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Buy These 3 Top-Ranked Balanced Mutual Funds to Hedge Against Risk

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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 raise 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., State Farm Balanced Fund (STFBX - Free Report) , Arrow Managed Futures Strategy (MFTFX - Free Report)  and Virtus AlphaSimplex Global Alts (GAFAX - 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.

State Farm Balanced Fund seeks income and long-term growth of principal and income. STFBX invests its assets in common stocks, preferred stocks and bonds in proportions that vary with market conditions. 

State Farm Balanced Fund has three-year annualized returns of 5.8%. As of September 2024, STFBX held 213 issues with 8.8% of its assets invested in Apple Inc.

Arrow Managed Futures Strategy fund seeks to implement fixed-income and managed-futures strategies. Using its fixed-income strategy, it invests part of its net assets in U.S. government securities, fixed-income securities, money-market instruments, overnight and fixed-term repurchase agreements, cash and other cash equivalents with maturities of one year or less. MFTFX also invests a portion of its net assets in a wholly owned and controlled subsidiary to seek returns through its managed futures strategy.

Arrow Managed Futures Strategy has three-year annualized returns of 13.4%. Joseph Barrato has been one of the fund managers of MFTFX since 2014.

Virtus AlphaSimplex Global Alts aims to gain exposure to global equity, bond, currency and commodity markets using derivatives and direct investments. GAFAX typically utilizes futures, forwards, and swaps on various securities, indices, currencies and commodities.

Virtus AlphaSimplex Global Alts has three-year annualized returns of 4%. GAFAX has an expense ratio of 1.49%.

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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