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 break down some of the mutual funds with the top Zacks Mutual Fund Rank and the lowest fees.

Victory Diversified Stock Y (VDSYX): 0.86% expense ratio and 0.65% management fee. VDSYX is classified as a Large Cap Blend fund. More often than not, Large Cap Blend mutual funds invest in companies with a market cap of over $10 billion. Buying stakes in bigger companies offer these funds more stability, and are well-suited for investors with a "buy and hold" mindset. VDSYX has achieved five-year annual returns of an astounding 15.6%.

Fidelity Value Fund (FDVLX Quick QuoteFDVLX - Free Report) : 0.69% expense ratio and 0.67% management fee. FDVLX is a Mid Cap Value mutual fund, which targets medium-sized companies with a market cap between $2 billion and $10 billion. With yearly returns of 11.62% over the last five years, FDVLX is an effectively diversified fund with a long reputation of solidly positive performance.

Lord Abbett Growth Leaders F3 (LGLOX): 0.58% expense ratio and 0.51% management fee. LGLOX is a part of the Large Cap Growth mutual fund category, which invest in many large U.S. companies that are expected to grow much faster compared to other large-cap stocks. The fund is mainly invested in equities, has a long reputation of salutary performance, and has yearly returns of 10.34% over the last five years.

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.