Washington Mutual
Investors Fund
(Illustration of Colonial Surveyors)
For the Quarter Ended
July 31, 1997
(Logo) The American Funds Group(R)
Fellow Shareholders
In the three months ended July 31 _ the first quarter of Washington
Mutual's fiscal year _ the value of an investment in the Fund recorded an
unusually large gain _ 18.8% including reinvestment of dividends. The
U.S. equity market as a whole posted a similar increase _ 19.6% as
measured by the unmanaged Standard & Poor's 500 Composite Index, also with
dividends reinvested.
The stock market's strong showing reflected a highly favorable confluence
of events, including continued increases in corporate earnings, a steady
flow of increased dividends, rising employment, low inflation, progress
toward a balanced federal budget and passage by Congress of legislation
reducing taxes on realized capital gains.
It would be unrealistic to expect such ideal conditions to continue for any
extended period, or for the market to keep rising without interruption. We
would remind all of our shareholders that stock prices can fluctuate
widely. Accordingly, we encourage you to maintain a long-term perspective
on your holdings.
The portfolio included in this report reflects ownership of 146 companies
in 28 industries. On July 31, 1997, the 10 largest industry positions as a
percentage of net assets were: Banking (14.9%), Health & Personal Care
(11.8%), Energy Sources (10.5%), Telecommunications (8.1%), Electric & Gas
Utilities (7.9%), Insurance (6.4%), Merchandising (4.5%), Financial
Services (4.2%), Business & Public Services (3.7%), and Chemicals (3.6%).
Ten new names have appeared in the portfolio since April 30, 1997: AMP,
Avon Products, Chrysler, Electronic Data Systems, NIKE, Rite Aid, Student
Loan Marketing, Wells Fargo, Whirlpool, and Witco. Shares of Masco, Maytag
and PNC Bank were eliminated. During the quarter, PanEnergy was acquired
by Duke Power, and Tambrands was taken over by Procter & Gamble.
We are pleased to report that Washington Mutual has once again been
selected for the annual Forbes Mutual Fund Honor Roll.
We hope you enjoyed your summer and look forward to reporting to you again
in another three months. As always, we welcome your comments.
Cordially,
(signatures)
Stephen Hartwell James H. Lemon, Jr. Harry J. Lister
Chairman Vice Chairman President
September 12, 1997
The figures in this report reflect past results and are not predictive of
future results. Fund results in this report were calculated without a
sales charge. Share price and return will vary, so you may lose money by
investing in the Fund. The shorter the time period of your investment, the
greater the possibility of loss. Fund shares are not deposits or
obligations of, or insured or guaranteed by, the U.S. government, any
financial institution, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or any
other agency, entity or person.
(Logo) Washington Mutual Investors Fund
Your Investment Account
As of July 31, 1997
Each $1,000 of Net Assets Represented:
Which Has
This Paid
Amount Dividends
Invested In This Company Since
$ 7.90 Aetna Inc. 1934
8.91 Albertson_s, Inc. 1960
2.86 AlliedSignal Inc. 1887
11.11 Allstate Corp. 1993
4.98 American Electric Power Company, Inc. 1909
7.50 American Express Co. 1870
8.43 American General Corp. 1929
18.10 American Home Products Corp. 1919
23.17 Ameritech Corp. 1984
20.23 Amoco Corp. 1894
2.87 Amp Inc. 1951
.83 Atlantic Energy, Inc. 1919
29.54 Atlantic Richfield Co. 1927
23.86 AT&T Corp. 1881
2.13 Avon Products, Inc. 1919
1.61 Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. 1910
5.22 Banc One Corp. 1935
19.36 Bank of New York Co., Inc. 1785
9.92 BankAmerica Corp. 1989
