
What are Class R shares?
While Class A, Class B, and Class C are common types of mutual fund share classes, Class R shares are mutual funds designated as a retirement share class—hence the letter "R." The R share class mutual funds are only available through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401 (k).
What are mutual fund R-class shares?
Mutual fund shares are divided into classes based on their fees and availability. The R-class shares of mutual funds are unique because they are available only through work-based retirement accounts.
What does R mean in mutual fund names?
Learn more about what it means when you see the letter R at the end of a mutual fund name. While Class A, Class B, and Class C are common types of mutual fund share classes, Class R shares are mutual funds designated as a retirement share class—hence the letter 'R.'
What is an R Share Fund?
R share funds are a share class of mutual funds designated as a retirement share class, hence the letter 'R.'. The R share class mutual funds are only available through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401 (k).

What is R class fund?
While Class A, Class B, and Class C are common types of mutual fund share classes, Class R shares are mutual funds designated as a retirement share class—hence the letter "R." The R share class mutual funds are only available through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k).
What do fund classes mean?
Some mutual funds offer investors different types of shares, known as "classes." Each class invests in the same portfolio of securities and has the same investment objectives and policies. But each class has different shareholder services and/or distribution arrangements with different fees and expenses.
What are the different classes of funds?
However, there are three main types of mutual fund classes: A, B, and C. 2 They are also known as A-shares, B-shares, and C-shares. Each of these classes has various benefits and drawbacks.
What does fund Class N mean?
No-Load Funds This means that you don't pay a fee to buy the fund or to cash it in.
What is a Class B fund?
Mutual fund Class B shares may be one class of shares that investors can purchase when investing in a mutual fund. They do not have a front-end sales charge (like many Class A shares do), but they often have a sales charge when shares are sold. This is why Class B shares are also known as back-loaded shares.
What is a Class C fund?
Class C shares are a class of mutual fund share characterized by a level load that includes annual charges for fund marketing, distribution, and servicing, set at a fixed percentage. These fees amount to a commission for the firm or individual helping the investor decide on which fund to own.
Why do funds have classes?
Different classes in a fund represent the different units the fund manager has created to suit certain types of buyers, for example, investors with HL or institutional investors such as pension funds and multi-manager funds. Each unit in the fund may have different costs and minimum investment levels.
What does class mean in stocks?
A class of shares is a type of listed company stock that is differentiated by the level of voting rights shareholders receive. For example, a listed company might have two share classes, or classes of stock, designated as Class A and Class B.
Should I buy class A or B shares?
Class B shares are lower in payment priority than Class A shares. That means if a company were to go bankrupt and be forced into liquidation, Class A shareholders would be paid out first, then Class B. Class B shares can also be issued for reasons that aren't only to benefit the company and executives.
What is an F class mutual fund?
F-class funds are low-fee versions of mass-market load mutual funds. They are sold to investors primarily by investment advisors and financial planners who charge their clients on an assets-under-management basis rather than by the individual transaction.
What are Class P funds?
P-Class. This is a no-load class that offers shares with a fee structure that includes a . 25% 12b-1 fee. P-Class shares are onlyavailable for purchase through financial intermediaries.
What is an F 1 share class?
Class F-1, F-2, F-3 and 529-F-1 shares are designed for investors who choose to compensate their financial professional based on the total assets in their portfolios, rather than commissions or sales charges. This arrangement is often called an “asset-based” or a “fee-based” program.
What is R class mutual fund?
Mutual funds with R-class shares are meant for retirement-minded investors or those nearing the end of their career. For this reason, they are often referred to as retirement shares. They are specifically designed to help retirement savers incorporate relevant mutual funds into their portfolios for the purpose of long-term value investing.
What are the fees associated with R class shares?
Basically, the fees associated with R-class shares are based on the cost of maintaining your retirement account. Things like marketing and management costs incurred by the broker or intermediary are covered by the fees. R shares still have fairly low expense ratios but tend to be costlier than index funds.
What is R share?
