3 Top-Ranked Vanguard Mutual Funds Worth Buying Now

Vanguard, one of the world’s largest asset management corporations, was founded by John C. Bogle on May 1, 1975. Headquartered in Valley Forge, PN, the company had $11 trillion in assets under management globally as of July 31, 2025. Vanguard had more than 20,000 employees worldwide as of Dec. 31, 2024, and offered 222 funds in the United States and 228 in foreign markets to millions of investors.

Vanguard is owned entirely by funds, a unique feature among mutual fund firms. According to the company, this structure allows management to focus more on shareholder interests. Among the most significant advantages, Vanguard claims to offer low-cost, no-load funds. This means that the fund doesn’t charge investors when fund shares are being bought or sold.

Below, we share with you three top-ranked Vanguard Funds, namely, Vanguard Horizon Fund, Vanguard Capital Opportunity Fund VHCOX, Vanguard Windsor II Fund VWNFX and Vanguard Strategic Equity Fund VSEQX. Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform peers in the future. Investors can click here to see the complete list of Vanguard Mutual Funds.

Vanguard Horizon Fund, Vanguard Capital Opportunity Fund invests most of its net assets in securities that have prospects for rapid earnings growth, preferably in the mid-cap space. VHCOX advisors use fundamental research to select stocks that are expected to outperform the market over a three-five-year time horizon and are available at a discounted price.

Vanguard Horizon Fund, Vanguard Capital Opportunity Fund has a three-year annualized return of 22%. As of the end of December 2025, VHCOX held 189 issues, with 7.4% of its assets invested in Eli Lilly.

Vanguard Windsor II Fund invests most of its net assets in common stocks of large and mid-cap domestic companies, which, according to its advisors, are undervalued but often have above-average dividend yields. VWNFX advisors consider undervalued stocks as those that are out of favor with investors and are trading at prices below average in relation to measures such as earnings and book value.

Vanguard Windsor II Fund has three-year annualized returns of 18.4%. VWNFX has an expense ratio of 0.33%.

Vanguard Strategic Equity Fund invests most of its net assets in small-cap U.S. companies, which, according to the advisor, have the right balance between strong growth prospects and reasonable valuations relative to their industry peers. VSEQX advisors use quantitative techniques to evaluate all of the securities using the MSCI U.S. Small + Mid Cap 2200 Index as the benchmark, with a risk profile similar to that of the index.

Vanguard Strategic Equity Fund has returned 16.5% in the past three years. Cesar Orosco has been the fund manager of VSEQX since February 2021.

To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all Vanguard Mutual Funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of Vanguard Mutual Funds.

Want key mutual fund info delivered straight to your inbox?

Zacks' free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing mutual funds, each week. Get it free >>

5 Stocks Set to Double

Each was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in the coming year. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +112%, +171%, +209% and +232%.

Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>

View All Zacks #1 Ranked Mutual Funds

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Get Your Free (VSEQX): Fund Analysis Report

Get Your Free (VHCOX): Fund Analysis Report

Get Your Free (VWNFX): Fund Analysis Report

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

Zacks Investment Research