3 Top-Ranked Mutual Funds for Your Retirement

It is never too late to invest in mutual funds for retirement. As such, if you plan to invest in some of the best funds, the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank can provide you with valuable guidance.

The easiest way to judge a mutual fund's quality over time is by analyzing its performance, diversification, and fees. Using the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of over 19,000 mutual funds, we've identified three outstanding mutual funds that are ideally suited to help long-term investors pursue and achieve their retirement investing goals.

Here are the funds that have achieved the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and have low fees.

Vanguard Global Capital Cycles Fund Investor (VGPMX) has a 0.42% expense ratio and 0.4% management fee. Sector - Precious Metal funds like VGPMX normally invest in stocks focused on the mining and production of precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. With yearly returns of 20.01% over the last five years, this fund clearly wins.

Fidelity Advisor Series Equity Growth (FMFMX) is a stand out amongst its peers. FMFMX is a part of the Large Cap Growth mutual fund category, which invest in many large U.S. companies that are expected to grow much faster compared to other large-cap stocks. With five-year annualized performance of 14.39%, expense ratio of 0.01% and management fee of 0%, this diversified fund is an attractive buy with a strong history of performance.

American Funds Fundamental Investors F (AFIFX): 0.64% expense ratio and 0.24% management fee. AFIFX is classified as a Large Cap Blend fund. More often than not, Large Cap Blend mutual funds invest in companies with a market cap of over $10 billion. Buying stakes in bigger companies offer these funds more stability, and are well-suited for investors with a "buy and hold" mindset. With a five-year annual return of 14.35%, this fund is a well-diversified fund with a long track record of success.

These examples highlight the fact that there are some astonishingly good mutual funds out there. If your advisor has you in the good ones, bravo! If not, you may need to have a talk.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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