[front cover]
AMERICAN CENTURY
Fund Profile
[american century logo (reg.sm)]
American
Century
International Bond Fund
This profile summarizes key information about the fund that is included in the
fund's Prospectus. The fund's Prospectus includes additional information about
the fund, including a more detailed description of the risks associated with
investing in the fund, that you may want to consider before you invest.
[three photos of bubble blowing woman and child,
business men, woman at computer]
APRIL 25, 1999
INVESTOR CLASS
You may obtain the Prospectus and other information about the fund at no cost
by calling us at 1-800-345-2021, accessing our Web site or visiting one of our
Investor Centers. See the back cover for additional telephone numbers and our
address.
INTERNATIONAL BOND FUND
1. WHAT IS THE FUND'S INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE?
International Bond seeks high total return.
2. WHAT IS THE FUND'S INVESTMENT STRATEGY?
The fund buys high-quality, nondollar-denominated foreign government and
foreign corporate debt securities.
All of the investments must satisfy the credit quality standards (i.e., "AA"
or higher) established by the Trustees of the fund.
The subadvisor selects the fund's investments by using a combination of
fundamental research, and bond and currency valuation models.
* Economic/Political Fundamentals. The subadvisor evaluates each country's
economic climate and political discipline for controlling deficits and
inflation.
* Expected Return. Using economic forecasts, the subadvisor projects the
expected return for each country.
* Relative Value. By contrasting expected risks and returns for investments
in each country, the subadvisor selects those countries expected to produce
the best return at reasonable risk.
Normally, the fund will only purchase bonds denominated in foreign
currencies. Some international funds attempt to minimize currency risks by
using hedging strategies; this is sometimes called hedging "back to the
dollar." The fund will not normally hedge back to the dollar.
The weighted average maturity of the fund is expected to be between two and
10 years.
Additional information about International Bond's investments is available
in its annual and semiannual reports. In these reports you will find a
discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that
significantly affected the fund's performance during the most recent fiscal
period. You may get these reports at no cost by calling us.
3. WHAT ARE THE SIGNIFICANT RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND?
* When interest rates change, the fund's share value will be affected.
Generally, when interest rates rise, the fund's share value will decline.
The opposite is true when interest rates decline. The interest rate risk for
International Bond is higher than for funds that have shorter weighted
average maturities, such as short-term and limited-term funds.
* As with all funds, at any given time the value of your shares of
International Bond may be worth more or less than the price you paid. If you
sell your shares when the value is less than the price you paid, you will
lose money.
* An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit, and it is not insured or
guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other
government agency.
* International Bond invests primarily in foreign securities, which involves
greater risks than investing in U.S. securities. These risks are summarized
below.
Currency Risk. In addition to changes in the value of the fund's
investments, changes in the value of foreign currencies against the U.S.
dollar also could result in gains or losses to the fund. The value of a
share of International Bond is determined in U.S. dollars. The fund's
investments, however, generally are held in the foreign currency of the
country where investments are made. As a result, the fund could recognize a
gain or loss based solely upon a change in the exchange rate between the
foreign currency and the U.S. dollar.
Political and Economic Risk. Many countries where the fund invests are not
as politically or economically developed as the United States. As a result,
the economies and political and social structures of these countries could
be unstable. This could cause the value of the fund's investments to
decrease. The fund also could be unable to enforce its ownership rights or
pursue legal remedies in countries where it invests.
International Bond American Century Investments
Market and Trading Risk. The trading markets for many foreign securities are
not as active as U.S. markets and may have less governmental regulation and
oversight. Foreign markets also may have procedures that make it difficult
for the fund to buy and sell securities. These factors could result in a
loss to the fund.
Availability of Information. Foreign companies generally are not subject to
the regulatory controls or uniform accounting, auditing and financial
reporting standards imposed on U.S. issuers. As a result, there may be less
publicly available information about foreign issuers than is available
regarding U.S. issuers.
In summary, International Bond is intended for investors who find foreign
securities an appropriate investment and who are willing to accept the
increased risk associated with the fund's investment strategy. An investment
in the fund should not be considered a complete investment program and is
not appropriate for investors who are unable to tolerate rapid fluctuations
in the value of their investment.
FUND PERFORMANCE
The following bar chart shows the actual performance of International Bond's
Investor Class shares for each calendar year since the fund's inception on
January 7, 1992. The bar chart indicates the volatility of the fund's
historical returns from year to year. The bar chart and the performance
information below are not intended to indicate how the fund will perform in
the future.
[bar chart]
Calendar Year-By-Year Returns (1)
1998 17.87%
1997 -5.88%
1996 6.38%
1995 24.40%
1994 1.52%
1993 11.79%
(1) As of March 31, 1999, the end of the most recent calendar quarter,
International Bond's year-to-date return was -5.86%.
The highest and lowest quarterly returns for the period reflected in the bar
chart are:
Highest Lowest
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International Bond 13.84% (1Q 1995) -6.79% (1Q 1997)
The following table shows the average annual returns of the fund's Investor
Class shares for the periods indicated. The J.P. Morgan Global Traded
Government Bond Index (excluding the United States and with Japan weighted
at 15%), an unmanaged index that reflects no operating costs, is included as
a benchmark for performance comparisons. For current performance
information, including yields, please call us or access our Web site.