R-class shares were designed to allow securities firms to serve retirement planners without charging a load. The companies involved in managing R-class shares are regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Can you buy R class mutual funds on the open market?
Put simply, the R-class of mutual funds are available only through employment-based retirement accounts, which means you cannot buy them on the open market. Although R-class shares do not have a sales charge, some of them carry annual expenses that could influence your selection.
Do R class shares have a sales cost?
Unlike A- and B-class shares available to all investors, R-class shares do not carry an initial or deferred sales cost. However, they do carry annual expenses that could make them more expensive than their counterparts, especially if held for several years. Basically, the fees associated with R-class shares are based on the cost of maintaining your retirement account. Things like marketing and management costs incurred by the broker or intermediary are covered by the fees.
Is R share costlier than index?
R shares still have fairly low expense ratios but tend to be costlier than index funds. As an example, the American Funds Growth Fund of America R1 ( RGAXX) has a higher expense ratio than an actively managed growth fund. American Funds is a common R-share fund family for 401 (k) plans.
What is R class share?
R-class shares were created for the retirement focused investor. Some mutual fund families may refer to R-class shares as retirement shares. Retirement minded individuals often search for mutual funds and other investments with long-term growth and lower fees. R-class shares typically waive front and back-end fees. However, just like other types of class shares, annual expenses are charged for R shares to help offset the cost of operating the fund. These expenses might include fees for portfolio management, shareholder services and fund administration and distribution charges known as 12b-1 fees.
What are the expenses of R class shares?
These expenses might include fees for portfolio management, shareholder services and fund administration and distribution charges known as 12b-1 fees.
What is R class?
R-class shares refer to a class of shares offered by a mutual fund and do not identify a specific mutual fund. Each type of mutual fund has its own purchase terms, fees and expenses regarding each type of class or share. Some financial companies may limit the number of shares purchased or require a minimum investment amount when purchasing Class R ...
What is class R stock?
Class R shares differ from some other classes of shares in the way fees are imposed on investors. R-class shares do not carry an initial or deferred sales charge, which contrasts with A- and B-class shares available to all investors. However, R-class shares carry annual expenses that may make them more expensive over a period of several years than shares with one-time costs but smaller annual expenses.
What is R class mutual fund?
R-class shares were created to provide a category of mutual fund shares tailored specifically to retirement accounts, offering characteristics that make it easy for retirement account service providers to include mutual funds in a portfolio. Investors with R-class shares in a mutual fund seek long-term growth because the investment is part of an account designed to provide income years into the future. Mutual funds that offer R-class shares typically also include several other classes of shares for investors to consider.
What type of retirement plan has R class shares?
The types of retirement plans that have access to R-class shares include 401 (k), 457 and employer-sponsored 403 (b) plans. They also include profit-sharing and money-purchase pension, defined-benefit, nonqualified deferred-compensation, and health care-benefit funding.
What is R class share?
The fees you pay on R-class shares are tied to the costs of maintaining retirement accounts. These offset management and marketing costs, and they are distributed to the brokers, financial advisers, record-keepers and others involved in the fund. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority regulates U.S. security firms and oversees the regulation of mutual fund share classes, ensuring fund providers offer shares that follow the restrictions placed on them.
Why do investors use R class shares?
Investors with R-class shares in a mutual fund seek long-term growth because the investment is part of an account designed to provide income years into the future. Mutual funds that offer R-class shares typically also include several other classes of shares for investors to consider.
Do R class shares sell?
Availability. Institutions that offer R-class shares do not sell them directly to investors. Instead, these shares are sold solely through financial intermediaries. You invest in funds through third parties that provide employer-sponsored, defined-contribution retirement plans.
Can you buy R class shares on the open market?
You cannot purchase them on the open market. Unlike some other popular share classes, R-class shares do not carry a sales charge. However, you should be aware of the annual expenses that they sometimes carry.
What is class A stock?
