3 American Century Funds for Long-Term Growth

Friday, Mar 13, 2026 9:12 am ET2min read
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Aime RobotAime Summary

- American Century Investments, founded in 1958 by James E. Stowers Jr., offers diversified investment strategies with a focus on sustainable investing and donates 40% of annual dividends to medical research.

- Three top-rated funds (BIGRX, ASQIX, ARYVX) are recommended for long-term growth, featuring Zacks Rank #1/#2 ratings, strong 3-5 year returns (9.1%-13.5%), and expense ratios below category averages.

- BIGRX (13.5% 3-yr return, 0.66% fee) targets undervalued large-cap stocks, while ASQIX (12% 3-yr return) and ARYVX (10.8% 3-yr return) focus on small-cap and global real estate opportunities respectively.

James E. Stowers Jr. founded American Century Investments in 1958. It provides a broad range of investment strategies through mutual funds and other products in equity, fixed income and alternative/multi-asset classes, with nine global offices and more than 1,400 investment professionals. The firm has also integrated sustainable investing into its investment process, and about 40% of its annual dividends are donated to medical research.

We have chosen three American Century mutual funds —American Century Disciplined Value Inv (BIGRX), American Century Small Company Inv (ASQIX) and American Century Global Real Estate Inv (ARYVX) — that investors should buy now for the long term. These funds have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), positive three-year and five-year annualized returns, minimum initial investments within $5000 and expense ratios considerably lower than the category average. So, these funds have provided a comparatively stronger performance and carry a lower fee.

American Century Disciplined Value Inv fund seeks long-term capital growth. BIGRX invests large, undervalued companies that have growth characteristics.

Yulin Long has been the lead manager of BIGRX since Aug. 1, 2020. Most of the fund's holdings were in companies like JPMorgan Chase & Co. (3.9%), Johnson & Johnson (3.2%) and Merck & Co., Inc. (2.8%) as of Dec. 31, 2025.

BIGRX's 3-year and 5-year annualized returns are 13.5% and 9.1%, respectively. Its net expense ratio is 0.66%. BIGRX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1.

To see how this fund performed compared to its category and other 1 and 2 Ranked Mutual Funds,please click here.

American Century Small Company Inv fund seeks capital appreciation. ASQIX invests primarily in small-sized companies that have both growth and value characteristics.

Stephen Quance has been the lead manager of ASQIX since Aug. 4, 2023. Most of the fund's holdings were in companies like Commercial Metals Co (1.6%), Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (1.4%) and Enova International, Inc. (1.3%) as of Dec. 31, 2025.

ASQIX's 3-year and 5-year annualized returns are 12% and 5.2%, respectively. Its net expense ratio is 0.86%. ASQIX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1.

American Century Global Real Estate Inv fund invests most of its assets in REITs and other real estate companies, including emerging markets.

Steven R. Brown has been the lead manager of ARYVX since April 29, 2011. Most of the fund's holdings were in companies like Welltower Inc. (8.8%), Prologis, Inc. (8.1%) and Equinix, Inc. (5.6%) as of Oct. 31, 2025.

ARYVX's 3-year and 5-year annualized returns are 10.8% and 6.2%, respectively. Its net expense ratio is 1.1%. ARYVX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1.

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

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