With more than $121 billion in assets under management and 200 institutional clients, American Century Investments is one of the world’s leading asset management firms. Founded in 1958 by James Stowers, Jr, the company offers a wide range of products and services across a variety of asset classes. It takes a long term view of investments which allows it to be closely aligned to stated investment objectives. American Century prides itself on a team-managed approach and contributes a significant share of profits towards cutting edge medical research.

Below we will share with you 5 top rated American Century 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 American Century funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of funds.

American Century Balanced ( TWBIX - MF report ) invests around 60% of its assets in equity and the balance in fixed income instruments such as bonds. The fund focuses on acquiring large cap domestic stocks and also purchases a wide range of government, corporate and asset backed securities of high to medium quality. The fund has a five year annualized return of 4.12%.

The Fund Manager is G. David MacEwen and he has managed this American Century mutual fund since 2005.

American Century Equity Income ( TWEIX - MF report ) seeks current income with a secondary objective of capital growth. The fund invests primarily in equity securities with proven track records of paying out regular dividends. The fund seeks out securities which are undervalued and whose price is expected to rise appreciably. The fund has a five year annualized return of 2.38%.

As of March 2012, this American Century mutual fund held 112 issues, with 4.96% of its total assets invested in Wells Fargo & Co, San Francisco Ca Pfd.

American Century Income & Growth ( BIGRX - MF report ) invests a large proportion of its assets in securities issued by large-cap publicly traded domestic companies. The fund aims to provide dividends exceeding returns from the S&P 500 index. The fund has a five year annualized return of .23%.

The American Century mutual fund has a minimum initial investment of $2,500 and an expense ratio of 0.69% compared to a category average of 1.23%.

American Century Strategic Allocation: Aggressive A ( ACVAX - MF report ) seeks capital growth over the long term and regular income to a lesser degree. Under normal circumstances 79% of its assets are invested in equity, 20% in bonds and 1% in cash equivalents. The fund has a five year annualized return of 3.43%.

The Fund Manager is Enrique A. Chang and he has managed this American Century mutual fund since 2009.

American Century Small Cap Growth A ( ANOAX - MF report ) invests a large proportion of its assets in small-cap companies. The companies invested in must have market capitalizations smaller than the largest company in the Russell 2000 Growth Index. The fund returned 47.46% in the last one year period.

The American Century mutual fund has a minimum initial investment of $2,500 and an expense ratio of 1.65% compared to a category average of 1.46%.

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

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.