktop so you can easily find the file later.
4. Click Save and then open the file in the location you chose.

Remove a Participant

To remove a participant from a plan:

1. Go to My Plans and select Plan details from the plan’s dropdown menu.
2. Click the Participants tab and then click Remove for that participant.
3. Verify that you have selected the participant you wish to remove and click SAVE.
4. Confirm that the participant was removed and click CONTINUE.

• To remove a participant from more than one plan, modify each plan individually.
• Removing a participant from a plan prevents future contributions but has no effect on the participant’s actual account.
• To temporarily suspend a participant’s contributions without removing him or her from the plan, you may click a Remove link when submitting a roster. See Submit a Roster above for more information.