Class A shares come with a laddered fee schedule that allows investors making a large initial investment to reduce or even avoid that initial sales load. Additionally, many mutual fund companies allow investors to sign a letter of intent, which basically says they will invest X dollars by this date.
What is class D mutual fund?
Class D are “no-load” shares of mutual funds that often have sales loads (A & C shares). Investors choosing this option gain access to the fund without having to pay the initial fee or fees when they sell. Additionally, Class D shares often have lower expense ratios than their A and C twins, as well as no 12b-1 fees.
What are the disadvantages of class A shares?
The disadvantages for Class A shares are that smaller investors or those who wish to dollar-cost average into a fund often end up losing out due to the sales load.
What is the difference between a class A and a class C?
While Class A shares offer a front-end load, Class C shares do the opposite and feature a back-end load. The full initial investment amount is put to work in the fund. The kicker is that Class C shares impose the sales load—typically 1%—when you sell your shares. That back-end sales load is often phased out after a year or two depending on the fund.
What is the front end load on a class A stock?
Class A Shares. Historically, Class A shares were sold by financial advisors that worked directly with investors. In order to compensate the advisor for the sale, Class A shares come with what’s called a front-end load. Typically, this fee is between 2.5% and 5.75%, and is taken off when the shares are first purchased.
Do mutual funds have one size fits all?
In this case we’re talking about the various share classes of each fund. While some mutual funds carry a “one-size fits all” moniker, many others offer a variety of shares classes that represent the same ownership of the fund. Each comes with its own mix of one-time expenses, tickers, and operating costs. Choosing the wrong share class for your portfolio could have some negative effects on your performance over both the short and long-term.
Do R shares charge sales loads?
Like D shares, class R shares do not charge sales loads, but do come with 12b-1 fees. That does sop up some of the returns of R shares. However, when factoring an employer’s match in a 401 (K), the extra fee is almost negligible. See also How to Read Your Annual Mutual Fund Report.
What is a multi class mutual fund?
Because of the different fees and expenses, each class will likely have different performance results. A multi-class structure offers investors the ability to select a fee and expense structure that is most appropriate for their investment goals (including the time that they expect to remain invested in the fund).
Why do investors use multi class?
Because of the different fees and expenses, each class will likely have different performance results . A multi-class structure offers investors the ability to select a fee and expense structure that is most appropriate for their investment goals (including the time that they expect to remain invested in the fund).
Do mutual funds charge back end sales load?
Some mutual funds reduce the front-end load as the size of the investment increases. These discounts are called breakpoints. Class B shares typically do not have a front-end sales load. Instead, they may charge a back-end sales load and a 12b-1 fee (along with other annual expenses).
Is Class I stock cheaper than Class A?
Class I shares might have lower overall fees than Class A, B or C shares, but they would be sold only to institutional investors making large fund share purchases. However, these shares may be available to retail investors through their employers ( e.g., through a retirement plan).
Do Class C shares have a 12B-1 fee?
Class C shares might have a 12b-1 fee, other annual expenses, and either a front-end or back-end sales load. But the front-end or back-end load for Class C shares tends to be lower than for Class A or Class B shares, respectively. Unlike Class B shares, Class C shares generally do not convert to another class; as a result, the back-end load will not decrease over time. Class C shares tend to have higher annual expenses than either Class A or Class B shares.
What is a class A mutual fund?
Class-A mutual fund shares charge a front-end load, have lower 12b-1 fees and a below-average level of operating expenses. Class-B mutual fund shares charge a back-end load and have higher 12b-1 fees and operating expenses. Class-C mutual fund shares are considered level-load - there's no front-end load but a low back-end load applies, as do 12b-1 fees and relatively higher operating expenses. 3
What is class of shares?
Class of shares can also refer to the different share classes that exist for load mutual funds. There are three share classes (Class A, Class B and Class C) which carry different sales charges, 12b-1 fees and operating expense structures. Whether referring to different share classes of a company's stock or the multiple share classes offered by ...
How does Google's multi class structure work?
