In the past year just about every mutual fund has been hit hard by the huge losses in the stock market. Every mutual fund family has sustained major losses and almost no investor has been spared throughout this massive downturn. The fact of the matter still remains though that some of the mutual fund families offer better value than others. Some mutual fund families offer better products, better customer service and lower fees than others do. I decided to take a look at the best mutual fund families and put together a list of the top five.
Top Five Mutual Fund Families
1. Vanguard- I think I would be remissed if I didn’t put Vanguard in the top spot. Vanguard definitely offers the lowest fees of any mutual fund family, which makes a huge difference in the long run. Vanguard offers top rated bond, money market, and index funds as well as some very good actively managed funds. Vanguard is the top dog when it comes to revolutionizing the industry and keeping fees down.
2. T Rowe Price- T. Rowe Price offers many different product lines to fit investors individual needs. T. Rowe Price is well known for having top performing mutual funds in multiple categories each and every year. They do it by keeping things simple and investing in growth companies selling at reasonable prices. T. Rowe Price has a terrific lineup of retirement and sector funds as well, which sets them apart from many other fund companies.
3. Fidelity- Fidelity can thank Peter Lynch and the tremendous run of his Fidelity Magellan Fund for its great success. The company went through a little slump in the early part of this decade, but is bouncing back due to better research and the lowering of costs in its top mutual funds. Fidelity offers a very diversified portfolio of mutual funds and has done well with investing overseas.
4. Dodge and Cox- Dodge and Cox is far smaller than any of the three above it on this list, but it is a terrific mutual fund family. Dodge and Cox fund managers have been around for more than 25 years and take every single stock pick they make very seriously. They don’t have a lot of funds, but every single mutual fund they have is rated extremely highly and has very low costs.
5. Bridgeway- Bridgeway isn’t too big of a fund family either, but they have found a great niche especially in the small company fund area. Bridgeway has a few funds that have delivered great returns for investors over the years. Expect some volatility, but know that the company is a very trustworthy company that even moves management fees to keep them in line with results, which is a refreshing way of dealing with fees.
These five mutual fund families have proven to be top of the class. There are so many more mutual fund families, and many of them are quite good, but to be at the top of this list you have to be the best of the best!