5.67 Bankers Trust New York Corp. 1904
3.04 Barnett Banks, Inc. 1945
3.56 Bell Atlantic Corp. 1984
5.55 Beneficial Corp. 1929
1.99 Boeing Co. 1942
8.95 Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. 1900
.78 Brooklyn Union Gas Co. 1949
9.60 Browning-Ferris Industries, Inc. 1950
4.12 Carolina Power & Light Co. 1937
5.55 Caterpillar Inc. 1914
2.71 Central and South West Corp. 1947
15.10 Chase Manhattan Corp. 1827
13.03 Chevron Corp. 1912
15.04 Chrysler Corp. 1984
6.05 CIGNA Corp. 1867
.68 CINergy Corp. 1853
5.02 Cognizant Corp. 1997
3.28 Colgate-Palmolive Co. 1895
1.09 Comerica Inc. 1936
5.48 Consolidated Edison Co. of New York, Inc. 1885
3.51 Consolidated Natural Gas Co. 1944
11.88 CoreStates Financial Corp 1844
6.01 CPC International Inc. 1920
1.96 CSX Corp. 1922
4.23 Dana Corp. 1936
1.25 Deluxe Corp. 1921
.63 Dominion Resources, Inc. 1925
2.16 Dow Jones & Co., Inc. 1906
2.05 Dresser Industries, Inc. 1948
3.17 DTE Energy Co. 1909
11.70 Duke Energy Corp. 1926
3.29 Dun & Bradstreet Corp. 1934
23.11 E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. 1904
1.94 Eastman Kodak Co. 1902
5.48 Eaton Corp. 1923
3.21 Echlin Inc. 1950
4.22 Edison International 1909
5.97 Electronic Data Systems Corp. 1984
3.10 Emerson Electric Co. 1947
4.65 Exxon Corp. 1882
9.98 Federal National Mortgage Assn. 1956
13.97 First Chicago NBD Corp. 1996
5.57 First Union Corp. 1914
12.19 Fleet Financial Group, Inc. 1791
4.50 Florida Progress Corp. 1937
2.21 FPL Group, Inc. 1944
1.72 Gannett Co., Inc. 1929
1.82 General Electric Co. 1899
10.66 General Mills, Inc. 1898
11.64 General Re Corp. 1934
6.16 Genuine Parts Co. 1948
4.10 Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. 1937
2.69 GTE Corp. 1936
17.59 Household International, Inc. 1926
4.22 Houston Industries Inc. 1922
1.33 Ingersoll-Rand Co. 1910
16.58 International Paper Co. 1946
1.44 Johnson & Johnson 1905
5.86 Kellogg Co. 1923
4.25 Kerr-McGee Corp. 1941
3.59 KeyCorp 1963
3.07 Kimberly-Clark Corp. 1935
18.61 Eli Lilly and Co. 1885
6.17 Lincoln National Corp. 1920
3.59 Louisiana-Pacific Corp. 1973
4.92 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. 1923
.94 McKesson Corp. 1995
11.71 Merck & Co., Inc. 1935
1.37 Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. 1916
2.32 Mobil Corp. 1902
4.39 Monsanto Co. 1925
8.70 J.P. Morgan & Co. Inc. 1892
3.02 National City Corp. 1936
10.69 NationsBank Corp. 1903
.61 NIKE, Inc., Class B 1984
7.79 Norfolk Southern Corp. 1901
1.09 Northeast Utilities 1927
7.29 Norwest Corp. 1939
.53 OGE Energy Corp. 1908
1.94 PG&E Corp. 1919
1.67 Parker Hannifin Corp. 1949
2.72 PECO Energy Co. 1902
18.80 J.C. Penney Co., Inc. 1922
4.76 PepsiCo, Inc. 1952
7.79 Pfizer Inc 1901
10.98 Pharmacia & Upjohn, Inc. 1996
2.33 Phelps Dodge Corp. 1987
4.12 Pitney Bowes Inc. 1934
5.77 PPG Industries, Inc. 1899
2.77 PP & L Resources, Inc. 1946
3.29 Procter & Gamble Co. 1891
2.73 Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. 1907
.93 Puget Sound Energy, Inc. 1943
7.83 Raytheon Co. 1964
2.25 Rite Aid Corp. 1968
1.52 Rockwell International Corp. 1948
2.53 Sara Lee Corp. 1946
6.34 SBC Communications Inc. 1984
8.82 Schering-Plough Corp. 1952
2.78 Sherwin-Williams Co. 1979
2.18 Signet Banking Corp. 1963
6.34 Southern Co. 1948
2.66 Sprint Corp. 1939
7.53 St. Paul Companies, Inc. 1872
1.30 Student Loan Marketing Assn. 1983
3.71 SunTrust Banks, Inc. 1985
27.57 Texaco Inc. 1903
1.68 Thomas & Betts Corp. 1934
4.73 TRW Inc. 1936
4.34 Union Electric Co. 1906
9.26 Union Pacific Corp. 1900
2.69 United Technologies Corp. 1936
3.17 Unocal Corp. 1916
18.51 U S WEST Communications Group 1984
1.56 VF Corp. 1941
3.82 Wachovia Corp. 1936
1.32 Walgreen Co. 1933