The multi-class share structure at Google came about as a result of the company's restructuring into Alphabet Inc. in October 2015 (NASDAQ: GOOG). 1 Founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page found themselves owning less than majority ownership of the company's stock, but wished to maintain control over major business decisions. The company created three share classes of the company's stock as a result. Class-A shares are held by regular investors and carry one vote per share. Class-B shares, held primarily by Brin and Page, have 10 votes per share. Class-C shares are typically held by employees and have no voting rights. The structure gives most voting control to the founders, although similar setups have proven unpopular with average shareholders in the past. 2
How many votes does a class B share have?
Class-B shares, held primarily by Brin and Page, have 10 votes per share. Class-C shares are typically held by employees and have no voting rights. The structure gives most voting control to the founders, although similar setups have proven unpopular with average shareholders in the past. 2 .
What is an advisor share?
One common class of stock is advisory shares. Also known as advisor shares, this type of stock is given to business advisors in exchange for their insight and expertise. Often, the advisors who receive this type of stock option reward are company founders or high-level executives. Advisor shares typically vest monthly over a 1-2 year period on ...
What are the two types of stock?
Two of the primary types of stock are common shares, representing the majority of shares available across the market, and preferred stock, which typically guarantee a fixed dividend but do not have voting rights. One common class of stock is advisory shares. Also known as advisor shares, this type of stock is given to business advisors in exchange ...
Why do companies distinguish between different stock classes?
One reason companies distinguish among different stock classes is to protect themselves from a takeover.
What does R square mean in mutual funds?
R-squared in mutual funds is a statistical tool that investors use to compare a fund to a given benchmark. A higher R-squared value means the fund moves with the benchmark. Watching this metric can allow investors to monitor their assets and maintain a more diversified portfolio.
What is R2 in mutual funds?
R-squared, or R2, in mutual funds, is a statistical metric you can use to compare a fund to a given benchmark.
How Does R-Squared Work?
When you're thinking about whether to invest in a mutual fund, you should know not only how it performs, but also how it fits into your portfolio as a whole.
Why use R squared?
R-squared can also be useful for reviewing existing funds in a portfolio to be sure their style has not "drifted" toward that of the benchmark. If any funds are too close or too far away from their original benchmarks, you can sell and buy into funds that maintain your original portfolio diversification.
What does 100% R squared mean?
An R-squared of 100% means that the growth (or decline) of your portfolio is fully in sync with the growth (or decline) of the benchmark. 1
Why do you need to know R2?
Knowing a fund's R2 is a way to help maintain a more diversified portfolio, because you can check that your investments don't all align to the same benchmarks.
Do I Need to Use R-Squared?
R-squared is a useful tool for diversification purposes. It can be used to check how well the funds or assets in your portfolio perform. This can help you decide whether you want to keep them or not.

Define R-Class
- R-class shares refer to a class of shares offered by a mutual fund and do not identify a specific mutual fund. Each type of mutual fund has its own purchase terms, fees and expenses regarding each type of class or share. Some financial companies may limit the number of shares purchased or require a minimum investment amount when purchasing Class R ...
Purpose of R-Class
- R-class shares were created for the retirement focused investor. Some mutual fund families may refer to R-class shares as retirement shares. Retirement minded individuals often search for mutual funds and other investments with long-term growth and lower fees. R-class shares typically waive front and back-end fees. However, just like other types of class shares, annual ex…
Availability of R-Class
- R-class shares are not offered directly to an investor but are sold through third parties. These third parties are financial intermediaries who offer R-class shares through employer-sponsored retirement plans. Third parties cannot enroll non-employees in a company offered retirement plan. Therefore, R-shares must be obtained through a person's existing employer's plan. The intermedi…
The R-Class
- The types of plans that offer R-class shares include 401(k), 457 and 403(b) plans offered by an employer. R-class shares may also be offered through other plans, such as a money purchase and profit sharing pension, non-qualified deferred compensation and health benefit funding. Class R shares are not offered for individual retirement plans.