3 Mutual Fund Misfires To Avoid In Your Retirement Portfolio - March 26, 2020

If your financial advisor made you buy any of these "Mutual Fund Misfires of the Market" with high expenses and low returns, you need to reassess your advisor.

High fees plus poor performance: It's a pretty simple formula for a bad mutual fund. Some are worse than others - and some are so bad that they have earned a "Strong Sell" on the Zacks Rank, the lowest ranking of the nearly 19,000 mutual funds we rank daily.

First, let's break down some of the funds currently part of our "Mutual Fund Misfires of the Market." If you happen to have put your money into any of these misfires, we'll help assess some of our best Zacks Ranked mutual funds.

3 Mutual Fund Misfires

Now, let's take a look at three market misfires.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) N-11 Equity Fund Institutional (GSYIX): 1.34% expense ratio and 1.05% management fee. GSYIX is a part of the Non US - Equity fund category, many of which will focus across all cap levels, and will typically allocate their investments between emerging and developed markets. With a five year after-costs return of -2.41%, you're for the most part paying more in charges than returns.

MainGate MLP Fund A (AMLPX): 1.69% expense ratio, 1.25%. AMLPX is a Sector - Energy mutual fund, which encompasses a wide range of vastly changing and vitally important industries throughout this massive global sector. This fund has yearly returns of -8.65% over the most recent five years. Another fund liable of having investors pay more in charges than what they receive in return.

Arbitrage Tactical Equity I (ATQIX): Expense ratio: 1.69%. Management fee: 1.25%. ATQIX is a Long Short - Equity option. These funds' investment strategy consists of minimizing overall market exposure, while at the same time taking long positions in equities that are expected to appreciate and short positions in equities that are projected to decline. With annual returns of just 0.86%, it's no surprise this fund has received Zacks' "Strong Sell" ranking.

3 Top Ranked Mutual Funds

Since you've seen the most noticeably lowest Zacks Ranked mutual funds, how about we take a look at some of the top ranked mutual funds with the least fees.

Dreyfus/Boston Small/Mid-Cap Growth Y (DBMYX): Expense ratio: 0.64%. Management fee: 0.6%. DBMYX is a Mid Cap Growth mutual fund. These mutual funds choose companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion. This fund has achieved five-year annual returns of an astounding 13.55%.

Columbia Select Large Cap Growth R4 (CSRRX) is a stand out fund. CSRRX is a Large Cap Growth option; these mutual funds purchase stakes in numerous large U.S. companies that are expected to develop and grow at a faster rate than other large-cap stocks. With five-year annualized performance of 11.78% and expense ratio of 0.86%, this diversified fund is an attractive buy with a strong history of performance.

Nuance Mid Cap Value Fund Institutional (NMVLX) has an expense ratio of 0.91% and management fee of 0.75%. NMVLX is a Mid Cap Value fund, which usually invests in companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion. With yearly returns of 11.88% over the last five years, this fund is well-diversified with a long reputation of salutary performance.

Bottom Line

So, there you have it - if your advisor has you invested in any of our "Mutual Fund Misfires of the Market," there is a good probability that they are either asleep at the wheel, incompetent, or (most likely) lining their pockets with high fee commissions at your financial expense.

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Zacks Investment Research