1 YEAR 5 YEARS LIFE OF FUND(1)
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AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (PERIOD ENDED MARCH 31, 1999)
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International Bond 10.08% 7.19% 7.44%
J.P. Morgan Global Traded
Government Bond Index 11.33% 8.17% 7.39%(2)
(1) The inception date for International Bond is January 7, 1992.
(2) Benchmark from January 31, 1992.
4. WHAT ARE THE FUND'S FEES AND EXPENSES?
There are no sales loads, fees or other charges
* to buy fund shares directly from American Century
* to reinvest dividends in additional shares
* to exchange into the Investor Class shares of other American Century fund
* to redeem your shares
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will pay if you
buy and hold shares of the fund.
Fund Profile International Bond
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ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES
(EXPENSES THAT ARE DEDUCTED FROM FUND ASSETS)
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Management Fee 0.84%(1)
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses(2) 0.03%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.87%
(1) Based on expenses incurred during the fund's most recent fiscal
year. The fund has a stepped fee schedule. As a result, the fund's
management fee rate generally decreases as fund assets increase.
(2) Other expenses include the fees and expenses of the fund's
independent trustees, their legal counsel, interest and
extraordinary expenses.
EXAMPLE
Assuming you . . .
* invest $10,000 in the fund
* redeem all of your shares at the end of the periods shown below
* earn a 5% return each year
* incur the same operating expenses as shown above
. . . your cost of investing in the fund would be:
1 year 3 years 5 years 10 years
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$89 $277 $481 $1,069
Of course, actual costs may be higher or lower. Use this example to
compare the costs of investing in other funds.
5. WHO ARE THE FUND'S INVESTMENT ADVISOR AND PORTFOLIO MANAGERS?
American Century Investment Management, Inc. provides investment advisory
and management services for the fund. American Century uses teams of
portfolio managers, assistant portfolio managers and analysts working
together to manage its mutual funds. J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc.
(JPMIM) is the fund's subadvisor and is responsible for its day-to-day
operations. JPMIM is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in most
of the world's financial centers, including London and Frankfurt. The
portfolio manager who leads the team that manages International Bond is
identified as follows:
DAVID GIBBON, Vice President, JPMIM and Fixed-Income Portfolio Manager, has
been a member of the team that manages International Bond since December
1998. He joined JPMIM, New York in 1992 and has worked in London since 1997.
He has a bachelor's degree in physics from Princeton University. He is a
Chartered Financial Analyst.
6. HOW DO I BUY FUND SHARES?
* Complete and return the enclosed application
* Call us and exchange shares from another American Century fund
* Call us and send your investment by bank wire transfer
Your initial investment must be at least $5,000 ($1,000 for traditional IRAs
and Roth IRAs). If your redemption activity causes the value of your account
to fall below this account minimum, your shares may be redeemed
involuntarily.
7. HOW DO I SELL FUND SHARES?
You may sell all or part of your fund shares on any business day by writing
or calling us. You also may exchange your shares in International Bond for
shares in nearly 70 other mutual funds offered by American Century.
Depending on the options you select when you open your account, some
restrictions may apply. For your protection, some redemption requests
require a signature guarantee.
8. HOW ARE FUND DISTRIBUTIONS MADE AND TAXED?
International Bond pays distributions of substantially all of its income
quarterly, although it may elect to not pay a distribution in a given
quarter. Distributions from realized capital gains are paid once a year,
usually in December. Distributions may be taxable as ordinary income,
capital gains or a combination of the two. Capital gains are taxed at
different rates depending on the length of time the fund held the securities
that were sold. Distributions are reinvested automatically in additional
shares unless you choose another option.
International Bond American Century Investments
9. WHAT SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE?
American Century offers several ways to make it easier for you to manage
your account, such as
* telephone transactions
* wire and electronic funds transfers
* 24-hour Automated Information Line transactions
* 24-hour online Internet account access and transactions
You will find more information about these choices in our Investor Services
Guide, which you may request by calling us, accessing our Web site or
visiting one of our Investor Centers.
Information contained in our Investor Services Guide pertains to
shareholders who invest directly with American Century rather than through
an employer-sponsored retirement plan or financial intermediary.
If you own or are considering purchasing fund shares through an
employer-sponsored retirement plan or financial intermediary, your ability
to purchase shares of the fund, exchange them for shares of other American
Century funds, and redeem them will depend on the terms of your plan or
financial intermediary. If you have questions about investing in an
employer-sponsored retirement plan or through a financial intermediary, call
a Service Representative at 1-800-345-3533.
Fund Profile International Bond
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[american century logo (reg.sm)]
American
Century
AMERICAN CENTURY INVESTMENTS
P.O. BOX 419200
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI 64141-6200
INVESTOR RELATIONS
1-800-345-2021 or 816-531-5575
AUTOMATED INFORMATION LINE
1-800-345-8765
FAX
816-340-7962
TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVICE FOR THE DEAF
1-800-634-4113 or 816-444-3485
BUSINESS, NOT-FOR-PROFIT AND
EMPLOYER-SPONSORED RETIREMENT PLANS
1-800-345-353
Visit our Web site at WWW.AMERICANCENTURY.COM [link to web site with arrow]
SH-PRF-16140 9904 Funds Distributor, Inc.
