3 Great Mutual Fund Picks for Your Retirement

There is never a wrong time to invest in mutual funds for retirement. So, if you're still looking for the best mutual funds, the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank can be a great guide.

How can you tell a good mutual fund from a bad one? It's pretty basic: if the fund is diversified, has low fees, and shows strong performance, it's a keeper. Of course, there's a wide range, but using the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we've found three mutual funds that would be great additions to any long-term investors' portfolios.

Let's take a look at some of our top-ranked mutual funds with the lowest fees.

If you are looking to diversify your portfolio, consider BlackRock Equity Dividend I (MADVX). MADVX is a Large Cap Value mutual fund, which invests in stocks with a market cap of $10 billion of more, but whose share prices do not reflect their intrinsic value. This fund is a winner, boasting an expense ratio of 0.69%, management fee of 0.56%, and a five-year annualized return track record of 11.83%.

EIP Growth and Income I (EIPIX) is a stand out amongst its peers. EIPIX is a Sector - Energy fund, which are comprised of various changing and hugely important industries throughout the massive global energy sector. With five-year annualized performance of 20.18%, expense ratio of 1.25% and management fee of 1%, this diversified fund is an attractive buy with a strong history of performance.

Franklin Utilities A1 (FKUTX): 0.7% expense ratio and 0.46% management fee. FKUTX is a Sector - Utilities fund, and these types of mutual funds are known for their stability; they focus on companies that provide essential services to millions of people on a daily basis like electric power, gas distribution, and water supply. With a five-year annual return of 15.27%, 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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