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Does Your Retirement Portfolio Hold These 3 Mutual Fund Misfires? - October 31, 2019

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You may need to start looking for a new financial advisor if your current one has put any of these high-fee, low-return "Mutual Fund Misfires of the Market" into your portfolio.

High fees plus poor performance: It's a pretty simple formula for a bad mutual fund. Some are worse than others - and some are so bad that they have earned a "Strong Sell" on the Zacks Rank, the lowest ranking of the nearly 19,000 mutual funds we rank daily.

First, let's break down some of the funds currently part of our "Mutual Fund Misfires of the Market." If you happen to have put your money into any of these misfires, we'll help assess some of our best Zacks Ranked mutual funds.

3 Mutual Fund Misfires

Now, let's take a look at three market misfires.

Highland Energy MLP Fund Y : Expense ratio: 0.01%. Management fee: 1%. After expenses, the 5 year return is -18.09%, meaning your fees are far higher than the fund's returns.

Wells Fargo Absolute Return Admiral (WARDX - Free Report) . Expense ratio: 1.45%. Management fee: 1%. Over the last 5 years, this fund has generated annual returns of 1.31%.

Legg Mason BW Absolute Return Opportunity FI (LBAFX - Free Report) : Expense ratio: 1.2%. Management fee: 0.64%. LBAFX is part of the Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate fund group. These mutual funds focus on the middle part of the curve, generally with bonds that usually mature in more than three years but less than 15 years. With annual returns of just 0.44%, it's no surprise this fund has received Zacks' "Strong Sell" ranking.

3 Top Ranked Mutual Funds

Now that you've seen the worst Zacks Ranked mutual funds, let's have a look at some of the highest ranked funds with the lowest fees.

AQR Large Cap Defensive Style R6 (QUERX - Free Report) : 0.3% expense ratio and 0.25% management fee. QUERX 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. With an annual return of 14.03% over the last five years, this fund is a winner.

Victory Sycamore Small Company Opportunity Y (VSOYX - Free Report) has an expense ratio of 1.09% and management fee of 0.76%. VSOYX is a Small Cap Value fund, and these funds are known for investing in companies with market caps under $2 billion. With annual returns of 11.15% over the last five years, this is a well-diversified fund with a long track record of success.

MFS Mid-Cap Growth R6 (OTCKX - Free Report) is an attractive fund with a five-year annualized return of 13.94% and an expense ratio of just 0.77%. OTCKX is a Mid Cap Growth mutual fund. These funds aim to target companies with a market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion that are also expected to exhibit more extensive growth opportunities for investors than their peers.

Bottom Line

So, there you have it - if your advisor has you invested in any of our "Mutual Fund Misfires of the Market," there is a good probability that they are either asleep at the wheel, incompetent, or (most likely) lining their pockets with high fee commissions at your financial expense.

If you have concerns or any doubts about your investment advisor, read our just-released report:

4 Warning Signs That Your Advisor Might be Sabotaging Your Financial Future

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