Founded in Los Angeles, California in 1931, it is privately held and has offices around the globe in the Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe.

Capital offers a range of products focused on active management, including more than 40 mutual funds through its subsidiary, American Funds Distributors, as well as separately managed accounts (or collective investment trusts), private equity, investment services for high net worth investors in the U.S., and a range of other offerings for institutional clients and individual investors globally.

Known today as The Capital System, it avoids the phenomenon of creating single-manager "stars," who can impact a fund's results should they leave.

[17] Philip May, husband of former British PM Theresa May, has worked as a relationship manager for the Capital Group.

[18] As of 2019, Capital Group held 5% of BAE Systems,[19] 9% of British American Tobacco,[20] and 15.28% of ASML Holding.

In addition to financial research, the managers may do on-the-ground due diligence, and in 2018 logged 12,400 visits to facilities such as factories.

North American locations include Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Antonio, Indianapolis, New York, San Francisco, Toronto and Washington, D.C. As part of expansion plans in Europe, Capital Group established a presence in Frankfurt, Madrid, Milan and Zurich, adding to its offices in Geneva, London and Luxembourg.