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3 Mutual Fund Misfires To Avoid In Your Retirement Portfolio - February 05, 2020

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If your financial advisor made you buy any of these "Mutual Fund Misfires of the Market" with high expenses and low returns, you need to reassess your advisor.

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.

Below, you'll read about some of the funds included in our current list of "Mutual Fund Misfires of the Market." And if by chance you're invested in any of these misfires, we'll help and review some of our highest Zacks Ranked mutual funds.

3 Mutual Fund Misfires

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

American Century Short Duration C (ACSKX - Free Report) : 1.59% expense ratio and 0.58% management fee. ACSKX 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 a five year after-expenses return of 0.86%, you're mostly paying more in fees than returns.

Ivy Natural Resources I (IGNIX - Free Report) : 1.22% expense ratio, 0.85% management fee. IGNIX is a Sector - Energy mutual fund, which encompasses a wide range of vastly changing and vitally important industries throughout this massive global sector. This fund has an annual returns of -3.32% over the last five years. Another fund guilty of having investors pay more in fees than returns.

Glenmede Long/Short Fund (GTAPX - Free Report) - 2.46% expense ratio, 1.2% management fee. GTAPX is a Long Short - Equity fund, and these funds aim to minimize exposure to the broader market, taking long positions in equities that are expected to appreciate and short positions in equities that are projected to decline. GTAPX has generated annual returns of 1.87% over the last five years. Ouch!

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.

JPMorgan Mid Cap Growth Fund R2 (JMGZX - Free Report) is a fund that has an expense ratio of 1.48%, and a management fee of 0.65%. JMGZX 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 11.47% over the last five years, this fund clearly wins.

Principal Large Cap Growth I R1 (PCRSX - Free Report) is a stand out fund. PCRSX 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. With five-year annualized performance of 11.47% and expense ratio of 1.47%, this diversified fund is an attractive buy with a strong history of performance.

TIAA-CREF Social Choice Equity Premier (TRPSX - Free Report) has an expense ratio of 0.33% and management fee of 0.15%. TRPSX is a Large Cap Blend fund, targeting companies with market caps of over $10 billion. These funds offer investors a stability, and are perfect for people with a "buy and hold" mindset. With yearly returns of 10.54% over the last five years, this fund is well-diversified with a long reputation of salutary performance.

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.

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