Capital Group, the parent of American Funds, recently completed its latest periodic firmwide self-assessment, which will result in personnel changes across its strategy lineup, including American Funds Washington Mutual. On Jan. 1, 2026, veteran manager Alan Berro will relinquish his role as lead principal investment officer. The lead PIO role carries additional responsibilities beyond portfolio management, such as coordinating across subsidiaries, ensuring the overall strategy adheres to its mandate, and serving as a key client-facing representative. Berro will remain a portfolio manager within the Capital World Investors subsidiary, but this move helps pave the way for his eventual retirement.
Eric Stern will assume the lead PIO role going forward. He has been a portfolio manager on the strategy for more than 10 years and has been PIO for the Capital International Investors subsidiary for several years, which ensures continuity. Unlike the lead PIO role, subsidiary PIOs focus on capital allocation within their own groups, rather than overseeing the entire strategy. Meanwhile, Jin Lee, an 11-year veteran of this strategy, will become CWI’s PIO. These changes in responsibilities do not alter this strategy’s High People rating or its Morningstar Medalist Ratings.
Capital Group has long divided itself into subsidiaries to manage money, and its equity vehicles are housed either in a single subsidiary or a combination of up to three subsidiaries. The focus of this review was to ensure the investment team’s capabilities are adequately split between subsidiaries, to balance leadership and potential leadership opportunities across subsidiaries, and to narrow managers’ responsibilities where possible. The firm conducts these reviews roughly every seven to eight years, with the last coming in 2018.