14.00 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 1973
25.88 Warner-Lambert Co. 1926
7.71 Waste Management, Inc. (formerly WMX Technologies) 1976
3.18 Wells Fargo & Co. 1936
5.31 Westvaco Corp. 1892
.99 Whirlpool Corp. 1929
1.19 Whitman Corp. 1950
.44 Wisconsin Energy Corp. 1939
.40 Witco Corp. 1950
10.07 Xerox Corp. 1930
Stocks in initial period of acquisition _ $20.02
Excess of United States Treasury bills, cash, and receivables over payables
_ $38.55
On July 31, 1997 the Fund's net asset value per share was $30.66, and net
assets were $34,617,842,499
Each $1,000 of Net Assets Was Invested In These Industries:
Energy
Energy Sources $104.75
Utilities: Electric & Gas 79.15
Materials
Chemicals 36.44
Forest Products & Paper 25.49
Metals: Nonferrous 2.33
Capital Equipment
Aerospace & Military Technology 12.51
Data Processing & Reproduction 10.08
Electrical & Electronics 4.93
Electronic Components 4.55
Energy Equipment 2.05
Industrial Components 29.43
Machinery & Engineering 8.55
Consumer Goods
Appliances & Household Durables $ .99
Automobiles 15.04
Beverages 4.76
Food & Household Products 31.65
Health & Personal Care 118.42
Recreation & Other Consumer Products 1.94
Textiles & Apparel 2.16
Services
Broadcasting & Publishing 3.88
Business & Public Services 36.97
Merchandising 45.27
Telecommunications 80.78
Transportation: Rail 19.01
Finance
Banking $149.20
Financial Services 41.91
Insurance 63.77
Multi-Industry
Multi-Industry 5.42
Stocks in initial period of acquisition 20.02
Excess of United States Treasury bills, cash, and
receivables over payables 38.55
This report is for the information of shareholders of Washington Mutual
Investors Fund, but it may also be used as sales literature when preceded
or accompanied by the current prospectus, which gives details about
charges, expenses, investment objectives and operating policies of the
Fund.
Washington Mutual Investors Fund
Directors
Stephen Hartwell, Chairman of the Board
James H. Lemon, Jr., Vice Chairman
Harry J. Lister, President
Cyrus A. Ansary
John A. Beck
Fred J. Brinkman
Daniel J. Callahan III
James C. Miller III
Thomas J. Owen
Jean Head Sisco
T. Eugene Smith
Leonard P. Steuart II
Margita E. White
Stephen G. Yeonas
Advisory Board
Charles A. Bowsher
Mary K. Bush
Vernon W. Holleman, Jr.
Katherine D. Ortega
J. Knox Singleton
William B. Snyder
Robert F. Tardio
Directors Emeritus
Bernard J. Nees, Chairman Emeritus
Charles T. Akre
Nathan A. Baily
Frank M. Ewing
OTHER OFFICERS
Howard L. Kitzmiller
Ralph S. Richard
Lois A. Erhard
Michael W. Stockton
Office of the Fund and the Business Manager
Washington Management Corporation
1101 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20005-3585
202/842-5665
Investment Manager
Capital Research and Management Company
333 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071-1443
135 South State College Blvd.
Brea, CA 92821-5804
Counsel
Thompson, O'Donnell, Markham, Norton & Hannon
805 Fifteenth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005-2216
Custodian
The Chase Manhattan Bank
One Chase Manhattan Plaza
New York, NY 10081-0001
Transfer Agent
American Funds Service Company
(Please write to the address nearest you.)
P.O. Box 2205
Brea, CA 92822-2205
P.O. Box 659522
San Antonio, TX 78265-9522
P.O. Box 6007
Indianapolis, IN 46206-6007
P.O. Box 2280
Norfolk, VA 23501-2280
Principal Underwriter
American Funds Distributors, Inc.
333 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071-1462
For information about your account or any of the Fund's services, please
contact your financial adviser. You may also call American Funds Service
Company, toll-free, at 800/421-0180 or visit www.americanfunds.com on the
World Wide Web.
WMIF-012-0997
