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Does Your Retirement Portfolio Hold These 3 Mutual Fund Misfires? - February 04, 2020

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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 coupled with poor results: It's a straightforward equation for an awful mutual fund. Some are more regrettable than others - and some are bad to the point that they have got a "Strong Sell" from our Zacks Rank, the lowest positioning of the almost 19,000 mutual funds we rank every day.

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.

Forester Discovery Fund : 1.35% expense ratio and 1% management fee. INTLX is a Global - Equity mutual fund, which invests their assets in large markets, leveraging the global economy. With a five year after-expenses return of -0.1%, you're mostly paying more in fees than returns.

Hotchkis and Wiley Mid-Cap Value C (HWMCX - Free Report) : 2% expense ratio, 0.75%. HWMCX is a Mid Cap Value fund, which usually invests in companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion. This fund has yearly returns of -0.23% over the most recent five years. Another fund liable of having investors pay more in charges than what they receive in return.

AB Short Duration A : Expense ratio: 0.97%. Management fee: 0.35%. ADPAX is a Government Bond - Short fund, and these funds hold securities issued by the U.S. federal government. This category focuses on the short end of the curve, and are seen as extremely low risk securities from a default perspective. With annual returns of just 0.08%, it's no surprise this fund has received Zacks' "Strong Sell" ranking.

3 Top Ranked Mutual Funds

There you have it: some prime examples of truly bad mutual funds. In contrast, here are a few funds that have achieved high Zacks Ranks and have low fees.

Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Growth Adviser (NBMBX - Free Report) is a fund that has an expense ratio of 1.21%, and a management fee of 0.9%. NBMBX 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. With yearly returns of 10.47% over the last five years, this fund clearly wins.

Oppenheimer Discovery A (OPOCX - Free Report) : Expense ratio: 1.08%. Management fee: 0.63%. OPOCX is a Small Cap Growth mutual fund building their portfolio around stocks with market caps under $2 billion and large growth opportunities. OPOCX has managed to produce a robust 11.39% over the last five years.

Columbia Select Large Cap Equity Fund R5 (CLCRX - Free Report) is an attractive fund with a five-year annualized return of 11.69% and an expense ratio of just 0.47%. CLCRX 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.

Bottom Line

Along these lines, there you have it - if your financial guide has you put your money into any of our "Mutual Fund Misfires of the Market," there is a strong likelihood that they are either dormant at the worst possible time, inept, or (in all probability) filling their pockets with high fee commissions at the cost of your financial objectives.

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