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3 Top Balanced Mutual Funds for 2017

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Balanced funds provide investors with the convenience of buying into a single fund rather than holding both equity and bond funds. This category of funds also reduces a portfolio’s volatility, while providing higher returns than pure fixed income investments.

The fund managers also enjoy the flexibility of varying the proportion of equity and fixed income investments in response to market conditions. An upswing may prompt them to hold a relatively higher share of equity in order to maximize gains whereas a downturn will see them turning to fixed income investments to stem losses.

Below we will share with you three top-rated balanced mutual funds. Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. Investors can click here to see the complete list of balanced mutual funds, their Zacks Rank and past performance.

Invesco Income Allocation A (ALAAX - Free Report) seeks current income. ALAAX invests in both U.S. and non-U.S. companies, fixed income instruments and REITs. It allocates 60–70% of its assets in fixed-income instruments and 30–40% in equities. Invesco Income Allocation A has a three-year annualized return of 5.4%.

Duy Nguyen is one of the portfolio managers of ALAAX since 2014.

Dodge & Cox Balanced (DODBX - Free Report) invests in both equity and debt securities. DODBX invests around 25% to 75% of the total assets in equity securities. DODBX may also invest a maximum 20% of its assets in U.S. dollar-denominated securities of non-U.S. issuers traded in the United States that are not in the S&P 500 Index. Dodge & Cox Balanced has a three-year annualized return of 7.4%.

DODBX has an expense ratio of 0.53% compared with the category average of 0.86%.

Mairs & Power Balanced Investor (MAPOX - Free Report) seeks to provide capital growth along with current income. MAPOX invests in both common stocks as well as fixed income securities including corporate bonds and U.S. government securities. MAPOX may also invest in mortgage-backed securities and in securities of foreign issuers that are listed on a United States stock exchange or represented by American Depositary Receipts. Mairs & Power Balanced Investor has a three-year annualized return of 5.6%.

As of September 2016, MAPOX held 334 issues with 2.8% of its assets invested in US Bancorp.

To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all balanced mutual funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of funds.

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