Investors seeking total return, both regular income and long
term capital appreciation, should include balanced funds in their
portfolio. Balanced funds are perhaps the most flexible and
actively managed category of mutual funds as their investments
offer exposure across a variety of asset classes and sectors. Such
funds often rebalance their portfolios on the basis of current
economic and market trends in order to meet their investment
objective. Moreover, these funds not only seek to provide good
returns during favorable market conditions, but also provide
protection against substantial capital loss during difficult
times.
Below we will share with you 5 top rated balanced mutual funds.
Each has earned a
Zacks #1
Rank
(Strong Buy) as we expect the fund to outperform its peers in the
future. To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all
balanced funds, investors can
click here to see the complete list of funds
.
Wells Fargo Advantage Growth Balanced
(
NVGBX
) invests 65% of its assets and 35% in bonds as per its "neutral"
target allocation. At present, the fund's portfolio consists of the
different equity and fixed income of various master portfolios. The
balanced mutual fund 12.12% returned in the last one year
period.
Jeffrey Mellas is the fund manager and has managed this balanced
mutual fund since 2003.
American Century Balanced
(
TWBIX
) seeks both capital growth and current income. Around 60% of the
fund's assets are utilized to purchase equity securities and the
balance is used to acquire fixed income instruments. The balanced
mutual fund returned 13.79% in the last one year period.
The balanced mutual fund has a minimum initial investment of
$2,500 and an expense ratio of 0.90% compared to a category average
of 0.99% %.
Eaton Vance Balanced A
(
EVIFX
) invests in both fixed-income securities and common stocks through
two other registered investment companies managed by Eaton Vance
Management or its affiliates. The balanced mutual fund returned
11.59% in the last one year period.
Thomas Luster is the fund manager and has managed this balanced
mutual fund since 2010.
Buffalo Flexible Income
(
BUFBX
) seeks current income with a secondary objective of capital
appreciation. The fund invests in equity as well as debt
securities. The dollar weighted average maturity period of the fund
is not expected to exceed 15 years. The balanced mutual fund
returned 14.17% in the last one year period.
As of June 2012, this balanced mutual fund held 131 issues, with
2.23% of its total assets invested in Lions Gate Entmt 10.25%.
Ivy Balanced A
(
IBNAX
) invests in a diversified portfolio of equity, debt and short term
instruments, the composition of which depends on current market
conditions. The fund focuses on investing in large and mid-cap
companies which pay regular dividends. A minimum of 25% of its
assets is utilized to purchase fixed-income securities. The
balanced mutual fund returned 13.22% in the last one year
period.
The balanced mutual fund has a minimum initial investment of
$500 and an expense ratio of 1.23% compared to a category average
of 0.97%
To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all balanced
mutual funds, investors can
click here to see the complete list of funds
. .
About Zacks Mutual Fund Rank
By applying the Zacks Rank to mutual funds, investors can find
funds that not only outpaced the market in the past but are also
expected to outperform going forward. Learn more about the Zacks
Mutual Fund Rank at
http://www.zacks.com/funds
.
View All Zacks #1 Ranked Mutual Funds
(BUFBX): ETF Research Reports
(EVIFX): ETF Research Reports
(IBNAX): ETF Research Reports
(NVGBX): ETF Research Reports
(TWBIX): ETF Research Reports
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