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3 Top-Rated Real Estate Mutual Funds to Boost Gains

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For investors looking to park their funds in the real estate sector, mutual funds are the cheapest and most convenient. This category of funds also offers solid protection against inflation. The real estate sector has recently seen tough times but the presence of this investment vehicle generally adds stability to a portfolio. This is because volatility in property prices is far less compared to the extent experienced by stocks. Adding such funds to a widely diversified portfolio would increase returns while significantly reducing the associated risk.

Below we share with you three top-ranked real estate 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 funds.

John Hancock II Real Estate Securities Fund Class 1 (JIREX - Free Report)  seeks long-term capital growth and current income. JIREX invests the lion's share of its net assets in equity securities of real estate companies and REITs. The fund may invest nearly 10% of its total assets in securities of non-U.S. real estate companies. JHFunds2 Real Estate Securities1 has a three-year annualized return of 7.4%.

As of June 2017, JIREX held 44 issues, with 6.3% of its assets invested in Welltower Inc.

DFA Real Estate Securities Portfolio Institutional Class (DFREX - Free Report) invests in marketable equity securities of companies engaged in ownership, management, development, construction and sale of residential, commercial as well as industrial real estate. DFREX normally invests in equity securities of companies in certain real estate investment trusts as well as companies involved in residential construction. DFA Real Estate Securities Portfolio Institutional Class has a three-year annualized return of 7.7%.

Lukas Smart is one of the fund managers of DFREX since 2017.

Fidelity Advisor International Real Estate Fund Class I (FIRIX - Free Report) seeks to invest primarily in foreign securities. The fund invests a bulk of its assets in securities of companies involved in the real estate industry as well as real estate related investments. It allocates investments across the globe in different countries and regions. Fidelity Advisor International Real Estate Fund Class I has a three-year annualized return of 4.6%.

FIRIX has an expense ratio of 0.96% as compared with the category average of 1.34%.

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

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