We don't often write about the American Funds at Kiplinger, but that's not because they're poor performers. Actually, the family has several good funds. The problem: Its funds typically charge a commission when sold to individual investors, and as a rule, we don't recommend load funds because of the added cost. As Burton Malkiel, author of A Random Walk Down Wall Street, once said, "The lower the fee, the more there is left for me."

Many of American Funds' portfolios are solid choices, and if they are offered in your 401(k) plan, you won't have to pay the load to buy shares. So, in the fourth in a series looking at the most popular funds in the 401(k) market, we examine seven American Funds offerings that rank among the 101 largest mutual funds in employer-sponsored retirement plans. We've also written about the most popular funds at Fidelity, T. Rowe Price and Vanguard.

But first, Capital Group, the firm that manages the American Funds, needs some introduction...

American Funds and the Capital System

The 84-year-old company, which is based in Los Angeles but has offices around the world, has its own particular way of managing funds. The firm even trademarked a name for it: the Capital System.

It starts with multiple managers--from as few as seven to as many as 12--running each fund. A well-crafted management team, says David Polak, an investment specialist at Capital Group, "can smooth out returns without diminishing them." The atmosphere is collegial, but groupthink is frowned upon. Each manager individually runs his or her own slice of the fund's assets. And each fund's analysts get to run a sliver. "They don't just recommend a stock; they also invest in that stock," says Polak. "That's important because it helps give the portfolio managers a sense of the analyst's conviction." Another hallmark of American Funds portfolios: Managers are encouraged to invest in the funds they run and most do. According to Capital Group, 97% of its funds have at least one manager who has more than $1 million of his or her own money invested in the portfolio.

The investment process they follow combines dig-deep fundamental research with a long-term, buy-and-hold viewpoint. The funds typically have low turnover--in holdings and managers. Indeed, the average tenure of managers at the seven American funds we analyzed ranges from eight to 20 years. Each fund, however, has at least one manager who has been at the helm for at least 18 years. Even the dozens of analysts who work for the funds have an average tenure of 10 years.

The Capital System has helped build the American Funds family into a $1.2 trillion colossus (and that's just counting the money in the firm's U.S. mutual funds). Some of the firm's top 401(k) funds are among the largest actively managed funds in the country.

And the process has produced good results: None of the American Funds on our list, for instance, is a dog, though a few of the funds have delivered mediocre results of late. Let's meet them. . .

American Funds EuroPacific Growth: HOLD

Symbol: AEPGX

Assets: $133 billion

Expense ratio: 0.83%

1-year return: 1.6%

5-year return: 8.8%

10-year return: 7.4%

EuroPacific Growth, which opened in 1984, is one of the oldest foreign-stock funds in the country. It happens to be the biggest actively managed one, too. In recent years, the fund has delivered steady but decidedly average returns relative to its peers. That's why we rate it a hold.

The fund's 10-year record is impressive: It beat the 6.0% annualized gain of the typical foreign large-company stock fund by an average of 1.3 percentage points per year. But its five-year record is just average compared with its peers, though the fund has been slightly less volatile over that stretch than the average foreign-stock fund.

EuroPacific Growth mostly invests in firms based in developed foreign countries--82% of assets at last report. The rest was devoted to stocks of companies based in emerging countries. Geographically, the fund's assets are almost evenly divided between Europe and the Asia Pacific region (including Australia).

American Funds Growth Fund of America: SELL

Symbol: AGTHX

Assets: $150 billion

Expense ratio: 0.66%

1-year return: 11.7%

5-year return: 15.4%

10-year return: 8.5%

A fund's long-term record can be deceiving. Take Growth Fund of America. It has an impressive 21.0% three-year annualized return, which ranks among the top 20% of all large-company growth funds. But dig deeper and you'll see that it has lagged the typical large-company growth fund almost every year since 2006.

The 12 managers and 25 analysts who run this 42-year-old fund have a broad view of what qualifies as a growth company. For instance, some of the fund's 275 holdings are companies that are turning around. Others are out-of-favor firms, and still others are classic growth businesses with rising earnings and revenue potential. And despite the "of America" part of its name, the fund recently had 12% of assets invested abroad, mostly in Canada, Japan and the U.K. Its top three holdings at last report: Amazon.com, Google and Gilead Sciences.

American Funds American Balanced: BUY

Symbol: ABALX

Assets: $83 billion

Expense ratio: 0.59%

1-year return: 6.2%

5-year return: 12.4%

10-year return: 7.1%

American Balanced is a consistent performer. The fund's solid five-year return ranks among the top 3% of all balanced funds (those that generally hold roughly 60% of assets in stocks and 40% in bonds). And the fund's performance has been steady in recent years. Between 2011 and 2014, American Balanced ranked among the top 19% of its peers or better. (So far in 2015, it has lagged behind 80% of its peers.)

The fund follows the typical 60%-40% stock-bond divide of balanced funds. Over the past 10 years, for instance, the fund's stock exposure has been as low as 60% and as high as 74%, says Capital Group's Polak. (The fund has a cap of 75% on stock exposure. On the fixed-income side, the fund must hold at least 25% of assets in bonds.)

Lately, the fund's 10 managers (four on the fixed-income side, six on the stock side) have pulled back on risk. At last report, stocks accounted for 61% of assets. The managers had 5% of assets sitting in cash. "The idea is to provide a package for a prudent investor," says Polak. The fund's primary goal is to preserve capital; providing income is second; and long-term growth is third. Its top three stock holdings: Microsoft, Comcast and Boeing.

