Investors interested in maintaining exposure to both equity and fixed-income securities may consider investing in balanced mutual funds. Also, these mutual funds are believed to provide greater returns than pure, fixed-income investments while maintaining a low volatility level.

 

The proportion of equity and fixed-income investments in these funds may also vary in response to market conditions. While managers may increase the share of fixed-income securities during a downturn to avoid losses, the share of equity securities may be increased in a bullish market. Hence, these funds are expected to harness the inherent strengths of both classes of investments.

 

Below, we share with you three top-ranked balanced mutual funds, viz., Dodge& Cox Balanced Fund (DODBX Quick QuoteDODBX - Free Report) , MFS Aggressive Growth Allocation Fund (MIAGX Quick QuoteMIAGX - Free Report) , and Vanguard Life strategy Growth Fund (VASGX Quick QuoteVASGX - Free Report) . 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.

 

Dodge & Cox Balanced Fund seeks to achieve long-term growth and capital appreciation in addition to consistent income by investing in a diversified portfolio of common stocks, preferred stocks and fixed-income securities. DODBX distributes quarterly dividends and yearly capital gains. 

 

Dodge & Cox Balanced Fund has three-year annualized returns of 15.7%. DODBX has an expense ratio of 0.52% compared with the category average of 0.84%.

 

MFS Aggressive Growth Allocation Fund seeks to achieve long-term capital growth by investing in U.S. equity securities, which include common stocks and related securities such as preferred stock, convertible securities and depositary receipts of U.S. issuers, and foreign equity securities. MIAGX distributes both dividends and capital gains on an annual basis.

 

MFS Aggressive Growth Allocation Fund has three-year annualized returns of 14.8%. As of November 2022, MIAGX held15 issues with 12.3% of its assets invested in MFS VALUE FUND.

 

Vanguard Life strategy Growth Fund seeks long-term capital growth by investing in four Vanguard funds, namely the Total Stock Market Index, Total International Stock Index, Total Bond Market Index and Asset Allocation. VASGX offers semi-annual dividend payments in June and December, and capital gains in December.

 

Vanguard Life strategy Growth Fund has three-year annualized returns of 12.2%. Aurelie Denis has been one of the fund managers of VASGX since 2023.

 

 

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

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