It is never too late to invest in mutual funds for retirement. As such, if you plan to invest in some of the best funds, the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank can provide you with valuable guidance.

How can you tell a good mutual fund from a bad one? It's pretty basic: if the fund is diversified, has low fees, and shows strong performance, it's a keeper. Of course, there's a wide range, but using the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we've found three mutual funds that would be great additions to any long-term investors' portfolios.

Let's learn about some of Zacks' highest ranked mutual funds with low fees you may want to consider.

AQR Long-Short Equity Fund I (QLEIX): 1.25% expense ratio and 1.1% management fee. QLEIX is a Long Short - Equity option. These funds' investment strategy consists of minimizing overall market exposure, while at the same time taking long positions in equities that are expected to appreciate and short positions in equities that are projected to decline. With annual returns of 22.1% over the last five years, this fund is a winner.

American Funds Washington Mutual Investors F (WSHFX) is a stand out amongst its peers. WSHFX 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. With five-year annualized performance of 11.93%, expense ratio of 0.62% and management fee of 0.22%, this diversified fund is an attractive buy with a strong history of performance.

Carillon Clarivest Intl Stock I (EISIX Quick QuoteEISIX - Free Report) . Expense ratio: 0.95%. Management fee: 0.7%. Five year annual return: 15.08%. EISIX is a Non US - Equity option, focusing their investments acoss emerging and developed markets, and can often extend across cap levels too.

There you have it. If your financial advisor had you put your money into any of our top-ranked funds, then they've got you covered. If not, you may need to talk.