American Funds Fundamental Investors: HOLD

Symbol: ANCFX

Assets: $75 billion

Expense ratio: 0.61%

1-year return: 9.6%

5-year return: 14.8%

10-year return: 9.0%

A decade ago, Fundamental Investors was sizzling. For three consecutive years--in 2005, 2006 and 2007--the fund was a top performer in its category (large-company funds that invest in stocks with a blend of growth and value attributes). Since then, however, the fund's returns have been, well, not so hot. Its worst relative performance came in 2014, when it gained 9% and ranked among the bottom 77% of its peers.

Morningstar deems Fundamental Investors the "most aggressive" of American Funds' U.S. large-company stock funds. Over the past 10 years, it has been a tad more volatile than Standard & Poor's 500-stock index and the typical large-company stock fund. In 2008, the fund lost 39.7%, trailing its typical peer by 1.9 percentage points. Polak describes the stock picking as "fairly contrarian," adding that the fund's seven managers and 40 analysts favor undervalued, blue-chip stocks in out-of-favor industries. It's the kind of strategy that requires patience, but over time, the strategy can pay off handsomely.

Once a stock lands in Fundamental Investors, it tends to stay for a while. The fund's turnover ratio of 29% implies an average holding period of almost 3.5 years. (The typical large-company fund has a turnover ratio closer to 60%, suggesting an average holding period of 1.6 years.) Microsoft has been a top-10 holding at the end of each of the past 10 years, and it was the fund's biggest position at last report.

American Funds Washington Mutual: BUY

Symbol: AWSHX

Assets: $79 billion

Expense ratio: 0.60%

1-year return: 6.4%

5-year return: 15.3%

10-year return: 7.3%

When Washington Mutual fund opened in 1952, safety was a primary concern. To lower risk, the fund's creators came up with a strict set of rules that clearly defined what kinds of stocks were eligible for the fund. Those rules--combined with the fund's income-first, growth-second objectives--make Washington Mutual ideal for conservative investors who want a low-volatility stock fund.

The fund's seven current managers still follow these rules when they search for stocks. There are too many rules to list here, but many target the characteristics that are common among high-quality, blue-chip stocks. For starters, the company must have paid a dividend in eight out of the previous 10 years. (Up to 5% of holdings can be non-dividend payers, but they must pass even stricter requirements.) And 90% of the holdings must be S&P 500 constituents. In addition, companies cannot derive the majority of their revenue from alcohol or tobacco. The rules, says Polak, represent "a very strict interpretation of 'quality.'"

As you may guess, not many firms meet the standards. At last word, Washington Mutual held 121 stocks, with Microsoft, Home Depot, and Boeing occupying the three top spots in the portfolio. Once a stock makes it into the fund, it doesn't move out quickly. The fund has a turnover ratio of 19%, which implies an average holding period of about five years.

The cautious strategy helps reduce volatility. Over the past 10 years, Washington Mutual has been 13% less jumpy than the typical large-company stock fund. That helped during 2008's disastrous downturn. While the S&P 500 lost 37.0% and the typical large-company stock fund plunged 37.1%, Washington Mutual dropped 33.1%.

American Funds New Perspective: BUY

Symbol: ANWPX

Assets: $61 billion

Expense ratio: 0.76%

1-year return: 7.8%

5-year return: 12.9%

10-year return: 8.9%

In 1973, inflation in the U.S. hovered above 6%, Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in a tennis match billed as the "battle of the sexes," and The Exorcist was popular among moviegoers. In the same year, Capital Group launched New Perspective, a fund designed to invest in firms poised to benefit from "changing global trading patterns," as the current annual report puts it. It sounds quaint. After all, most large companies today--and even many small ones--operate all over the world.

But change has served this fund well. Its 10-year annualized return ranks among the top 8% of all world-stock funds.

New Perspective's eight managers focus on growing multinational companies. The fund's top three holdings at last report were Novo Nordisk, a Danish drug company with a commanding share of diabetes treatments worldwide; Amazon.com; and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, a Tarrytown, N.Y., biotech firm.

American Funds Capital World Growth and Income: HOLD

Symbol: CWGIX

Assets: $91 billion

Expense ratio: 0.77%

1-year return: 3.2%

5-year return: 11.7%

10-year return: 7.9%

Global stock funds, which invest in U.S. and foreign companies, typically gun for growth. But as its name suggests, Capital World Growth and Income has an additional goal: income.

So the fund's eight managers and 40 analysts roam the world looking for stocks that meet both objectives. The result is a barbell-like portfolio. On one side are high-quality companies that pay high dividends, such as wireless giant Verizon Communications and tobacco titan Altria Group, both of which yield more than 4.0%. On the other side are fast-growing firms, such as biotech luminaries Amgen and Gilead Sciences. The fund recently had 40% of its assets in U.S. companies, 34% in European stocks and the rest in Asia.

The fund's long-term record is strong, but recent performance has been kind of blah. Over the past 10 years, Capital World Growth and Income's return places it in the top 26% of all global stock funds. But its five-year record lands in the middle of the pack. That's why we rate the fund only a hold.

Nellie S. Huang is Senior Associate Editor at Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine.