There is never a wrong time to invest in mutual funds for retirement. So, if you're still looking for the best mutual funds, the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank can be a great guide.

The easiest way to judge a mutual fund's quality over time is by analyzing its performance, diversification, and fees. Using the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of over 19,000 mutual funds, we've identified three outstanding mutual funds that are ideally suited to help long-term investors pursue and achieve their retirement investing goals.

Here are the funds that have achieved the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and have low fees.

Victory Diversified Stock I (VDSIX): 0.83% expense ratio and 0.65% management fee. VDSIX is part of the Large Cap Blend section, and these mutual funds most often invest in firms with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more. By investing in bigger companies, these funds offer more stability, and are often well-suited for investors with a "buy and hold" mindset. VDSIX has achieved five-year annual returns of an astounding 17.38%.

Lord Abbett Affiliated Fund I (LAFYX Quick QuoteLAFYX - Free Report) . Expense ratio: 0.44%. Management fee: 0.32%. LAFYX is a Large Cap Value mutual fund, which invests in stocks with a market cap of $10 billion of more, but whose share prices do not reflect their intrinsic value. This fund has managed to produce a robust 13.07% over the last five years.

T. Rowe Price Africa & Mid-East I (PRAMX) is an attractive large-cap allocation. PRAMX is a Non US - Equity option, focusing their investments acoss emerging and developed markets, and can often extend across cap levels too. PRAMX has an expense ratio of 1.08%, management fee of 1.03%, and annual returns of 13.28% over the past five years.

These examples highlight the fact that there are some astonishingly good mutual funds out there. If your advisor has you in the good ones, bravo! If not, you may need to have a talk.