Top 5 Van Kampen Funds

Founded in 1927, Van Kampen Investments is one of the nation’s oldest and largest investment management companies. The company has a rich legacy of domain expertise and currently manages or supervises around $85 billion worth of assets. It has a strong commitment towards a research driven culture and uses a bottom-up approach to select investments. Van Kampen offers a wide range of investment products, including mutual funds, retirement solutions and unit investment trusts.

Below we will share with you 5 top rated Van Kampen funds. Each has earned a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) as we expect the fund to outperform its peers in the future. To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all Van Kampen funds, then click here.

Van Kampen Real Estate Securities A (ACREX) seeks long term capital growth with a secondary objective of current income. The fund focuses on investing in equity securities of real estate companies and real estate investment trusts. Up to 20% of its assets are invested outside the real estate industry. The fund returned 106.96% in the last one year and has a ten year annualized return of 11.53%.

The Van Kampen fund has a minimum initial investment of $1,000 and an expense ratio of 1.57% compared to a category average of 1.52%.

Van Kampen Utility A (VKUAX) invests in common stocks and income generating securities issued by companies operating in the utilities industry. It may also purchase preferred stock, convertible securities and debt securities rated investment grade. The fund returned 18.05% in the last one year period.

The fund manager is Michael Nolan and he has managed this fund since 2008.

Van Kampen Enterprise A ( ) invests in stocks with the potential for superior capital growth. Up to 25% of its assets are invested in foreign securities and a maximum of 10% is invested in real estate investment trusts. It may also utilize synthetic instruments in order to manage risk factors. The fund has a five year annualized return of 5.21%.

As of December 2009, this fund held 43 issues, with 7.25% of its total assets invested in Amazon.com, Inc.

Van Kampen New York Tax-Free Income A ( VNYAX - MF report ) primarily invests in New York municipal securities, rated invested grade. Up to 20% of the fund’s assets may be used to purchase securities rated below-investment grade. It may invest a similar amount in municipal securities subject to federal minimum alternate tax. The fund returned 16.97% over the last one year period.

The Van Kampen fund has an expense ratio of 0.84% compared to a category average of 1.07%.

Van Kampen Equity Growth A (VEGAX) invests in growth-oriented medium and large-cap companies. Up to 35% of the fund’s assets may be used to purchase foreign securities. It may also invest a relatively smaller proportion in real estate investment trusts. The fund has a five year annualized return of 7.54%.

Alexander Umansky is the fund manager and has managed this Van Kampen fund since 2007.

To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all Van Kampen funds, then click here.

About Zacks Mutual Fund Rank

By applying the Zacks Rank to mutual funds, investors can find funds that not only outpaced the market in the past but are also expected to outperform going forward. Learn more about the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank at http://www.zacks.com/funds.