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.

The best way to shortlist great mutual funds is to ensure solid performance, diversification, and low fees. Some are better than others, but utilizing the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we have identified three mutual funds that could be solid additions to one's retirement portfolio.

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

Neiman Large Cap Value A (NEAMX): 1.34% expense ratio and 1% management fee. NEAMX is a part of the Large Cap Value category, and invests in equities with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more, but whose share prices do not reflect their intrinsic value. With annual returns of 12.15% over the last five years, this fund is a winner.

Nuveen Core Equity I (TGIHX). Expense ratio: 0.49%. Management fee: 0.39%. TGIHX 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. This fund has managed to produce a robust 11.31% over the last five years.

Calvert Emerging Markets Advance A (CEFAX Quick QuoteCEFAX - Free Report) is an attractive large-cap allocation. CEFAX is a Non US - Equity fund. Many of these funds like to allocate across emerging and developed markets, and will often focus on all cap levels. CEFAX has an expense ratio of 1.2%, management fee of 0.75%, and annual returns of 11.76% over the past five years.

We hope that your investment advisor (if you use one) has you invested in one or all of the top-ranked mutual funds we've reviewed. But if that isn't the case, it might be time to have a conversation or reconsider this vitally important relationship.